Do you notice extreme negative views of none retrobikers when you say you are trying to work with an older bike?

[Tootyred]

The problem is its not the "moderns" fault. Marketing bs and easy credit drives the market. Look at phones, cars, tvs, computers....anything old is crap...so why not bikes. Its almost inbuilt to anybody under 40 now.

The days of make do are gone. The idea of buying quality once, gone. Fixing stuff....gone. being grateful for what you have...gone.

Happiness.....oddly gone too from lots of youngsters.....do you think there is a correlation

 

[bikeworkshop]

It's a byproduct of consumerism.

Labour is expensive,
imported stuff is cheap,
so we replace rather than fix.

In turn we lose the knowledge, skills and motivation to repair, while being irradiated with the marketing message
"Replace, upgrade, acquire"
that is saturated throughout our iPhone filtered experience.

People owning old, used stuff are low value.

Like:
People riding bikes can't afford a Car.

Rant rant rant.

 

[greencat]

It's a byproduct of consumerism.

Labour is expensive,
imported stuff is cheap,
so we replace rather than fix.

In turn we lose the knowledge, skills and motivation to repair, while being irradiated with the marketing message
"Replace, upgrade, acquire"
that is saturated throughout our iPhone filtered experience.

People owning old, used stuff are low value.

Like:
People riding bikes can't afford a Car.

Rant rant rant.

I have enough spare cash to buy most cars, but I can't afford the hassle of owning one. There is little I can't do to maintain a bike, and which rarely takes more than 30-40 mins per year. Heck, I bet the average car owner spends more time than that circling around looking for a place to park.

 

[legrandefromage]

One time, at bandcamp

I was at some woods daan saaf and it was just before covid, it was a sort of retrobike ride but you could ride what you wanted

As I unloaded in the carpark , say hello to my little friend!' Ratatatatatatatatat!!

Ahem... we'll start again:

As I unpacked my bike, it dawned on me that I may have made the big mistake of bringing a custard pie to a nuclear war. There was body armour, ebikes galore, full sussers, basically the contents of any recent MBR

I was possibly the only steel cantilever bike within a 5 mile radius and very worried that I was going to be outpaced at every corner

OMFG!!!

I needn't have worried. It was one of the most benign but enjoyable rides in ages! The armour plated guys gave me a nervous 'you first' at one of the downhill bits and I found out I could overtake ebikers on the flats (anger almost caught up with a young lad on an ebike going uphill after he'd clipped bars with a couple of riders)

I was baffled as to how things had changed into something unrecognisable, the bikes and equipment being way over specified for the terrain

I bet there are some marketing guys laughing their bonuses off as they high five each other - 'we've done it lads!'

Or not

My humble knackered old 1980s mtb was more than adequate for the day. I was met with stares of disbelief or totally ignored, insane or 'who's that guy?'

All this tells me is that I am so totally removed from the main stream that I'm irrelevant and I'm strangely happy with that

...apart from ebikers around Thetford, come on guys! It's flat!

 

[monkfish]

I go to regular group rides at thetford forest and although there is a lot of very well kitted out modern bikes on the group rides (i myself often ride modern stuff) some of the older people in the group appreciate seeing the retro stuff. i may start off at the back of the pack when trying out a new retro bike as im hoping all works well and getting a feel for it before i move further up the pack as the ride time progresses. Sure its usually met with a "what the heck have you got there" sort of comments but as im regularly out on my other bikes they see it as a bit of fun. to be honest it may just be my age but i enjoyed mountain biking more in the late 80's and 90's. I only recently in the last 3 years started doing the group ride thing and I've met some great people but i loved the whole attitude that mtb had back then as it felt so new and exciting. Sure modern bikes are fantastic but thetford forest is so well suited to retro bikes with its fast singletrack and relatively mellow terrain although ive still had plenty of crashes when enthusiam/strave times gets the better of me.

 

[greencat]

When I used to ride around Epping forest, an XC retro rigid steed was perfect. Taking a 10 year old Whyte hardtail to Dyfi bike park? Now that was like bringing a knife to a gunfight.

 

[Gtpulse]

My Grandad was a lifelong cyclist and passionate about many types of bicycles, however, pretty much anything that wasn’t pre war or a classic lightweight he referred to as a fairy-cycle! He was very amused to see my brother and I riding BMX then MTB, he couldn’t get his head around the idea of them and had no desire to try them or find out more. As a result all of his riding other than maybe the occasional foray into cyclocross, was done on the road. When I’m out in the middle of nowhere on a track or field only a very long walk or a bicycle could get you too I think how much he would have enjoyed the combination of bicycle and countryside away from the road.

 

[d8mok]

I’ve always had nothing but positive comments to my retrobikes whether that’s out riding or at bike shops.

New bikes are superior in performance without doubt but I feel a lot of cyclists appreciate where it all started or have nostalgia towards 90s bikes.

The recent ride out in the peaks organised via here showed the huge difference in a bike from 1988 (I think @longun) and a modern bike in the way they can be ridden.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

The fact that the trails haven't changed is irrelevant because apparently all we want to do is go to a bike park and do like, 3 runs of a jump line and call it an epic day out.

The trails here have changed. Modern flow trails are far smoother than the legacy trails. It's ironic, the bikes have become far more competent, but the majority of places people ride them have become much easier

 

[MattiThundrrr]

In my town there are two bike shops, you just have to pick your audience. At one shop, it's "don't bother fixing that old dog, replace it" for literally any issue a vintage bike faces. At the other shop, they're usually excited to see what weirdness I bring them. The techs know me from the BMX track, young kids were completely floored by how light my singlespeed alu bike with v brakes was. Didn't think it was even possible.
The other day, a hiker stopped Ingola and I and told us it was refreshing to see someone on a "real" bike for a change instead of all the motorized bikes