What is 'retro'?

[Radar]

What is retro?

In an old style? Design classic? Or just something old?

My 4 year old Pace has been set up in a mid nineties XC boy racer style. Flat bars, bar ends, lots of seatpost on show and V brakes. A new (ish) bike with new (ish) kit but harking back? Most mountain bike forum lurkers would shudder at the lack of riser bars, disks and lack of Freeride ™ attitude. It’s the bike I dreamt of for some years; I was fortunate enough to be able to achieve my dream. It’s almost perfect – just need some red presta valve caps, but that is verging on being a little too sad. Retro? In the truest definition of the word undoubtedly.

Design classic? I can go with this one. The classics for me were: the green/white/red Kleins; Pace square frames (that’s why I wanted one for so long); I’ve very fond memories of the zolatone Marins (when Marins were good); and, the original Kona Cindercone with the white and splatter paint job.

Just something old? Let’s not forget how much tat was on the market … (this space intentionally left blank so as not to offend)

Or, is it a need to own the shiny things ™ that lived in glass cases in bike boutiques, more style than function, and way out of our wallet range. Nuke proof hubs anyone? A good case of anodised purple handlebar ‘taches all round (to coin an MBUK forum description of STW inhabitants)?

Anyway, ruminate fiercely.

 

[Stick Legs]

Retro is anything that makes me feel 17 again!

Square paces, steel oranges, purple, the wonderstuff...

Yeah there was some crap, I notice that no-one here has a 'Dawes the Edge XTR!' If ever a groupset out shone a frame etc etc...

 

[scant]

Just something old? Let’s not forget how much tat was on the market … (this space intentionally left blank so as not to offend)

Or, is it a need to own the shiny things â„¢ that lived in glass cases in bike boutiques, more style than function, and way out of our wallet range. Nuke proof hubs anyone?
Anyway, ruminate fiercely.

for the record the early nuke proof hubs were tat as well... & I being nice using the word "tat"

 

[Radar]

I was being diplomatic :mrgreen:

 

[novekili]

well.. I quite agree. It is a pleasure owning and riding my old Yeti, but I don't feel the 2005 ti bike with CNC v-brakes I use for racing should be compared with the disc-brakes equipped Scott Scale I've owned for 20 days (regretting the purchase, I swapped it with my handmade ti-rig). OK, "retro" has to do with the date of production, but a Y2K bike with square alu tubes shouldn't be regarded as a soul-less superlight carbon frame only because it was built after 1996.

I mean - old school is something with a soul! A 2006 Sycip IS old school!
:x And don't contradict me!

PS: anyone wants to swap a nos FRO with my Ti bike?

 

[Heavy D]

I think that the bike industry needs to feed itself, so constantly wants us to move onto new products and leave behind what has gone before.

This forum seems to be used by people who do not want to discard what was good about bikes over the last ten or twenty years.

There are probably many reasons and motivations behind this, but the common ground is the enjoyment and appeciation of bikes which are featured here.

 

[ch1988]

In one of the german forums we often say: MTB´s produced till 1998 are retro.

In my opinion 1998 is a good "deadline" because after ´98 the whole bike thing changed in a lot of ways, everything became more commercial and industrial - let me describe it as "out of the garage" days were defenitly over.

ch

 

[stevet1]

radar I have some red plastic presta valve caps, pm me if you want em foc. I think they come on continental inner tubes.

 

[Russell]

...do not want to discard what was good about bikes over the last ten or twenty years.

Spot on... Thats absolutely the reason I love my older bikes.

The cycle industry develops new products because it has to to keep taking our money, it doesn't mean that the old ones were rubbish. I prefer some of the older products.

I class retro as 'pre V-brake'.

 

[get a bigger hammer]

Things did go all sour when the accountants rode in dicovered a sport ripe to profit from. It's not just the building but marketability of the new that matters. Pah.........

Getting my new bike this weekend. My first since 1992. I'm lucky enough to be able to spend near enough what I like on it and yet still I find myself buying a decent custom steel frame, middleburn cranks with a square taper, a smattering of XT and magura HS33's. Yes my needs have changed (as I no longer do offroad racing or hill climbs) being more of a 25 mile day on the rough with a pint at the end of it all kind of man now. But still I don't need freeriding. wavy barred, 2 meters of travel or hydropnuematcallylockingsuperflexscoofjivingactuation bouncy back ends. Is this progress the cycle industry has given us recently or just hype? I knew what my answer was when I bought a Brooks saddle.

Congratulations on building your dream bike.