On Oct 30, 2009, at 6:48 AM, John Hurley wrote:
> Jan wrote about the Merckx "quizzler" bike photo:
>
> "...raising the saddle exposed some truly ugly scratch marks." (on the
> seat post).
>
> It is interesting to me that this professional-grade bike had a flaw
> that would not be tolerated today. Even kid's bikes have seat posts
> that fit like pistons these days. My 1977 PX-10LE was also murder on
> seat posts, and up until a few years ago I just thought having
> scratched
> seat posts was part of the natural order of the universe. Things are
> much better since I got busy and cleaned up inside the seat lug.
>
> This raises some points. Apparently, this particular aspect of bicycle
> construction and finish wasn't seen as a priority back then, at least
> by
> some builders and mechanics. Was this more characteristic of racing
> vs.
> touring frames? or frames of certain brands or countries? I would
> suspect it all came down to the builder, regardless of the frame's
> purpose or country of origin. Or perhaps the builder assumed this sort
> of detail should be left to the mechanic who assembled the bicycle.
> Where or by whom were the Eddy Merckx frames built?
>
> John Hurley
> just curious in
> Austin, Texas, USA
>
A professional's racing bicycle is a tool, not an object of perfection. These things are treated well as anybody who has ever watched a team mechanic after a race, especially a stage race. But they are not babied. A scratch on a seat post isn't a big deal. A scratch on a bearing is. My tools are in good shape but my saw gets dirty I clean it off and keep it lubricated and the blade sharp but it isn't out of the box clean. It's a tool. That's why I like an as raced machine as opposed to a restored machine. Phil Brown Off the soapbox now in Oakland, Calif,