Thanks all! Mark, the prices we're paying are generally pretty low, so I kept the Japanese tubing in the list. My experience with it is it has an excellent ride, and about here, the most likely place we'll see Ishiwata is the lower-end early Treks, which were not really lower-end frames. And Bridgestones, which are great bikes also. If someone comes to me looking for a good older road bike, I don't hesitate to put them on a Japanese bike, especially the ones from the 80s.

I didn't put any bicycle brands on the list. For example, a Rene Herse is likely to have 531 and a decent leather saddle. Thus, it's already on the list in an oblique way. Since the cheat sheet had to be short (to fit in a wallet) a lot got left out-- obviously, a picture guide would have been great, but too large. Although this fellow is very smart, he's not going to know the difference between various Simplex mechs without some study, where I'd be all over a set of Super LJs like stink on... . But that's okay, he's sharp and a good resource.

Given what we pay, any Campy is likely a bargin; I've found stuff like Nuovo Tipo and even (gulp) Gran Turismo will sell just off the Campy mystique, should I sell it. The 600 Arabesque is my fave Shimano group (to heck with resale value), so it stays, too. But the profit motivation is secondary at best here. Some of the bikes I buy are simply fixed up and given away or sold at the cost I found them at, some are resales, some go into my stable. It's not a business, it's a hobby.

This gentleman does know I pay a bit more for bigger frames. I know this flies in the face of all common sense, but it's the size I ride. I'll pay more for a bike for me. Why, I paid the equivalent of two shiny new Roadmaster Mt Furys for a Austro Daimler recently .