25/11/2025
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according to my opinion, fine bicycle making isn’t about steel versus any of the nonferrous alternatives. or tube diameter or shape. it’s certainly not about joining parts with adhesives versus using a handheld torch or a welding machine.
i came to this conclusion in the middle ‘70s after overdosing on the crap served up by marketing teams which was consumed, rearranged, and used to explain a bicycle’s behavior in many of the inane - er, magazine road tests.
we all have our belief systems. this is mine. in order of importance it’s about design, followed by (quality of) construction (or assembly,) with materials being in maybe the sixth spot after things like blogging and stainless steel head badges.
what one does with his experiences at the bench and in the field, while swinging tools and examining and continually improving the sequences and expanding his intuitive skills - these are what make a bicycle work and feel a certain way.
All This By Hand
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