We live in a small bubble. Don't get me wrong, I like the bubble. It's populated with mostly good folks, and for some reason I don't know, the obscure minutia fascinates me. It is a small small world.

Below is one of the most coveted bits in this bubble, a Cinelli Milano headset washer, I think NOS, is in my temporary possession. I know there are "plenty" of folks who would pay a hefty sum for it. For the last 6 weeks it has been sitting on my desk, in the wide open, unlocked and entirely unnoticed. Plenty of people come through my office everyday, "bike" people too. I'll play with it in front of them, spin it, roll it, tap it on the desk. No matter, not a single inquiry.

But this is not unexpected, just nice to come here and hang out a bit.

And your point is?

This made me think of this story. What happens when a world famous violinist plays a Stadivarius at a Washington, D.C. metro stop?

I completely understand and pay close attention to detail also, when building my bikes, when and if I can. With that in mind, I presently have two embossed head set to install - one on my Legnano...


and one on my Torpado...


Another small item that really blows my kilt up is a head badge. I have a Freddie Grubb, a Torpado and a Falcon offering, another attractive badge. Perhaps needless to say, my favorite head badge of all is attached to my Legnano Grand Premio...


I am resisting the urge to install a Torpado head badge on my entry level Torpado since it would not be original to the bike. Were I to install it, I would use double sided tape rather the drill two holes in the head tube...


That said, the one other small item on the Torpado are the handlebar end caps which not attention grabbers but original to the bike and I much appreciate having them...



These little items would do little to impress the average person. Neither would they seem to increase the value of any of my bikes should I offer them on Ebay or the like. But I don't really care. They impress me. So, yes, I completely understand.

resize it as needed and wear it as a ring.

I kinda think this is C&V in a nutshell, we are the few and crazy who take time to stop and appreciate, even when we don't get super detail crazy

"God is in the details" - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

It looks to be...

Little C&V gems are nice to fondle.

Wait, did I say that out loud? - Peirce Hawkthorne

I used to keep a Rivendell fork crown on my desk at work. It was just a nice curiosity, and it was also a good example of what can be done with investment casting.
The desk had a lot of other odds and ends on it too... plus the general disorder of the stuff that I was working on.

The fact that I usually walked into and out of the building in my bike gear got a lot more attention that the weird stuff on my desk.

or maybe it was the Geekman action figure in its original package, stuck to the cube wall?

Steve in Peoria

While taking these pictures a few years ago, the mid-teen girl across the alley came out with the garbage and proclaimed "That's a really nice bike!" She's never commented once about any of my others.

^^^ Couldn't have been Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout .

It’s only NOS until you spin it, roll it, and tap it on a desk.

WOW... Never seen one...

It’s a pretty piece of hardware. Didn’t know they were coveted but now I want one.

She has probably never been more correct before.

Yeah, heard that she would not take the garbage out…..

Channeling our inner Shel Silverstein today😉

Bill

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...there is just something about those bits from the carousel folk...


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Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. C&V is a thing that we, this small group online, love. We all even define it differently, appreciate it differently, and approach it differently. Still, I enjoy the rehabs iab has built, the edits of gugie and the saves that randyjawa has done. There's many, many others I am leaving out. I don't do it the same, but I think what you all do and have done is quite lovely. Who cares if others don't appreciate it, I enjoy this group well enough and the people as is.

Two emotions: one completely within my own head - the joy of holding such an object and wondering about the people that were involved in its creation and use over the years (this is true for all of the "vintage" hobbies I have) - I consider this "curiosity about history" and I love the feeling of being, even fleetingly or in a trivial way, part of that history. Second emotion is one that occurs on those rare occasions where someone else, completely unexpectedly, recognizes something interesting or significant about one of these objects. Then the emotion is one of shared knowledge; kinda being members of a secret club. This forum is an easy place to find such connections, but its even better when it occurs naturally. And the connection often leads to extremely interesting discussions!

I'm stopped at a red light some time ago on my Colnago Super on a gorgeous summer day. I can feel somebody staring at me, so I look to my left and this younger guy is hanging out of the passenger window of a car. He goes, "I don't know why, but I really like that bike."

Most people don't notice, but that guy did. He didn't know why, but I'm pretty sure I did.

Seen but not noticed
Cloaked to the unenlightened
Cinelli Spacer