To me the answer to this question is a bit abstract. What is the "holy grail" of bicycles? It is an idea and less of a physical thing. The quest for the grail is what drives us to do what we do; collect, hoarde, fill our garages, sheds, and walls with bicycles and parts. This brings an element of added purpose and added challenges to our lives. We are like the crusaders of old, some went on quests for glory for themselves, some for their faith, others simply for the sake of the quest itself. And like them, if we were ever to finish our quests, our searches, if we had one of every bike and part ever built, would our hearts not sink a little as placed that last bike up on the wall knowing that the fun was over?
And Brian Bayliss is right, the grail need not be covered in jewels, Jesus was a carpenter and the cup of a carpenter would not have been made of gold, but it still would have been a cup.
I recently spoke to a man who in his youth had bought a 1972 green schwinn super sport. He loved that bike and had it up until 1991 when it was stolen. Ever since then he's looked under the bottom bracket of every green super sport he's come across hoping on the next one he's name would appear. Is this bike any less worthy of the title, "holy grail?"
Marc Garcia (it's been a while since I was in the seminary) chicago IL