----- Original Message ----- From: <AaahClem@aol.com> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Friday, December 26, 2003 4:44 PM Subject: [CR]Aluminum rims
> There were also Aluminum frames at the turn of the century. Nothing
> is new!!! Take Care Clem Clem Skehan Willoughby Ohio
Too true, Clem.
And I believe Sunbeams had aluminium rims c. 1900 as well.
All the more reason to consider that you might give up precious little in performance and competitiveness riding a "period correct" machine.
I'd love to match two riders, perhaps on the same team, of more or less equal calibre, and race their up-to-date team bike against say the 1938 Rudge Aero-Olympic Special with a Sturmey-Archer Ultra-Close ratio AR25/3 three-speed racing hub. I am convinced the 65-year-old Rudge would not disgrace herself.
Afterall, Reg Harris won the British Sprint Championship in '74. Reg was 54 years old and his mount was, I believe, his famous carmine red '49 RRA. True sportsmanship and grit can equal the latest carbon fibre wacky-looking whatevers every time.
Peter Kohler
Washington DC USA