csi? very nice bike. how does a csi not qualify as kof? because it was a production model? aren't the latter-day italian lugged producition bikes considered kof? even in the mid-90's, most of those csi's had to have been made to order, and many must have been customs to a greater or lesser degree. what's not kof? numbers? i would have thought such a frame would have needed no papal dispensation from the stern-but-caring listmeister. shows how much i know.
besty,
'spiney' norman neville
no serotta, but i like the looks of those tubes w/lugs
new haven, ct
usa
> From: Harvey Sachs <hmsachs@verizon.net>
\r?\n> Subject: [CR] End of the line for production lugged steel?
\r?\n> To: "Classic Rendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
\r?\n> Date: Sunday, February 1, 2009, 6:17 AM
\r?\n> I purchased a frameset Saturday that doesn't really
\r?\n> qualify for our list, but I asked Dale for an exception
\r?\n> becuase it is interesting.
\r?\n> It's a Serotta "CSI" from the mid-1990s. It
\r?\n> is perhaps the last time
\r?\n> that a manufacturer invested in dedicated tubing and a
\r?\n> special lug
\r?\n> set for it. The seat tube is tapered and the bb end is
\r?\n> slightly
\r?\n> oval. The top tube is oval at one end, and the down tube is
\r?\n> tapered. The
\r?\n> lugs are really nice, although not thinned in the style of
\r?\n> top custom US
\r?\n> work. Yup, too many were produced to qualify as
\r?\n> "keepers of the flame,"
\r?\n> but there is a lot that is traditional in them: All steel,
\r?\n> fully lugged, one-inch headset and 27.2 seat tube...
\r?\n>
\r?\n> What's it remind me of? Well, think about the best
\r?\n> production bikes of
\r?\n> the 1970s, like the Paramount and the Raleigh Pro. To me,
\r?\n> these Serottas
\r?\n> honor that history: production bikes built and equipped to
\r?\n> a very high standard. But, these late Serottas also remind
\r?\n> me of the painstaking work that builders from Rene Herse to
\r?\n> Bill Boston did to custom-fabricate lugs for non-standard
\r?\n> applications like tandem bottom-bracket tubes.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> It's a side path, and I don't think they detract
\r?\n> from the recent
\r?\n> dedicated lug sets for (slightly) oversized tubes from
\r?\n> Richard (no
\r?\n> relation) Sachs, Pacenti, and others.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> These Serottas aren't particularly rare or expensive,
\r?\n> may be worth
\r?\n> having as the end of the line, and a nice way to play with
\r?\n> other
\r?\n> off-topic "stuff." But, since they are not
\r?\n> customs and are designed for
\r?\n> indexed gear trains, we must not continue this conversation
\r?\n> in Dale's
\r?\n> garage. I'd love to hear off-line from others (and
\r?\n> would share such
\r?\n> posts if asked), and appreciate Dale's courtesy in
\r?\n> allowing this
\r?\n> exception to our usual discipline.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> harvey sachs
\r?\n> mcLean va.