I also feel that the friction issue must have mattered to some folks. Maybe not everyone but at least a few. I've seen a couple of ads where it is mentioned as a selling point (maybe it was just the manufacturers who cared about it?). Here's an ad for something I bought last week:
I'll get to the new pictures soon. I'm spending too much time riding it to shoot pictures.
Great answer!!
How's your project coming along?
Sloooooooooooowly. Had a baby earlier this year and those things are a real time-suck, apparently
Got a day in the shed a couple of weeks ago and spent a couple of hours straightening and cleaning my Torpado frame that the Paris-Roubaix is going to go on. Then I moved on to the fork, where I discovered a crack through the fork crown. Doh! Back to the drawing board on that one.
I was thinking of buying an Italian frame for the Margherita but I've now decided to just fit it to an Aussie frame I already own and just ride the damn thing. I've got all the parts, just need to make the bracket and assemble it. Doesn't seem like a big job but getting started is proving difficult. Hoping I'll get some time in the shed soon.