It's also fair to point out that most top-end French bikes of the period share these attributes and qualities. My experience as an owner is that French bikes tend to feel more "lively" and Italian ones more "solid" if only incrementally so. I tend to prefer a French ride and Italian aesthetics and quality to make a sweeping generalisation. My Bartali is unusual in having both.
Metric gauge 531 and conservative racing geometry seem a recipe for sweetness to me.
Kurt Sperry Bellingham WA
On 4/25/06, Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> One thing that was different about the French bikes was that they used
> metric-gauge 531, with a smaller seattube OD (but a larger toptube OD) th
an
> the 531 used in British bikes or Paramounts. Not sure about relative wal
l
> thickness, but the French 531 bikes were quite light. Also contributing
to
> light weight were components like Simplex plastic derailleurs and Lyotard
> 45D pedals. Superchampion rims were light also, with even the relatively
> heavy-duty Arc-en-Ciel at 330 gms not all that heavy.
>
> I suspect it is the metric 531, the geometry, and the French stay and for
k
> cross-sections that combined to account for most of he PX-10's feel. Can
't
> explain it precisely, it just feels right.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Big Spring, TX
>
>
> --
> fineartscrimshaw.com