....Which underscores just how well-put-together the Tucker/Atlantis geometry is.

If the worst you can say about a bike is that it rides like a Trucker, that's not even damning by faint praise. That's just acknowledging that what works for the masses-- works, period.

I had the opportunity to go over a Gianni Motta Signatuure edition from like '94. Good bike. Nice details, good, even filing on the lugs; nice even shorelines, etc., etc. etc.

So is it the chicken or the egg? Does the very best work from the classic Europeans set the bar, or have the Americans raised it in trying to emulate it? At some point, it becomes moot; a shoreline can only be filed so well and a paint detail only brushed in so well.

I think the point is the same for that of the very best cooking: Attempt perfection when it is attainable. Do the very best job you can, if for no other reason than because you can. Do more; try harder; start now.

I can respect that.