[CR]Real Vintage Steel , In A Plastic World

(Example: Framebuilders:Cecil Behringer)

From: "Raoul Delmare" <Raoul.L.Delmare@worldnet.att.net>
To: "C.R. List" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>, "Bruce C." <BruceCumberland@comcast.net>
References: <051320042150.18043.40A3ED8C0004727E0000467B22007507840B020E049D0A0D039ABC0A0C9A9DBD@comcast.net>
Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 08:15:01 -0500
Subject: [CR]Real Vintage Steel , In A Plastic World

So , on Sunday 9 May 2004 , Aldo Ross kindly posted a link , to a photo of :

"Fausto Coppi's bike set-up for the final time trial of the 1952 Tour de France."

I sent a copy of that message to my old cycling pal , Bruce , who now lives on the Northern edge of Indiana . Bruce wrote me an e-mail message :

"That bike could still be around and could likely still win today."

I came up with what I felt was an interesting , philosophical , historically-oriented , yet basically scientific , thought-problem . I posted a message to the C.R. List :

"o.k., here's what we need to do. right now. 1.) Get like at least 50 million dollars. o.k. get more . . ."

After sending a selection of the resulting responses to Bruce-in-Indiana , and blaming him for starting the whole deluge of e-mail , here is his reply , copied below , which I now share with the entire C.R. List .

I -ESPECIALLY- like the connection between color and material , and the fact that Bruce recorded higher speeds throughout his "scientific" side-by-side test !! Proof positive !!

:^)
Raoul Delmare
Marysville Kansas U.S.A.


----- Original Message -----
From: BruceCumberland
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2004 4:50 PM
Subject: Re: Hey Bruce , Thurs. 13 May 2004 , Part 2


*I* merely offered an unintelligent observation.

*YOU* proposed a multi-national, multi-million dollar, lugged-head holy war.

I don't even know those people!

In my own, highly scientific test yesterday, pitting myself against Bill, with Bill on a charcoal (color and material), STI (Stupid-proof Tested Instrument) shifting, looks like spokes are missing, TREK - and me on an old heavy British anchor labeled '753' (probably the tonnage), with parts so old they are labeled in Latin or Italian or some other non-Anglo language, and the added handicap of friction devices on the down tube . . .

He required drinking more water than I and otherwise we were pretty even.

Though, because I had my speedometer calibrated for a larger tire, I was much faster!