classification, was Re: [CR]GitaneUSA.com Illustrated!

(Example: Events:Eroica)

Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2005 16:38:56 -0500
From: "Harvey M Sachs" <sachshm@cox.net>
To: jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net, Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: classification, was Re: [CR]GitaneUSA.com Illustrated!


Jerry Moos suggests that CR bikes can be divided into two major categories: "Production" marques of which even the top model had productions of many thousands, versus small-volume custom bikes. "Production" marques would include Gitane, Peugeot, Raleigh, Schwinn, Bianchi, etc., while the custom bikes would include, Singer, Herse, Ephgrave, Jack Taylor, Masi, and US masters like Baylis, Sachs, Gordon, et al."

Now, the world can be divided into two types of people: those who think things can be divided into two categories pretty well, and those who who often disagree. :-) In this case, I'm a contrarian, and prefer to recognize three major categories:

I'm pretty happy with Jerry's "Production" category, except to emphasize that CR is about the top end of full-line manufacturers like Schwinn, Ross, Peugeot, Crescent (?), Bianchi... Their annual production of bikes we consider "CR-worthy" may have been quite small - I think ~350 Paramounts/yr before the boom, maximum. That's less than Cinelli's good years, for example.

I'd call the second category "boutique," as a separate category of marques that generally restricted themselves to the high end, but were big enough to have real production runs and models. My examples would include Hetchins and Holdsworth (as I understand them) in the UK, Serotta and Waterford in the US. After all, over 40 years or so there were about 13,000 Hetchins, or ~300 - 400/yr.

Then there are what are essentially solo practitioners: Sachs [no relation], Weigle, Redcay, Bruce Gordon, Eisentraut, Assenmacher, Fattic, etc. Might or might not have apprecntices or employees occasionally, but pretty clearly the bikes are the clear product of one person's vision.

Yup, this ain't perfect, either. Trek doesn't fit neatly (no kiddie bikes). More importantly, categories are just ways of organizing thoughts, and the fun is testing to see what a system misses. regards to all

harvey sachs mcLean va

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I like this site. It is clearly biased toward Gitane, but quite openly and honestly so. Personally, my favorite French bike is Peugeot, but Gitane is a very important marque as well, with many TdF victories, albeit heavily concentrated from the mid 50's through mid 80's.

I think this highlights and importaqnt distinction among CR bikes. You might say there are two major categories. "Production" marques of which even the top model had productions of many thousands, versus small-volume custom bikes. "Production" marques would include Gitane, Peugeot, Raleigh, Schwinn, Bianchi, etc., while the custom bikes would include, Singer, Herse, Ephgrave, Jack Taylor, Masi, and US masters like Baylis, Sachs, Gordon, et al. There seems to be a segment of the CR which prefers the low-volume custom machines and views the production bikes almost with contempt, while others embrace the production marques as demonstrated by web sites like Retro Raleighs and GitaneUSA.

Personally, I tend to lean toward the production marques, even though I own and prize a few true custom machines including a Weigle and an Assenmacher. While the workmanship on the production marques was almost never as good as a true custom machine, the quality of the top models of these marques is still very, very good compared to 99% of the bicycles the average person will encounter. I mean, when compared the typical Huffy, a Schwinn Paramount, Raleigh Pro, PX-10 or Gitane TdF is truly a superb machine. Perhaps we should try to keep that in mind.

Another factor in favor of production marques like Gitane is that they had a much greater social impact than the low-volume custom machines. Hundreds of thousands, often millions, of people have owned Schwinns, Raleighs, Gitanes and Peugeots. These bikes opened up a sport and a healthier lifestyle to whole generations. In many cases, riders started out with a basic models and later graduated to the top models. I think there is a good analology to classic sports cars. Which is the better cars, a classic Ferrari Testa Rosa, or an MG-TC? No contest - the Ferrari. Which is the more important car? No contest - the MG. The same might be said of a Masi or Herse versus a PX-10 or Gitane TdF.

Regards,

Jerry Moos
Big Spring, TX