Originally Posted by
BlankCrows
The Miyata in that link above this is a top of the line model which are much rarer -- hopefully worthy of a restoration at some point. The frame in question here is a much more common model, and, like I mentioned earlier, by no means a classic. Condition was good at best. If the fixie/SS hipsters want to mess with frames of that ilk and condition, then let them have at it, as restorations of those aren't cost effective. It's when they get their unrespectful hands on really nice frames and mess them up is when I become annoyed.
I am not a fixie/ss fan myself, but I am not about to tell someone else what they should do with their personal property. There are plenty of stewards of this model Raleigh. The stewardship argument doesn't hold water for this one. Save it for better frames.
Who's the arbiter of what's worthy of being preserved? Whose standard of "worthy" do we go by?
There was a time when my '77 Motobecane was just an outdated bike, and I considered making some minor but permanent changes to it. Now I'm glad I didn't do it, because enough time has passed that it's made the progression from "outdated" to "classic." Sure, there are lots of Grand Tourings around, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to turn this one into something else. And the next one. And the next one. But at some point, you start running out of them. They only made a limited number, and they're not making any more. For what it's worth, I will be making some changes to the Motobecanes, but they will be enhancements, rather than fundamentally and irreversibly altering them. And if I want, or somebody down the line wants, they will be able to easily put them back into stock condition. Will they ever be "really nice frames"" Nope. Are they "classics"? Absolutely.
And in fact, I've got another bike that I will be converting into a fixie. No need for me to grind parts off, because there's nothing to grind off. And the conversion itself isn't irreversible. In the end, I will have a vintage fixie conversion that still preserves the frameset that is at the heart of the bike...even if that frameset will never be particularly valuable (and I should note that the frameset is unusual enough to make it an interesting fixie conversion nonetheless.).
Finally, I think it is the "personal property" argument that doesn't hold water, when you're talking about something that is no longer being made. First, I think it smacks of elitism to suggest that only frames judged by some mystery arbiter as "better" are worthy of stewardship. Second, that '86 Raleigh may not be particularly valued today, but as they disappear from the face of the Earth, people
will begin wishing they had preserved Raleigh's from the "seafoam and lilac" era. Nobody, on the other hand, will give a toss about generic powdercoated mystery frames that are "alleged" to be made of Reynolds 531, or "alleged" to be made by a particular marque. Those will be a dime a dozen at the metal scrapyard.