Originally Posted by
Atlas Shrugged
....
The real skill became monetizing custom or batch frame building through product differentiation with clever marketing and production efficiencies. For example, I do not believe an effectively mass-produced Masi Gran Criterium is in any way superior or substantively different to its hundreds of competitors at the time.
That was an interesting time in regards to marketing a top end bike. Everyone had been using the same Campy parts for a number of years, and it was difficult to really make your product stand out from the rest. Perhaps use a nicer lug, or better looking paint, or eventually start pantographing the parts?
I suppose the best marketing was to have people winning races on your bikes.
Bike tech did eventually start evolving more quickly... Campy SL and SR came out, Shimano started developing some of their ideas, such as Uniglide and cassettes and indexed shifting, Reynold produced the heat treated 753 tubing, etc. Aluminum and titanium frames started to become reliable and well behaved and properly competitive.
hmmm... was that when the "romance" of steel frames began to be marketed in earnest?
Steve in Peoria
(I'm still happy just to have a really good looking paint job)