[CR]Tiimeline 1982: all wrong, every one of you !!!

(Example: Framebuilders:Rene Herse)

Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2008 11:26:40 +0000 (GMT)
From: "nicbordeaux" <nicbordeaux@yahoo.fr>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Tiimeline 1982: all wrong, every one of you !!!


Dear fellow listmembers, not having graduated in anything in particular, my opinion will be of littl e value, but nevertheless, you will be subjected to it. 1982/4 marks the en d of an era, that of random variation in design, trial and error, brilliant inspiration, and fearful mistakes. Throughout cycling history, trial and e rror have been constant factors. Dare I call this the Human Element ? A hum an element or factor which intervened even during the building process, whe re the whole assembly wasn't robotized. It is this human element which char acterizes what collectors who are also cyclists love.

1984, I bought my first (and last) MTB: filet brazed on an assembly line so mewhere out East, but the assembly was called "inexternal welding" which im pressed me no end. That the the tubing used, although triple butted, wasn't even worthy of making a wheelbarrow from wasn't an issue, until I rode the darned thing. That the seat was so high compared to the bars to achieve de cent leg extension looked cool and "in", but made the bike totally unrideab le on or off road was an added bonus Anyone care to calculate how much mate rial you save on a undersized frame ? The only real improvements were index ed shifting through 21 gears (a delight) and sealed bearings.

Since, things have gone from bad to worse, and the carbon contraptions now turned out at low cost and sold for high prices are downright dangerous. Ho wever, in terms of performance for a pro rider, they do work. Even if they probably change bikes every day and yesterday's gets put under a hammer, ca rbon fibre being what it is (I've posted repeatedly on this one, sorry). If you are not a pro rider, riding carbon is a mistake which if insurers knew anything about anything, would send your life insurance premiums soaring.

Marketting gizmos has always been a factor in sales and always will be. It gets harder as standardization makes all bikes identical. You need more bul l to get sales. Permit that I recall my days not as an unsuccessful junior biscuit salesman, but as a buyer in the fishing tackle industry: when injec tion moulded CF came along, we heralded it as the greatest breakthrough sin ce the invention of the hook and line. We sold a great range of carbon reel s. All came from the same production line in Korea, the shape ("design") va ried a bit, but the production cost of the casing (frame in a bike) was ide ntical except on a few very expensive models. The only noticeable differenc es were the internals, and the label or decal stating how many ball bearing were inside. We marketted the same model at wildly different prices in dif ferent outlets, just cosmetic changes. So what ? I'll tell you what, the th ings were utter rubbish. Or rather, they worked, but there was absolutely no advantage to using one. They were light, and that was a gian t sales point. Except anybody who knows a thing about fishing knows that th ere is a balance point or CG on a rod, and that too light a reel causes wri st fatigue (yes, I know, you need not write me that other activities cause wrist fatigue) and impairs casting performance. On bikes, lack of torsional rigidity, susceptibility to sudden unexplained fractures are weak points.

Lastly, a good friend has built a 6.5 kg bike using steel, by the simple ex pedient of using good tubing, and a undersize frame with a broompole seatpo st. Most of the weight is gained on the wheels. With standard wheels, he'd be around 8 kgs which compares favourably with any overhyped and useless ca rbon gizmo.

So yes, if you have a thing about carbon and are a believer, collect them. It is quite true that all sorts of cutoffs exist throughout cycling history , but to me the only significant ones are the pre/after safety bike, and th e pre/after MTB period, because everything you see on the market now is MTB inspired, down to the frames: MTB's were the first to have "monocoque" alu minium frames, making those things out of carbon is just a small variation.

Having agreed with a person in authority (listmeister Dale Brown) which is something I usually avoid on principle, and likely having earned the wrath of a really Great man, Ted Ernst, I rest my case.

Nick March, Agen, 47000 Lot et Garonne, France