Old 01-07-13, 09:08 AM
  #15  
Giacomo 1 
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Bikes: Colnago Super, Basso Gap, Pogliaghi, Fabio Barecci, Torelli Pista, Miyata 1400A

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It's funny how times and impressions change.

When the Japanese broke into the American consumer market with everything from watches, to cars to guitars and bikes, they were all pretty much scoffed at as low-end, much like Chinese goods are now. And in those days, that perception was pretty much right on. But these days, a lot of those Japanese products we laughed at are now looked at with some desirability, and the prices for that stuff reflects that new found respect.

But in the 70's, it had to be an Italian bike to get any street cred. Riding an Italian said you were a serious rider who had money and you knew good bikes. All of us had that one friend that had that one Italian road bike that made us drool with envy. It spoke of hand-built quality and sleek, fast, and innovative designs. Japanese bikes were like Toyota's, decent for transportation, but it was just bland, mass produced white bread, vanilla and un-exciting. Nobody gave you a second look on one and nobody drooled when they saw your new Japanese bike.

So again, I think the two different philosophies made for two very different bikes that can be felt and is real.
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