on 4/7/09 3:22 PM, cm at chrispmur...@hotmail.com wrote: > Call me crazy... but isn¹t it possible that sometimes a bike is worth > putting on a pedestal, that it isn't "doomed" because of it? This is > probably one of the last, if not the last, new XO-1's. Sure it was > made to be ridden, but it wasn't ridden. It seems like it is now more > a part of bicycling history, than just a bicycle. I would love to go > to a museum someday and see an un-ridden XO-1. There are thousands of > bikes in musuems around the world and I think we are all the better > for it. I like museums of all sorts and to say something is doomed for > being in a museum seems to diminish the value of what museums do. I am > suprised there isn't discussion of buying it specifically to donate to > a musuem. I will donate $25 if someone seriously wants to get this > started. > > Don't get me wrong, bikes are made to be ridden. There is nothing > worse than a new bike that doesn¹t get ridden because it is too cold, > too wet, too rocky, etc. But maybe this is different... > > +1 for this ending up in a museum. (Smithsonian would be so cool!)
I respectfully disagree. Whatever else the XO1 was, it wasn't perfected. (And I'm not saying something needs to be _perfected_ to be in a museum.) If you have RR#32, there's a good article on page 10 where he talks about his favorite designs from that era. It's a good article worth a quick reread. I've scanned them and they can be found here - http://cyclofiend.com/rbw/#latest Certainly, the XO design was a good first step towards what became the useful bikes Grant is designing today. He specifically states that it was the inspiration for the A/R and the Atlantis. However much influence he had in the Bridgestone days, it wasn't his company. I would say the All Rounder would get my vote before the XO. Certainly, the XO has been raised to "mythical" status, but it strikes me as more transitional than distinctive. And I must confess a strong personal bias for events like the Cirque du Cyclism where the bikes get ridden and enjoyed as working examples, in addition to a "Councourse" showing. - Jim BTW - As for existing museums, First Flight has separated their museum from the bike shop. It can be found at http://www.mombat.org There's also the Bisbee Bicycle Brothel, which just got a nice writeup in BQ - http://www.bisbeebicyclebrothel.com/ Just to see if we can arc this thread back to Rivendell, the third photo on the main page of Bisbee has a Country Bag mounted stylishly on the front and center bicycle. -- Jim Edgar cyclofi...@earthlink.net Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries - http://www.cyclofiend.com Current Classics - Cross Bikes Singlespeed - Working Bikes Send In Your Photos! - Here's how: http://www.cyclofiend.com/guidelines "There were messengers who named their bikes, but Chevette never would have done that, and somehow because she did think about it like it was something alive." William Gibson - "Virtual Light" --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
