On Wed, 2010-06-09 at 06:54 -0700, Jeff wrote: > Okay, since I offered up this tidbit, allow me to explicate. So, Bike > Snob is talking about retro grouches, their love of hand built wheels > with sensible spoke counts, distrust of recent technology, etc. He > then goes on to say (and I should have done a better job loosely > quoting him) that randonneuring and touring are retro-grouchery in > action (putting beliefs into practice.)
But that is a poor example. A preference for durable wheels that don't render the bike unrideable if a spoke breaks is an example of appropriate technology, not of a distrust of recent technology. A few years ago on the Covered Bridge Metric in Lancaster, PA I saw a guy with a broken spoke on a new carbon race bike with low spoke count boutique wheels sitting by the side of the road waiting for the sAG wagon weeping. Sobbing. His ride was all over. The wheel had warped so badly it wouldn't turn at all. And that's just a 62 mile ride. The shortest brevet is twice that distance, and people expect to finish even though a spoke might break. What is "retro" about using appropriate technology? Is it "retro" to use an electric steam iron rather than perhaps an iPad to iron a shirt? In that example, "retro" would be a cast iron one you heated on a wood burning stove. "Retro" lighting would be JOS lights with incandescent bulbs powered by a JOS sidewall generator -- all very highly prized stuff among the Classic Rendezvous set, beautiful and oh so highly collectible. But that's not what you're going to see on a brevet. SON dynamos and LED lights are about as modern technology as you're going to find anywhere. Even at that, sometimes the most "modern" isn't necessarily the most effective. I submit that if you're going to have to pull a handgun in earnest, one of your best choices is the 99 year old M1911A1 .45 cal Browning-designed Colt automatic. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
