George Hollenberg wrote: All their polished aluminum, chromed and gilt parts inevitably elicit the highest praise from men in the bicycle manufacture and metal finishing trades-not to mention collectors.
George, Not from this collector. I collect racing bikes. To me an ICS-equipped bike is as racy as a Ferrari with gold brightwork and 20" spinners.
George Hollenberg wrote: they sacrificed function to form and finish.
George, Exactly. A total deal breaker when you're looking at bikes as racing machines.
George Hollenberg wrote:
In short, whereas some makers sacrificed everything to make their bikes cheap and therefore readily salable, ICS went to every length to make their product excellent and exclusive-a collector's dream.
George, I disagree. Basic, top-end Campy, Mavic, Shimano, etc. racing equipment did not sacrifice"everything to make their bikes cheap and therefore readily salable," by any stretch of the imagination. They provided nice functional finish while ICS was in the lilly guilding biz. To me any item that appeals to collectors when new, like a 50th anni group, is basically something that was manufatured to be collected. It is thus something doomed to have the enduring appeal of an item from the Franklin mint. Tons squirreled away by "collectors" and no real history of use, in this case of use in racing.
ICS made interesting stuff, don't get me wrong, but I think it is mostly an oddity, with little historical importance. I raced during the ICS era, and never saw it used in a race... ever.
Respectfully, Tom Dalton Bethlehem PA USA
Another member has raised several interesting questions about ICS. Many of the answers to those questions can be found on CR's site and little would be served by reiterating this information. Other questions, such as precisely who the men at ICS were, I don't know, but I'll make inquiry in Switzerland to find out. In fact, ICS was imported into the USA and the former importer is still around. Perhaps he, as well as other members, can provide answers. As for the "mission" of ICS is seems obvious to me that they endeavored to produce very highly tuned and exquisitely finished parts and frames for the "carriage trade" sector of the bicycle business. With this market in mind, and with certain important exceptions, they sacrificed function to form and finish. However, if one values fine finish in bike parts and frames, ICS is without par. All their polished aluminum, chromed and gilt parts inevitably elicit the highest praise from men in the bicycle manufacture and metal finishing trades-not to mention collectors. They are sought and collected for their beauty, quality and rarity. Their high cost at the time of production severely limited their numbers and sales. Their frames, whether the "Magni" or the "Design" variants were beautifully constructed and finished almost always in the "chromovelato" style. As is the case in many vintage bike marques, the level of quality of the late ICS parts and frames is diminished. Furthermore, it was always possible to order an ICS frame alone, or with only a few ICS parts, using stock parts to complete the bike. Super Record ICS parts were mixed with ICS C Parts, Super Record, and even Shimano parts, etc. In the same vein, later owners of ICS bikes frequently stripped some ICS parts and retrofitted others. All these factors, common in all vintage bikes seen in their later years, must be taken into consideration when viewing an ICS bike currently for sale. In short, whereas some makers sacrificed everything to make their bikes cheap and therefore readily salable, ICS went to every length to make their product excellent and exclusive-a collector's dream. George George Hollenberg MD Westport, CT, USA
George Hollenberg MD CT, USA
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