merziac

See how we turned this around?

We just have to take a minute to get out of our own way.

IMO, not possible to have a Brooks that doesn't look right, big rivets, small, hammered or not, copper, chrome, all good for me, love every single one, just not the new painted black rail ones quite as much.

No C+V bike is complete or correct for me without one, just the way it is.

merziac

And while we're at it, PSA at BTD, Brooks Swift for $147, pretty good deal now days.

bark_eater 

I wont question that this is hands to God gospel, but I got to say, that at this point my suspension of disbelief dropped off.....

seypat

Have hammered shortys been discussed yet? What's the concensus on those?

xiaoman1 

This may have already been mentioned, dimpling provides a number of advantages.....One, being strength the other is aesthetic......hiding small bumps and bruises that occur in production and daily use.

dimpled....hide a dent

dimpled 2
Just as many of us that want to "roll" out (hide) a dented tube because our eyes are drawn to the small imperfection a dimpled surface will camouflage a damage area.
I suspect bicycle fenders were prone tho the inadvertent clash with a rock.
JM2C's, Ben

rjhammett

I would be tempted to take a ball peen hammer to a set of fenders to see how DIY hammered fenders would turn out. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I don't own a bike that would accept fenders.

bark_eater 

I have a couple cool old broken dimpled fender scraps saved for.....

Chuck M 

Don't get me wrong, I love my Takaras. And both of them I have more money in than I could likely ever sell them for but who sells bikes anyway? They are indeed well built bikes, bullet proof as all get out. I have two, a 1980 950 Deluxe 12 and a 1981 970 Grand Touring. In high school, I had a 1981 960 Deluxe Touring. I'm still looking for a 960 and I would love to find a nice Takara Competition or Takara Professional. I've came across a couple of 960s but not in the condition I want to mess with. My Grand Touring would look good with fenders and they certainly would be useful, but I just haven't found what I want.

And in the spirit of gratuitous pictures, here is my 970, pardon the dirty skin wall tires, this is a great rain bike so the tires are a bear to keep clean.

obrentharris 

Hammered fenders are a bit too arts and crafts for me, But I love the Citroen vans, the product, no doubt, of a love affair between the Tin Woodman and a French Bulldog. But I'll probably never own one: They've gone way up in price as of late.

I blame Rapha.


But let us not forget the lowly Citroen 2cv forgonnet with it's corrugated bed. I keep my eyes open for one of these. They've also leaped out of the "budget" category but still at prices I can stomach for a project car.

Brent

Murray Missile 

Very nice.

Andy_K 

That looks an awful lot like the Takara I restored for the Clunker Challenge last year.



This one didn't originally have the downtube stripes, but I added them, taking inspiration from pictures I found online. It was a nice bike.

majmt 

Another advantage of the dimpling is reduction of aerodynamic drag - just like a golf ball.

xiaoman1 

YUP! Makes that CV go like a Rocket!

cudak888 

So instead of "red bikes go faster," it should be "red bikes with hammered fenders go faster?"

-Kurt

xiaoman1 

That's a Roger.......Especially down hill...

cudak888 

I just realized - they must go even faster if the hammered fenders are red anodized.

-Kurt

Chuck M 

Do you know what year that bike was? I'd assume older than mine due to the head badge, but the rear drop out screws and seat stay caps look like maybe newer.

AdventureManCO 

This thread touches on a lot of passions and interests of mine, interestingly enough including toasters. Yes I'm a nerd.

I've got an early 1930s Gazelle 129T31 toaster and a Sunbeam B5 Toastwich. Although the 1930s was a particularly bad time for many around the world, it was the perfect coming together of industrial design, decorative arts, and mass production. We will never see this golden age combination again, and some (much) of what came out of it will never be equaled, the pinnacle of modern industrial art...

Toastwich -



Gazelle -



While I actually think your point lamenting the loss of 'handcrafting' due to the presence of cheaper knock offs from mass production is a bit lost using the example of the T9 which was itself an excellent example of mass production, I do still see your point, like it, and I'd like to expand upon it, because I actually I like both - art and beauty through hand crafting and mass production. I appreciate the beauty and idiosyncrasy of individual objects crafted to be beautiful by one person (many times due to their rarity and skillful creation), and also items made by a machine that can cut, imprint, bend or stamp something that can create an equally powerful impression of beauty. I do think it tends to be easier to celebrate this 'beauty' that is made by one person, or a small team, since our awe is concentrated towards that one person or small group of persons, and the power of how it relates to us - we think about ourselves, and what is created was done by two hands just like we have - a healthy awe - similar to when we see impressive feats of athleticism. While mass produced items don't have this benefit, someone still had to have the inspiration for the design, someone had to design and make molds or presses, or machines that could make use of such molds or presses - a lot of moving parts and no less difficult of a feat to make happen. Then put it all together, and many times make it do something.

I think this is why the early days of this industrial design were so incredible - the wildly creative and beautiful designs we see, especially in production, whether it was cars, furniture, appliances, etc., was a celebration in the technological marvel of this relatively new and revolutionary manufacturing process, and was utilized to the fullest extent.

Nowadays it is a bit different - we live in a world in which mass production is mundane, and designs are prioritized now more for efficiency and cost than beauty. Therefore it is nice to see a departure from this sterile world, namely in the form of these stylized fenders.

In short, it is a question of the philosophy of beauty - can something be both beautiful and infinitely replicable? Is beauty that which is only temporary? Is beauty and rarity correlated? Is beauty something that becomes moreso the less degrees of separation from human hands, with all the individual distinctions and even imperfections therein creating and even enhancing it?

Deep questions. However, if I find something beautiful, I find that its source makes little difference.

seypat

My nephew loved The Brave Little Toaster when he was a youngster.

Chuck M 

Here is the 950. This bike is too small for me hence the seat post being at maximum height. But it was in such pristine condition I had to buy it. This bike will belong to my grandson some day.

While the 970 and the 950 are both hi-ten, the butted tubes and aluminum wheels on the 970 make it a lighter bike even though the frame is larger (and a bit too big but very ridable).

cudak888 

Thank you for those insights into the crossroads of manufacturing history. One of the best posts I've ever read here at C&V.

-Kurt

gbi

Has anyone mentioned that these vans are referred to as the toaster.

iab

A timeless question. I prefer John Dewey's answer in Art as Experience. Good book, worth your time if you haven't checked it out.

Atlas Shrugged

100 posts and counting. Amazing!

Bianchigirll 

Apologies if already posted but is my Hand Hammered Wok from The People’s Republic of China a classic or is it just vintage junk?