[CR] Lack of proper tooling at local bike shops (may as well make that lack of skills with vintage stuff in general)

Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 16:15:21 -0700
From: "Bob Freitas" <freitas1@pacbell.net>
To: CLASSIC RENDEZVOUS <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR] Lack of proper tooling at local bike shops (may as well make that lack of skills with vintage stuff in general)

I am thinking all that Italian and French frame tooling was sold off as bikes went to a world wide standard. Many of us have bought up some of that stuff and are now the beneficiaries. Even in the day most shops lacked the BB taps ,reamers and head tube tools. The average shop would try to straighten your fork and failing that usually used a replacement fork with was threaded for a wide range of sizes. Then the operation was simply cut to size. Today in Marin (a Probike hotbed) maybe only 1 shop could rethread an Italian BB, he could do it in 30 minutes or so but it would take him 2 weeks to find where he put the tools

BOB FREITAS waiting until Tuesday for my fame to spread in MILL VALLEY ,CA USA