The retro effect on the bike scene

[legrandefromage]

you know somewhere there is someone with a 10 inch full suss with 250mm disc rotors with a 650 back wheel and a 29er front wheel that is also single speed (but with a mech hanger just incase coz they can't commit) with and eccentric b/b aswel as iscg mounts (just incase), not to mention a huge amount of hydroforming of the titanium frame with carbon inserts to make it lighter eventhough they want to ride it abusively!! being 10inch travel aswel they'll expect it to climb like a banshee!! they will also be convinced by someone that tomac was right and it needs drop bars . . . . . of course all they will want to is nip to the pub on it!!

How did you know what my next project was???

Uncanny...

 

[jonnyboy666]

get on to "jones" they're bound to have it in prototype already!!

 

[Easy_Rider]

i have modern and retro bikes, i find that retro works fantastically in my local area as the terrain is mostly flat so super powerful brakes aren't a necessity, also i rode rigid on the HONC and i seem to remember (and gmonster will back this up as we were riding together) overtaking alot of 5 inch trail bike riders with discs and 22t x 32t gears that were walking up the hills and we were overtaking them down the hills!! i found that funny!! i expected to have them on the ups but to be trounced on the downs!! but i was mistaken and i'm happy about that!!

horses for courses i say, i love my bikes, modern or retro, full suss or rigid.

i do think however that people who are new to riding are sometimes brainwashed into buying things they don't need by the brands/mags/sales guy or whatever whether that be excess suspension, excess disc rotor size, excess overbuilt frames, or newer thoughts on wheel dimensions!! :?

you know somewhere there is someone with a 10 inch full suss with 250mm disc rotors with a 650 back wheel and a 29er front wheel that is also single speed (but with a mech hanger just incase coz they can't commit) with and eccentric b/b aswel as iscg mounts (just incase), not to mention a huge amount of hydroforming of the titanium frame with carbon inserts to make it lighter eventhough they want to ride it abusively!! being 10inch travel aswel they'll expect it to climb like a banshee!! they will also be convinced by someone that tomac was right and it needs drop bars . . . . . of course all they will want to is nip to the pub on it!!

You get the same with cars. So many of these scooby, Porsche, TT, M5 etc drivers can't drive for toffee and you could beat them round some twisty bits in a robin reliant, if it wasn't for all the electronics keeping them on the road :roll:

 

[ferrit]

For me this all boils down to what is "Retro"

In my mind Retro is anything that uses styling or design from a previous era to achieve the desirable or aspirational form or function of an item from that period. Its not something that needs to be slavishly applied and allows the best of the old and new to be merged.

To use the car examples again new VW beetle, Binis, Fiat 500s

Classic & Vintage on the otherhand are the real macoy - from a previous era!

So maybe this site should be called classic and vintage bike, but thats crap and doesnt have sex appeal and anyway "if its old school it in"

 

[DM]

I agree with the OP:
The bike industry exists to sell new stuff.
Some of that new stuff is only of benefit if you're a committed racer with workshop backup - It's got nothing to do with how most people use their bikes, for either sport or utility purposes.

But... having only started using disc brakes in the last 2 or 3 years, I'd say they were the single best innovation since I started riding bikes.

I still use lots of "obsolete" stuff because it works just fine for me: Thumbies; square taper cranks etc. I would add discs to that category, as I haven't touched mine since I got them, except 30 seconds to change the pads.

And they keep working when the wheels are totally covered in mud or the temperature drops low enough to freeze cables.

What's old is new... yet again.
But I'd say discs are an exception and a real improvement (for me).

 

[legrandefromage]

Disks are 'retro' for me I've had them since 1996

 

[Splatter Paint]

Under-chainstay brake on a modern bike:

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bik ... 860/38951/

:shock:

 

[Dickyboy]

I'd agree that disc brakes are great in dirty wet conditions but pad wear can be mucho rapido in those same conditions & I've twice been caught out with 20 miles to ride with only a front or rear brake for company - don't know anyone who's been caught out in the same manner with vee or canti brakes ever.
Then there is the servicing - ever bled some Avid Juicy 3 or 5's?
Yes there are big advantages but don't ignore the downsides - personally I'd rather pay for worn out rims every now & then, than pay for new pads so regularly.
Then again I do have two rigid vee braked bikes for the road & two hard tail disc braked bikes for the trail & all of them are sat firmly in between modern & retro (nothing new & expensive & nothing old & expensive either).

 

[utahdog2003]

I'm glad to see that Luddite-ism is alive and kicking around these parts anyway. Now, where did I put that Kool-aid ?

Please, I'm hardly that conservative. :roll:

I'll also be keeping my manual transmission and fresh pressed coffee. Some things were just done right the first time.

Kool Aid sucks. I'm a Funny Face drink mix guy myself.

 

[DM]

Then there is the servicing - ever bled some Avid Juicy 3 or 5's?

Not on my own bike, but yes. Juicy 3s, I think - Total PITA.
My cheapo Shimanos just keep going strong. But there are no spares available (AFAIK). So once the seals etc. need replacing, they're fit for the bin.
Not great :evil: