Roberts track

Don't worry I'm not!

After all, this became an exercise in following the purist's rule book a while ago, and like I said, if doing that saves me £150, then I'm happy leaving it.

But I am still interested in egging this debate on a bit further, just for hell of it...

Surely the customer gets to choose the colour anyway?
So that doesn't teach us much about the marque other than that they're prepared to try whatever the customer wants paint-wise, which we knew anyway. It also puts a dampener on the idea that the frame painter is an artist. I mean, the paint on this isn't exactly heading for the dip your wick thread, is it? I'd understand the purist mentality over a master olympic, or something, where the painters have designed and executed something fairly idiosyncratic and complicated, and which says plenty about their marque, but when it's a bespoke frame with a single colour chosen by a random customer, (who may as well have chosen something shit), I personally wouldn't worry about it too much.

And who are the collectors? People on here are getting re-sprays all the time, and making some beautiful bikes in the process. I'd hardly count myself as a collector, but try to persuade someone who catches the tube every day and thinks that cycling around London is for mad people, that four bikes is not a collection. Especially when one of them is a £900 track bike dripping with redundant technology and out of use 99% of the time.

Pretty sure this was a respray, and I think it's amazing:

An interesting question. I am also interested in old cars, and the collector-car industry is realizing that anyone with enough cash can restore something to as-new, but there is a finite pool of `survivor' unrestored examples. As the New York Times put it:

`AMONG the rows of gleaming classics at collector car exhibitions like the Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance, a few clusters of vehicles seem decidedly out of place. These cars are not white-glove spotless, and they lack the perfect paint, flawless upholstery and brilliant chrome seen on almost every other vehicle awaiting the judges’ inspection.
Entries in so-called preservation classes, these cars are shown with a patina that tells a story of decades of service, their faded finishes, worn seats, stone chips and rust specks verifying their biographies. Valued for their originality and historical significance, not for the quality of a restoration, they present the wizened, character-laden faces of survivors rather than the unlined Botoxed perfection of aging starlets with plastic surgeons on speed dial.
Unrestored cars may not be the headline-making winners of best-in-show awards, but preservation classes are increasingly a feature of concours events, and collectors are recognizing their special status by driving up their prices.'
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/automobiles/collectibles/preserving-classics-wrinkles-and-all.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

tl;dr; Very nice Roberts btw....

from my point of view a restored/resprayed classic frame is never be the same and i would not spent that mutch money for those kind of frames. if i want something new, then i buy new stuff, if i want something classic, then i buy original old stuff.

however, restored/resprayed classic frames looking hot, but not worth the amount of money. a good example are hhrundels bikes.

fetishism

But that's you and your need for perfection. Understandable because that's what people expect from your work. But it's not an artwork it's a bike. Collectors of anything look for originality first, beauty second. Have you stopped seeing it as a bike?

I like the Roberts scheme for its simplicity.The best paint jobs are simple. You may not think so but it's quite iconic. Yours is a lovely example of that. 100 times nicer than a Colnago Decor Mr Motivator horror show.

I meant the fetishism of history, rather than the fetishism of newness.

I'm interested in the car show example... are there equivalent shows in the bike world?
I remember seeing this:

Where do these things happen? I'd like to go.

(...and yes, I stopped seeing this as 100% bike ages ago! There's at least 50% of just wanting to own a beautiful bike that serves no useful purpose other than to please me! God only knows why this idea has managed to assume the precedence that it has in my mind).

I meant the fetishism of history

I know but that's not it. It comes down to the fact that bikes with original paint are worth more. From the ones owned by famous names to one owned by Joe Bloggs the mentality trickles down.

I'm not saying it's the be all and end all but that if you have aspects of the history intact you don't erase them. Is it like colour photocopying the Dead Sea Scrolls and throwing the originals in the bin? After all they're still readable right? A bit extreme for an example but...

I'm interested in the car show example... are there equivalent shows in the bike world?

I have read on here about the Stalen Ros bike show in the Netherlands which sounds like one, though I have never been there. Sounds great though, there is a thread for it.
http://www.lfgss.com/thread35584.html

I suspect L'eroica is a rolling vintage bike show too, but haven't done that either! :(

I have the Dead Sea Scrolls, they were in a wheelie bin in Scunthorpe.

That Roberts of yours is exactly the bike that we all wished we had when it was new, at that time imports were unusual and Roberts was an aspirational brand.

Please ride it, it is a bike not a work of art, that is what it is for (but be careful).

Never, ever fit Cinelli M71s to anything, even your worst enemy's bike, I used them and have the scars to prove it......

If it's not to be ridden then M71s are perfect

+1

except my new toe straps are more perfect.

True.

The genius of the M71 design was twofold: firstly the little plastic lever would release your foot in a crash immediately AFTER you hit the deck; secondly, said lever would self-destruct on impact meaning you needed a new pair of........ M71s.

I suspect any M71s available now have never been ridden (see above!).

^^Clean toestraps are an abomination.

...I like em.
but I think we've probably established that by now ; )

Just been checking out that Stalen Ros event. Looks awesome, thanks for the link.

I suspect any M71s available now have never been ridden

cough
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160953677395?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

i wouldn't normally submarine your theory for kicks but these are mine
(not advertising)

Sadist. I hope you've enclosed a health warning...

Here I am again after another couple of months or so, bearing the terribly exciting news that I have bought some toe clips and a proper campag cog (thanks to Primitive Robot for the accidental reduction!). The clips are pretty beaten up, but I figure that they're going to get scratched as soon as I start using them anyway, so no point getting fancy nice ones.

Photos as soon as I figure out how to make Photobucket stop being just a blank screen... wtf?

+1 Photobucket tis wank

Are you getting the beta.photobucket blank screen of fuck-all as well?
I've noticed that others can at least access their page, but not link to the forum...

anyway, pictures the easy way for the meantime...

2 Attachments

Coming soon: a finished bike!

Finally found some Pista pedals and will be picking them up from The Vintage Bike Cave on Monday... still need to order some fixings from campy oldy, then maybe have a nose around for better condition dust caps, and I'll be done. Looks like I could be finishing two long term projects in the same week.

Cool week.

titaniyum?

No, steel unfortunately

Picked up the pedals from VBC this afternoon.
I'm still missing the nuts n bolts to attach the toe clips, and at some point I'd like to get hold of some NOS dust caps to finish them off...
In the meantime, I'm having a lot of trouble getting these double-thickness Cinelli straps through the tiny slots in the pedals.
I guess it's easier if you have regular thickness straps.

Is there a trick I'm missing?