But noooo....these priceless works of art are to be looked at, worshipped and spared the indignity of being ridden . Often I see bikes that were obviously one-off labors of many hours of concentrated , commited painstaking work-the kind of work that only a hobbyist could find time to do. This pretty much makes the working stiff framebuilder , the guy who makes bikes for people that ride them , a boring framebuilder by the standards of at least some of the viewing public at the show. O.K. , I agree. My bikes will not wow you visually and since you will not be able to ride them at the show, you won't be able to judge that favorably, either. I see the show evolving into something of an exhibit for the obsessed. Hey, the custom bicycle market depends on the obsessed so I heartily endorse their obsessions and am glad the show exists to give builders a venue to display the stuff these people long to see. I can't compete with someone who is willing to put more time into filing one lug than I put into building an entire frame. That said, I don't want to compete with these folks......I willingly concede defeat. What is my concellation prize for losing this battle ? I'll bet you already know that..........Friday, February 19, 2010
Have a nice time at the show for me.......
Yes, the NAHMBS is almost here and I for one am not going to be there. Don't think that I'm dissing the show.....it is the best of its kind in the known world, it's just that my energies are best spent in the shop rather than out at a show trying to wow people. I may sound like a whiner , mr. sour grapes and all that but the reason I'm not going is because other than seeing all the great work and getting to hang out with some of my favorite folks , it isn't a place where I'm going to write orders, wow people.....there's just too much other 'bling' that I can't compete with. I read on one of the forums about some guy deviding builders into two catagories. One catagory was "boring builders'. These are builders who don't put long stainless steel logos on their downtubes, don't build with ornate shiny bits and might only weld thier boring bikes and powdercoat them one measily color. Hey....that's me ! I'm officially a boring builder. People walk the isles of the show.....walk....hmm, down an aisle....... of bicycles-wait.....bicycles......what about riding the bicycles ? Does anyone do that at the shows ? The only riding I ever did at the show was to transport a bike to the photographer or to the lecture I was giving that day . Nobody rides at these shows. No trophies are awarded to any bike based on the way it rides , yet riding is what bicycles are for ! 
But noooo....these priceless works of art are to be looked at, worshipped and spared the indignity of being ridden . Often I see bikes that were obviously one-off labors of many hours of concentrated , commited painstaking work-the kind of work that only a hobbyist could find time to do. This pretty much makes the working stiff framebuilder , the guy who makes bikes for people that ride them , a boring framebuilder by the standards of at least some of the viewing public at the show. O.K. , I agree. My bikes will not wow you visually and since you will not be able to ride them at the show, you won't be able to judge that favorably, either. I see the show evolving into something of an exhibit for the obsessed. Hey, the custom bicycle market depends on the obsessed so I heartily endorse their obsessions and am glad the show exists to give builders a venue to display the stuff these people long to see. I can't compete with someone who is willing to put more time into filing one lug than I put into building an entire frame. That said, I don't want to compete with these folks......I willingly concede defeat. What is my concellation prize for losing this battle ? I'll bet you already know that..........
But noooo....these priceless works of art are to be looked at, worshipped and spared the indignity of being ridden . Often I see bikes that were obviously one-off labors of many hours of concentrated , commited painstaking work-the kind of work that only a hobbyist could find time to do. This pretty much makes the working stiff framebuilder , the guy who makes bikes for people that ride them , a boring framebuilder by the standards of at least some of the viewing public at the show. O.K. , I agree. My bikes will not wow you visually and since you will not be able to ride them at the show, you won't be able to judge that favorably, either. I see the show evolving into something of an exhibit for the obsessed. Hey, the custom bicycle market depends on the obsessed so I heartily endorse their obsessions and am glad the show exists to give builders a venue to display the stuff these people long to see. I can't compete with someone who is willing to put more time into filing one lug than I put into building an entire frame. That said, I don't want to compete with these folks......I willingly concede defeat. What is my concellation prize for losing this battle ? I'll bet you already know that..........
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I understand where you're coming from, but I'd like to think the audience can get their head around this issue. This is the place for experienced builders, and I wish you were there. It would be nice to see some fast race bikes in something other than carbon. I think tig'd steel and alum. are worth looking at.
ReplyDeleteCraig
I gotta be honest.....If I were there I'd be looking for the cool lugs....what can I say ? It' looking, not riding so I'd be all into the visual. Stuff like Bayliss, Gordon , Weigle....amazing work. I'm sure they are great riding bikes, too.
ReplyDeleteI'll take--and ride the shit out of--a Rock Lobster, Coconino, Curtlo, Soulcraft and Ted Wojcik anyday over some overwrought, masturbatory piece of bicycle sculpture.
ReplyDeleteAntoine
Don't forget Sycip, Hunter , I.F., Steelman < Kelley ......
ReplyDeleteBut wait....there's more ! De Salvo, Kish , Bruce Gordon Rock'n Road....Inglis....Caletti...
ReplyDeleteThere's the wife and there's a trophy wife. A trophy wife has big boobs, legs all the way up to here, awesome hair and amazing bone structure, and is outa there as soon as something goes wrong. The wife is the mother of your children, stands by you in thick and thin, and can discuss more than the contents of fashion magazines. I'd rather have the latter in a woman and in a bike.
ReplyDeleteDamn, Paul every one of your posts are like you've looked into my inner ignored thoughts. I'm happy to be a boring builder.
ReplyDeleteAll the builders mentioned, and then some (Steve Potts!) build frames that I'd be psyched to ride.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Antoine
" My bikes will not wow you "
ReplyDeleteHmm, I don't know about that. I remember pulling a frame off the wall in Garro's shop a couple years ago, a Lobster with many miles (and countries) on it. "The only one I couldn't break", he said.
I was wowed.
The word I would have used is "didn't" rather than couldn't. I firmly believe that if Steve haden't gotten into single speeding and kept riding that old yellow frame he very well could have broken it !
ReplyDeleteDamn it's refreshing to hear an honest and grounded frame builder. (I'm not saying there aren't more of you out there. I know at least a few.) But post after post, these are the thoughts that keep dragging me deeper into this mess of an industry and profession.
ReplyDeleteI just hope after 20+ years of doing this, I end up having good conversations with my friends and inspiring the next generation, as opposed to professing myself as having mystical powers of "Getting It" and discouraging any train of thought aside from my own.
Keep up the great work that does still inspire some of us folks.