Originally Posted by
USAZorro
You mean like the Major Taylor bike that Eddy Merckx used as his winter trainer when he was a young teen?
I do realize that I "cheapened" the meaning a bit with my explanation, but as this thread shows, arriving at a consensus definition is like herding cats across seven dimensions. Frankly, if someone says they have possession of a grail bike, I'll accept it. If they say they have two, I'll reluctantly nod. If they say they've had three or more, I'll raise my eyebrow and presume they like to define things differently from the dictionary.
I have 30 grail bikes!!!
You know, I was sorta thinking about this more this afternoon. None of it matters too much
But, I suppose the schools of thought emerging might make the distinction between what one might consider 'a' grail, as opposed to one considering 'the' grail. Sort of the idea that if it's 'a grail', it implies more than one, which means it's not a grail. But 'the' grail doesn't really work either, since there is no consensus. Is it Confente? Tesch? Singer? A Ross? Nobody will ever agree, so I guess the definition gets punted back into the 'individual interpretation' realm. I think 'grail' is a decently working term that most here understand, regardless of how accurate the application is. These bikes are all fun to think about. I'm sure they'd be even more fun to ride!