gugie 

He who must not be named used to claim so. As for more easily repairable, that's true, but almost nobody sweats out a tube and brazes a new one in - it's a lot easier and cheaper just to find another used frame (IMO). Lugged frames are pretty robust, maybe the least amount of skill required to make a useable frame? You can do a crappy miter job and still have a relatively strong frame, fillet brazed and TIG welded frames require more precision.

Lugs do look better, IMO. They highlight the joints, especially when contrasting colors are used. One can get fancy with cutouts. People don't stare at TIG'ed or fillet brazed joints like a beautiful thinned lug.

obrentharris 

I would have a difficult time convincing many of my neighbors that my bike rides have a practical purpose, except perhaps my trips into town to pick up the mail and buy groceries. I suppose I could claim that the practical purposes are to stay healthy, avoid weight gain, etc. but those things really don't motivate me.

In fact I'd have a difficult time convincing my self of any practical purposes... and perhaps that's the beauty of the thing!
Brent

johnnyace 

I once had a co-worker (who, btw, was grossly overweight and owned 5 cars in a two-driver household) ask me why I cycled to work. "Is it some environmental reason, or are you just a tightwad?" he asked. Neither, I said. I cycle because it brings me joy and happiness. He kinda raised his eyebrows and stared at me skeptically. Apparently Americans find no "practical purpose" for joy and happiness. Maybe that's why a friend of ours once told my wife and I that we seemed more European than American.

bikingshearer 

Many years ago in a "Doonesbury" strip, then-radical lefty Mark was in one of his periodic verbal contretemps with his uber-conservative father. Mark was talking about getting wanting to get enjoyment out of his work and life. His father roared at Mark: "Life isn't to be enjoyed! It's to be gotten on with!"

That may not be the exact quote, but it's pretty close.

mhespenheide 

I totally agree that most repairs aren't cost-effective. No idea which method is more challenging to do well; I'll defer to your expertise there.

I happen to really appreciate the look of a good fillet-brazed frame. Maybe just because I've seen so few of them; it just looks so organic and smooth when done well. But I don't know how many really-top-level lugged frames I've seen, either. I'm sure a DiNucci or Bruce Gordon would blow me away if I had the time to appreciate it. On the third hand, I also love a good stack-of-dimes TIG weld on titanium or on a racing bike, so maybe I'm just hopeless with bicycle aesthetics as long as it's not blobby carbon.

merziac

I always tell those kind of folks that I am cheap but biking isn't, then I tell them I'm so lazy that its the only way I get any exercise.

The joy and happiness rationale is lost on them so I just add it in my head.

Their befuddlement is often palpable, you can usually hear their mental gears stripping wildly by this point.

gearbasher

Reminds me of a line by Geena Davis in "The Long Kiss Goodnight". "Life is pain. Get used to it."

seedsbelize2

How do you know?

clubman 

How dare you question me? I know what I know so don't suggest otherwise!

(I meant to write 'Don't ask me how I know,' duh)

RustyJames 

Man, some of you cats have crazy ideas about things. I do too soooo…
- A new part on a well patinated bike. Saddles and pedals for example. It’s just wrong.
- The valve stem needs to point perfectly to the center of the hub. The front and rear valve stem caps must be in place and match one another.
- I detest modern tire sidewalls with too much branding on vintage bikes. “Whizzbang Tire 2.4.1 Multi Aramid Construction” “whizzbangtires.com”. I don’t want my old bike to have anything dot com on it.
- I don’t know why but I carryover a food philosophy of “if it grows together, it goes together”. A high-end Italian frame with Shimano components seems odd.