Just a few years ago I would probably have been bidding, but my 'level' has dropped significantly. If I found one at a yard sale or the like I would sure buy it, but I am no longer looking for any older bikes.
K On May 13, 3:45 pm, Murray Love <murray.l...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Thu, May 13, 2010 at 12:29 PM, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote: > > I bought my wife a 55 cm 1993 XO-1 from the Bridgestone Owner's Bunch sale > > in (IIRC) 1994 when B-stone was closing up shop in the US. It was an > > engagement/wedding present. She loved the bike and rode it lots. > > Unfortunately it met its demise at her office one day. It was locked up in > > front of the building when a lady apparently confused the brake and gas > > pedal while parking (note it was a Toyota, so who knows). The car surged > > over the curb directly at the front windows of a beauty parlor on the first > > floor, ran over the bike and the sign to which it was locked, was diverted > > by this the accelerated down the sidewalk parallel to the building until it > > struck a tree. You could see where she continued to spin the wheels until > > the car died. No one was hurt but several people- the driver, the > > beauticians and their customers were of course terrified. > > > The bike was destroyed. Every tube was bent except the head tube. The > > wheels were mangled. Almost nothing was salvageable. The driver's > > insurance company (State Farm) was a complete PITA to deal with (and lost > > our auto and homeowner's insurance business as a result). My wife was > > distraught, not only for the bike itself but also its meaning. > > > Here's why I tell about the tragedy. I replaced the bike with a Heron Road > > with full Superbe, building it up over months at a friend's shop and > > sneaking it into the house while we were out on Christmas Eve with the help > > of neighbors. She was shocked and delighted and, more than 10 years later, > > rides the Heron lots. But when I received the Heron frame from Rivendell > > and examined it closely and compared the two frames, I realized something > > about the XO-1. > > > It was crude. The lugs were not attractive. They were not filed or > > thinned. Tube mitering was not good. The brazing was sloppy and incomplete > > around the BB shell. The paint was not well done. The Heron was a *vastly* > > better made frame. My nostalgia for the XO-1 as a bike vanished (although > > my nostalgia for what it meant- it was basically our engagement ring- > > remains). > > > The XO-1 is an iconic bike. It's a unique moment in bike history with > > nothing really like it before or since from a major manufacturer. But there > > are better bikes to be had (and Rivendell has a lot of 'em). For the price > > these go for on eBay, I'd rather buy a better bike with that money. > > > So my level of nostalgia for the XO-1 as a bike is pretty low. I'd pay > > maybe $350 for one in near-mint condition. Obviously I won't be winning any > > auctions... > > Agreed 100%. I had a 1993 XO-3 (lugged, Japan-made, same geometry as the > XO-1 with slightly heavier triple-butted tubing). Actually, I had two, and > broke both in exactly the same way: BB shell broke at the base of the > seat-tube lug. > > I enjoyed the bike well enough for a while--it was my first attempt at an > allroad bike, and I built it up from the frame with my own selection of > components--but I've ridden much nicer production bikes since then, my 1984 > Sequoia foremost among them. The XO-3 was very stiff and seemed to transmit > even the smallest road vibrations directly into my body, even with 1.75" > tires at 75psi (this was long before my eye-opening experience with 650B > tires at 55psi). > > I also had a '92 RB-1, which I miss far more than the XO-3. Even with 28mm > tires at 95psi, it rode much smoother than the XO-3, and just had a springy > want-to-go-FAST feel entirely lacking in the other bike. > > So, like Tim, I have very little nostalgia for the XOs, except as a > praiseworthy attempt to do something completely different in production > bikes. > > If any Bridgestone could tempt me these days, it would be the '92-'94 RB-T, > which has very similar geometry to my Sequoia. And no, I wouldn't go for > the nostalgia build--it would be the normal mix of old and new stuff I have > lying around: TA or AT cranks, modern Shimano 9-speed drivetrain, Ergo > brifters, BMX pedals, etc. > > Murray > Victoria, BC > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group > athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. 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