I'm also amused by the vintage collectors fasination of one or two makers. But I remind myself that this group has a narrow focus and that is their choice. If I don't like it, I'll move on. My thing is lugged-steel bikes, OK some fillet brazing is cool. I basicaly ignor all others. I don't think there was ever better bicycles being made than there is now. The current group of hand made makers are better than the past ones.
James Valiensi Northridge, CA
David Moulton raced, had a career framebuilding. then wrote, now blogs too, and has returned to riding, (exclusively on tubulars). He has put together a web site of reflections on racing and building, and likely, some wisdom.
http://www.prodigalchild.net/
I mention him because he was a contract builder for Masi in California for a while. And, because he remarks, somewhere, that there may be more than a thousand frames of his own "Fuso" brand out there, somewhere, at least one of which, in Dave's own size, was retrieved and returned to the maker for his current riding.
There's not much sentimentality from Moulton about frame-building. Moulton's obituary for a former colleague tells a lot about Masi construction.
http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/
If the oft-repeated comment about the brain being the largest erogenous zone--or sex organ, the aphorism varies), then the same is true of labels, isn't it? And who is to say when branding transcends to fetishism? I've seen several Masi's in a row in an active racer's riding collection, so I've learned, I think, that the consistent label and paint may be no small part of the bonding/attachment/branding/fetish.
I have a lugged-construction steel bike by Andy Gilmour, (http://www.gilmourbicycles.us/) and I puzzle over whether it is its proportion, design and execution, paint, or harmonious componentry that influence what I think a beautiful (newer) classic bike looks like. And how much does the head badge matter?
But, Gilmour may regard all of that as a consumer's sentimentality. He's been hand-crafting, for awhile now, with aluminum tubes.
Harry Travis Washington, DC USA
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
travis.dot.harry.trying.gmail.com
DemostiX