Richard M Sachs wrote:
>
> chuckie asked:
> "What would I buy if I was in the market for that special hand-built
> steel bike? Not something with investment castings. I would want it to
> have the most sweat equity possible."
> i say:
> jeezuz h christ, chuckie.
> there are many options. brian makes them, peter
> makes them, i make them. you know all this.
> don't be difficult.
> for about $3000 i could tighten you up with a nice
> little beauty with 70s columbus or reynolds pipes,
> lugs from nervex, prugnat, bocama, bozzi, guinticiclo,
> and simplex or campafnolo period correct dropouts.
> i'll make you a deal; my sweat. your bucks.
Maybe I wasn't clear enough.
The relatively few guys in the market for a custom steel lug'd bike probably don't know (or care for that matter) that their prospective frame has investment cast lugs or not; probably can't appreciate the difference without an explanation. But they imagine they are getting max sweat equity, just like the guy back in the day buying a Hetchins imagined that a guy was cutting and filing each flourish and window in each and every Hetchins big boner (sorry), "Magnum Bonum" lug.
To my way of thinking investment cast lugs are another step down that road to the efficiently made frame (that road ends at the computer controled manufacture of tig'd aluminum frames); IC lugs equal less mojo Richard.
I appreciate your offer (your sweat, my bucks), and I have had a few custom steel bikes made for me (everyone who truely loves bikes owes themselves the experience at least once in their life), but I'm looking for older and older racing bikes for that max mojo hit.
Chuck Schmidt L.A.
.