Point of View

If there is one thing I learned building bicycle frames, it is that no two people are alike.

If you could assemble a hundred people, all the exact same height, and then further separate into groups made up of those with similar leg length.

You would find within those groups, the thigh, lower leg and foot measurements would all vary.

Even within the same race, people have different facial features, complexions, hair color, etc. When you consider all peoples, the variations are infinite. An individual’s finger prints are unique, and now we know that DNA is too.

Most people accept these differences and seldom question why. Therefore, it really should be no surprise that people’s opinions will vary even more infinitely than our physical differences.

What are opinions but a collection of thoughts, based on our individual beliefs and experiences? Sometimes called a “Point of View,” meaning literally, the world as one individual sees it from where they stand.

No two individuals can have the same view if they stand in different places. 

In spite of this we sometimes argue and fight defending our point of view, or try to impose our opinions on others.

We accept every other difference in the human species, why do we expect the thought pattern of others to be in line with ours? We are each a free thinking spirit, and I can’t think of anything more random that a person's thoughts.

Could it be because our opinions are the yardstick by which we view and evaluate the world? It is how we judge situations and other people. Our opinions have been formed largely by our life experiences, our parents, teachers and other pivotal people in our lives.

Our opinions can change over time with changing circumstances, if we find a better one we change it. However, at any given time our opinion is the best it can be. We just can’t understand why anyone would have a different opinion, after all, ours is the best.

It is not the difference of opinion that is wrong, it is the failure to see that the other’s view point is from an entirely different place. 

It is the single most cause of conflict between individuals, co-workers, friends, and families. On a larger scale, it is the basic reason nations assemble armies and go to war with each other.

I have found that defending one’s point of view is just a huge waste of time and energy. It achieves little. Rarely does either side move any closer to the other’s way of thinking. Often it drives the two sides further apart

Instead I find it more constructive and fruitful to listen to the other’s opinion. Another’s estimation is often difficult to understand and may even arouse aversion.

But by the simple act of listening, I can better understand the other's point of view without the obligation that it has to become my point of view. I may not necessarily agree, but I may see the position he is standing that gives him that view.

Blindness is not always the inability to see, it is ofttimes caused by refusing to step out of the darkness. Just my point of view.

Bob Hovey's Masi Registry

Bob Hovey’s Registry of Masi Frames has been around for many years, in fact I borrowed the idea when I opened my own Dave Moulton Registry in 2010.

Just today I got a request from Jonathan Justman, original owner of a Masi Gran Criterium serial number D8016. He asked if it could be added to my Dave Moulton Registry. I had to explain that there is no section for Masi frames on my registry, as I do not consider them to be my frames.

I was employed to build these frames from October 1980 until December 1981, but they were built strictly to Faliero Masi’s design. In fact, the frame shop where I worked had a set of “Jig-frames,” unpainted frames in every size, that were actually built by Faliero himself.

These were used to set up the frame jig and ensured that every frame built was an exact copy of the “jig” frames. The various adjustable clamps that held the tubes in the jig were loosened and the jig frame then clamped in place.

Once the set up was complete, and the jig frame removed, the jig was set to this particular size. I simply had to miter the tubes to fit, it was not even necessary that I knew what size frame I was building.

Also, as a paid employee I had no legal rights, to the Masi brand name, and I still don’t. I cannot claim that these are my frames, any more than a journalist in paid employment can claim copywrite for the articles they wrote. The product produced is the property of the employer, not the employee.

Having said that the California Masi frames built during my tenure mentioned above, were not only date stamped, but were marked SMC for San Marcos, California. The date stamp was in the form of A, B, C, and D representing the four quarters of the year, followed by the last two digits of the year. Followed by two more digits that were the number frame that quarter.

Jonathan Justman’s frame number D8016 was built around the end of October 1980 and has the SMC, so there is a good possibility I built it. Ted Kirkbride who owned the shop and subcontracted to build the Masi’s at that time, also built some of the custom orders like track frames or odd sizes.

If owners of the SMC frames with serial numbers starting D80**, A81**, B81**, C81**, and D81**, feel they have some added value having been built by me, I am flattered but lay no claim to these frames.

They belong on Bob Hovey’s Masi Registry, were a few of them have a side note that I built them.

The Queen

The Queen died this week. I find it interesting that Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, and the British Commonwealth is referred to as “The Queen,” and everyone knows who that is. There are other countries in the world that are Monarchies with a King or Queen and a Royal Family, but I cannot name them all off the top of my head.

I find it “Neat,” (For want of a better word.) that countries like Britain have a head of state, whose ancestry can be traced back hundreds of years, and are direct descendants of former heads of state. A symbolic, non-political head of state in name only that is, but never-the-less it gives one a comforting sense of continuity.

That continuity has now been broken, and for me is a loss that took several days to actually sink in. I was 16 years old and just started work early in 1952 when the Queen’s father George VI died. Elizabeth’s Coronation came a year later in 1953. For those born around or since that date, The Queen has always been there. Her face on postage stamps, and on paper money and coins.

Her presence always gave me a sense that the government was somehow less powerful. Whether that was true or not, I am not sure, but I always felt that whoever was in charge, it would not affect my life that much, and they could be booted out of office in the next election.

I carried this feeling over to these United States where I have lived for over 43 years, more than half my life. As a Green Card-carrying Resident, I have no vote, but I fret far less over who is President, or what the Government does. Instead, I care more who my friends are and what I can do for others.

The Queen did not choose who she was, that was thrust upon her, but it was a crown she carried well. Sure, she was a celebrity with all the wealth and luxury that it brings, but it was not a position that she could slip away from and quietly retire.

She lived her life with dignity, as a servant to her people. A reminder that we are all servants in some way or other. We have no choice where we came from, but we do get to decide where we are headed and who we choose to accompany us on that journey.

Marketing

David R. Ball PhotoMarketing is always a tough nut for the artist.

All he wants to do is create, but then there comes a point where he must market what he creates in order to survive and continue creating.

It is tough when you have a product that you know is superior but lose sales because some large corporation has more marketing clout.

This happened many times with me in the early 1980s when customers would be on the brink of buying one of my bikes, then at the last moment opt for a Japanese Nishiki, on Centurion. Both good bicycles of that era but could never compare to a hand-built frame made by an individual craftsman.

The only reason they did this was marketing. These large manufacturers could place full page color ads in Bicycling Magazine. But at $10,000 a pop for a such an ad there was no way I could compete.

Instead I relied on bicycle dealers to sell to a small group of hard-core cyclists who could appreciate the difference between a limited production hand-built frame, and a factory mass produced item. I built a Nationwide network of these dealers by attending the Interbike Trade Show each year.

Each dealer would have bikes in stock that potential customers could test ride. Once a person test rode a Fuso, or other bike I built, and compared it to a production import bike, they could tell by the way it rode, the way it handled, this was a better bike, often for the same amount of money.

These independent bicycle dealers were my sales force, handling all the marketing for me, leaving me to spend my time building frames. For the dealer there was a 15% mark-up on a frame, not a huge amount, but when you add to this the markup on the components. Plus, back in the day, the bike store built the wheels and of course charged labor for the assembly of the bike.

It was a profitable partnership for the dealer and me, one that worked well through the 1980s, until the market changed. By the early 1990s interest switched to Mountain Bikes, which killed the road bike market.

For me to sell direct to the individual customer was a hopeless proposition. It had worked well for me in England though the 1970s, but there was a big difference in the mentality of the customer in the UK.

For a start my UK customers were almost exclusively racing cyclists. Having chosen a framebuilder, they would trust him implicitly. They would spend an hour at the most, getting measured and discussing the order. If they lived more than 75 miles away, the order would probably be sent via mail, or taken over the phone. The customer would order a frame and would most likely buy the components and assemble the bike himself.

The American customer, on the other hand, would drive hundreds of miles across state lines to visit with a framebuilder. Having done that, they would expect to spend the whole day at the shop, hanging out, watching me work, asking all manner of questions, that went way beyond the scope of the actual frame I would build for them. And there was never a gaurentee that an order would be forthcoming.

I think the big difference between the British and American customer is, the UK customer recognizes your skills but treats you as an equal. However, he respects your time and realizes it is valuable.

The American customer also recognizes your skills, but treats you like some kind of celebrity because of it, to the point at times, it is embarrassing. However, he has no respect for your time, and if he is buying your product, he expects your undivided attention that goes way beyond the time it takes to actually create that product.

It is the American way. Money talks, and the customer is King. A philosophy I never quite bought into, and was the reason I ran a strict ‘No Visitor’ policy, and sold my product through bike dealers. If I had it to do over again, I would do the same. One cannot run a profitable framebuilding business if you are spending more time talking about bikes than actually building them.

The Vuelta never disappoints

Of the three Grand Tours, I often feel that the Vuelta a Espana is the most entertaining. Coming off one of the best Tour de France events in recent years, I wondered if this was likely this year, but after just over a week of racing, I have to say, “Possibly.”

What makes any sporting event entertaining and exiting is the unknown, the unexpected outcome. Prior to this year’s TDF I thought Tadej Podacar was unbeatable, but he proved to be human after all. Or it could be argued that the strongest team won, not necessarily the strongest individual.

The Vuelta always has the unknown element because it is such a tough race, with more climbing than the other Grand Tours. This year has the added unknown of so many new riders entering the sport at young ages, (In their early twenties.) previously unheard of.

Looking at the start list before the race, I was struck by the number of new names, most I had not previously heard of. One notable exception to this was Remco Evenepoel. So much has been written about this 22-year-old Belgian rider during the last year, along with the speculation that he is the new Eddy Merckx.

I can’t help but feel what a tremendous and unnecessary burden this is to place on such a young athlete, but sadly this is what the press and media do.  They build people up only to knock them down again when they fail.

Cycle racing has to be one of the toughest sports out there, both physically and mentally. The constant steam of new-comers to the sport keeps it fresh and interesting, but entering the sport, especially Grand Tours, at such a young age I expect to see shorter careers than we have seen in the past.

What are your views?