Originally Posted by
kunsunoke
No, I think the Italians and other nationals were building bikes long before the 1970s. What is undeniable is that the builders eventually coalesced around Italian ideas about aesthetics and function. They did that in the USA, England, Japan, the low countries and even France.
Oscar Wastyn?
The Italians got good at the bike business because they focused on the details that mattered - handling, ride quality (dictated by geometry and tubing metallurgy), mass reduction, aesthetics and fitment. There were other builders but the Italians consistently got it right. If you want to refer to that as "je ne sais quoi" nobody will stop you, though. My opinion is that this stuff is pretty tangible.
Italian ideas? Seriously, wtf? What ideas did the Italians invent? Who was the first Italian to do it? What is the lineage of that idea? Can you trace that idea directly to everyone after the Italian did it?
btw, all of the builders I listed above got and executed exactly the details you consider that matter with zero, zip, nada, zilch influence from any Italian builder. Including Oscar Wastyn. Kind of interesting you know so little about the history of bike building yet attribute everything to Italians.
And tubing metallurgy? You can divine the difference between Reynolds/Falck/Columbus/etc? I am willing to take that bet to any amount you wish.