I agree with Jim's comments. My daily rider is lugged early 80's True True
Temper frame with a modern drive 9 speed drive train (with the exception of
Silver dt shifters) and brakes. I love it dearly, at least in part because
I resurrected the frame from the waste bin, but also because my old Trek
does a lot of things well. However, when I participate in my neighborhood
fast group ride (guys on Moots titanium, Pinarello carbon, etc., sporting
high-dollar wheelsets), I struggle mightily to keep up. My fitness is equal
to or greater than most of my fellow riders, but when I'm peddling a bike 7
to 10 lbs heavier than my companions, with perfectly good, but slower
wheels and tires, I'm gonna get dropped at some point on the ride. I liken
it to showing up to an SCCA event comprised of Lotus Elises in a '65
Mustang. So, because I like to go fast, and hang with my friends, I have a
bike that does that too. And it is thoroughly modern in nearly every way.
Scott Calhoun
Tucson, Arizona
On Monday, August 6, 2012 11:00:33 AM UTC-7, Jim Cloud wrote:
>
> I'm in agreement with Jim Thill and Robert Zeidler on this. There's
> been an interesting thread going on the Classics Rendezvous Google
> Group ("Doing things the old fashioned way... -
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/classic-rendezvous-lightweight-vintage-bicycles/browse_thread/thread/a0388964638f7ad3/4571c40974ec8067)
>
>
> with some very active participation by some who have been builders and
> designers of bikes since the 1970's (Jim Merz, Richard Sachs). I
> would characterize those posts as bicycle design progress did not
> "freeze" either with the classic Campy NR/SR racing bike era or the
> French Constructeur touring bike.
>
> I find some of the various modern Constructeur bikes, built with
> French components from the 1960-1970's (e.g. Mafac brakes, Simplex
> derailleurs, T.A. or Rene Herse modern manufacture cranks), to be a
> little strange. Richard Sachs once characterized the modern
> infatuation with the French Constructeur era bike, as the end-point of
> touring bike design, as being in the vein of Civil War enactors. He
> also made the point that most of the riders in the top finishing group
> of classic brevets, such as the P-B-P are not riding bikes that evoke
> the Rene Herse or Alex Singer randonneur bikes of the past - they're
> riding modern carbon fiber frame bikes. I think this was a valid
> observation.
>
> Jim Cloud
> Tucson, AZ
>
> On Aug 6, 8:51 am, robert zeidler <zeidler.rob...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Well said Jim.
> >
> > I think BQ is an excellent publication, particularly the accounts of
> > rides/events.
> >
> > I enjoy the product reviews-sometimes. But the rest? Sometimes I don't
> know.
> >
> > He seems to have gotten away from the "everything not made by the
> > classic French builders-which by the way you probably never get your
> > hands on-is somehow/way inferior" thing, but the various tests of tire
> > rolling resistance, etc., are akin to a high school science project
> > while others have the appearance of being self-serving whether they
> > are or not.
> >
> > For example, there was a recent custom build for a 6'4" rider. He was
> > put on a 59cm w/ 171mm cranks? Sorry, I'm not buying it.
> >
> > Or the endless opinion that fatter tires are every bit as fast as
> > skinny tires. No way. More comfortable? Absolutely. Better on dirt?
> > For sure. Not faster. If that were the case, does anyone believe
> > that the entire bicycle, and tire industry would not jump at the task
> > to supply the entire racing/fast recreational community with new
> > frames and rubber? Come on all you anti-corporate people out there,
> > of course they would!
> >
> > Lastly, a bike with a big square box-shaped bag is more aero than a
> > non-bag equipped bike? Maybe if Cadel evans had installed one in the
> > Tour, he would've narrowed the gap in that crucial time trial.
> >
> > Again, a great publication that I look fwd to each and every month.
> >
> > RGZ
> >
> > On Mon, Aug 6, 2012 at 10:41 AM, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > <thill....@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > I commend Jan for following his passion and making a very welcome
> business out of it. I'd urge every interested person to read his blog and
> his paper publication and carefully consider what he and his contributors
> have written.
> >
> > > But after that, take what has been written with a grain of salt. I
> promise that every one of Jan's opinions is perfectly true - for Jan, for
> today. Some others may share aspects of Jan's body type, riding style,
> personality, or general preferences, and some chords may ring true. But for
> others, there's no need to wear Jan's clothes if they don't fit.
> >
> > > I'm thinking of commuters and recreational riders who ride 6000+ miles
> per year on, say, a tire that Jan didn't review favorably or on a bike that
> doesn't have Jan's optimal steering geometry (i.e. most bikes). I'm
> thinking of people who ride relatively slowly for an hour or two most days
> taking pictures, but would never think PBP, or even a 200k, sounds like a
> good time.
> >
> > > Jan is a sort of like a famous wine connoisseur. If he says Wine X is
> good but Wine Y is swill, and you try both and find your preferences are
> the exact opposite, then his opinion is worthless to you, and you shouldn't
> lose sleep worrying that you're not tasting your wines correctly.
> >
> > > --
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