Has the "golden age" of custom steel bikes passed?
08-12-20, 02:00 PM
#126
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08-13-20, 01:41 PM
#127
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I just picked up a Schwinn Passage and swapped over some better components and wheels !! paid 120 cash. 
. Im happy , that along with some other scores I made off craiglist . One of which is an almost unused Paramount PDG 40 from the guy that worked at a local Schwinn shop(120 cash),, which is probably my favorite for these roads around here.
Yeah good deal is relative
custom steel
. Im happy , that along with some other scores I made off craiglist . One of which is an almost unused Paramount PDG 40 from the guy that worked at a local Schwinn shop(120 cash),, which is probably my favorite for these roads around here.Yeah good deal is relative
custom steel
Last edited by rossiny; 08-14-20 at 03:21 PM.
08-13-20, 02:09 PM
#128
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"Has the "golden age" of custom steel bikes passed?"
Yep, it ended last week -- you just missed it.
Yep, it ended last week -- you just missed it.
Likes For tomato coupe:
08-14-20, 01:35 PM
#129
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And the original question never implied that there are not sufficient builders making custom steel. To me, though, many of the builders who are no longer making frames had a … cachet? … that most of the current builders don't. Could I, an enthusiast who rides a few thousand miles a year and who has never raced, tell the difference in a blindfold test between a Sachs and a ... (grabbing a name from someone's post) Landshark? Not a chance. Would I gain any benefit from choosing to spend extra (time and/or money) on a Spectrum vs. a Seven? Maybe not. But that’s not the question.
Most of this is simply nostalgia, I suppose, for a day when lifewas seemed simpler, bikes looked like bikes (and not rocket ships or praying mantids - NTTIAWWT, many do look pretty cool) and were made of steel. But I wonder if that is all it is?
Most of this is simply nostalgia, I suppose, for a day when life
As for "bikes looking like bikes", there were lots of crazy bikes made in the era of steel (there are threads about them here) and many more would have been made if the steel builders had had the freedom provided by carbon fiber.
08-15-20, 04:30 PM
#131
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08-16-20, 01:35 PM
#132
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be careful. "Made in Italy " legally means only that a certain percentage of the finished value was done in Italy. The basic frame may have been made elsewhere. With my Cicli Barco, I was sent photos of the frame making in various stages of progress by Gianluca Barco. In the process, we had about 120 emails back and forth about every detail of the process from brake mounting to paint scheme and colors. That is the difference between a custom steel frame and a mass production CF. It cost $3,600 including shipping, but I had a lot of extras. The basic XCr stainless steel frame with steel curved fork is about $2,800. Every one is custom, so there will probably never be another one like yours.
08-16-20, 05:44 PM
#133
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Julie Ann Pedalino builds some great frames -- literally works of art on wheels.
