[CR]the end of the stylin' road bike?

(Example: Framebuilders:Mario Confente)

Date: Tue, 03 Jun 2003 08:52:21 -0400
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "ADP" <aphillips9@mindspring.com>
Subject: [CR]the end of the stylin' road bike?

First I need to express my displeasure at the rain today. Here I am with a whole day off, and two different people to go ride with, and it's raining.

Anyway...
>On Monday, June 2, 2003, at 07:39 PM, ADP wrote:
>>Seriously though, I think the classic era ended when the bicycle and
>>bicycling stopped being a symbol of individualism and started being a
>>just piece of equipment used for fitness or competition.

Brandon sez:


>See that's a bit of a problem since cycling never lost any of it's
>individuality. The people who were into self-reliance and DIY just
>switched to fat-tires around '82. The folks who were really into looking
>cool and calling 13 year-olds that had been riding longer than they had
>'poseur dorks' because they're weren't riding Italian steel with full
>Campagnolo stayed. The individualists went into the woods, jerk racer
>geeks went into the magazines, and the other 90% of cyclists kept doing
>what they've always done and continue to do. . . they rode bikes.

Hey! I resemble that remark, at least about the fat tire thing, not the racer geek thing or the poseur dork thing... I agree - a lot of the innovation and experimentation moved over to MTB land. Everything was new and there were lots of little companies making new and cool stuff. Some went over well, some didn't. We had some epic rides and amazing adventures and it was a lot like my early days with road bikes, when you'd roll up to another MTBer and greet them like a long lost sibling.

When I started playing with road bikes again in 1999, it had all changed. Gone were the lugs and elegant paint jobs. Gone were all the cool little component and gadget manufacturers I'd remembered. Downtube shifters and bar end shifters and playing mix n' match from bike shop didn't work anymore. No more colored toe straps, no more rolls of colored cable housing to create little custom color schemes with the correct contrasting Tresoplast color.

Anyway, IMHO, I don't think 1983 should be the end. Its hard to define an actual date because there were some good things that happened in 1984 and 1985. Chuck Schmidt points out:
>The 1986 De Rosa catalog shows one road frame (the only one made), the
>Professional SLX, and it comes equiped two ways, with Campagnolo Super
>Record or C-Record (Corsa Record)!

That bike sounds to be in the spirit of era as much as a non era bike can get. If Chuck was to *sell* a 1986 De Rosa, campy equipped, in a 49 or 50, for some price I could afford, I'd be really bummed if he couldn't announce it here.

My W'ford gets to be a "keeper of the Flame," so it's sort of on topic, but not what it is equipped with. If I had the most Grant Spec'd Rivendell, it'd be in the same boat.

I'm not protesting Dale's rules, cause it is his living room, and he has forgotten way more about bikes than I'll ever know, but I do think there is a place for bikes and stuff that represent the spirit of the era.

Ann Phillips, Decatur GA