Originally Posted by
Salamandrine
I'm also amazed by bikes from this era. Sure there's some rough bits, but it doesn't really detract from them, perhaps it even adds something. It's just a bike after all. It shows a human made it. Even though 3alarmer was probably joking when he called it "artisanal", it kind of is. Raleighs and other bikes from the early and mid 70s had an overall design sense that was IMHO superior to the better finished but uglier bikes that came along in the 80s and later.
You just said what I've been afraid to say and didn't know how to say it. Thank you. I've been groping for those words for years.
I love and respect automated perfection of manufacturing. I also love refined artisanal work. The old Raleighs and Peugeots (other than the professional racing models) were neither, but they really are lovable in their own way. I'm more in love with my new work-in-progress International than any other bike, for the time being, anyway.