Ray Homiski wrote:
>
> I have read with interest several posts in the last few weeks regarding
> the collecting of branded bicycle from the early days vs. the later year
> models. Staying within the CR timeline what is your preference. As an
> example, do you believe that early hand made bicycles of a builder of
> notoriety hold more value/mojo than later models where some profess the
> builder got better with age. I prefer the latter as I think of it as like
> most collectibles where first runs or early models are scarcer and show a
> beginning mark of a now famed builder. This is just for fun as there is no
> right answer but I am curious after seeing both sides of the argument on
> display here recently
For me... both.
Nice to have an artifact from a builder's humble (often clumsy) beginnings and even better to have a version after his vision has reached full maturity. I'm not much interested in that transition stage in between the two though. The transition stage usually isn't a very homogeneous or pleasing design. This would be mostly about aesthetics though and not much to do with how the bike functioned.
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California
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