An Amusement & Diversion for The Genteel Cyclist. Daily.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

How history gets buried


The closure of a bike shop is a sad thing -- especially one that's been open since 1921. Faber's, in San Jose, is well known as a harbor for all kinds of valuable ephemera..


Faber's is an homage - a hymn - to bicycle history: On the floor are forks, wheels, tires, chains and frames from every era. In the barn in back are valuable oldsters like the 1934 Rover, or the 1937 Cadillac (yes, bicycles shared names with cars). On the outside, a half-dozen kids' Schwinn bikes hang downward as advertising.


Still, according to this reporter's somewhat premature obituary, "Faber's has defied the thinking that says a shiny new $2,500 carbon-frame bike is a mandatory starting point for anyone serious about two wheels."

Who thinks that? That certainly is wrongheaded thinking. Neither is the mandatory starting point a $300 piece of Dynacrap. We put that price right around $900... which, incidentally, might egven get you that original wooden Velocipede frame out in the garage (no kidding!)

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