What is YOUR favourite era?

[alecstilleyedye]

i've gone for '50s as, although well before my time, it was the golden era of british club cycling. i have a bike that is a relic from that era, which helps.

it's also the era of coppi…

 

[Citoyen du monde]

If you look closely, you will note that most answers will correspond to the common collector phenomenon that sees people longing for the things that they dreamed about when they were in their teens and without the means to purchase anything that they dreamed for. The few outliers will be those who are keenly interested in the history of cycling who might also look to the periods of greatest fame and change: i.e. the 50's.

 

[pigman]

If you look closely, you will note that most answers will correspond to the common collector phenomenon that sees people longing for the things that they dreamed about when they were in their teens and without the means to purchase anything that they dreamed for. The few outliers will be those who are keenly interested in the history of cycling who might also look to the periods of greatest fame and change: i.e. the 50's.

c,mon fella, get off the commentators' fence and tell us what you voted for ...

 

[David B]

Early to mid '90s for me. Carbon fibre past the experimental stage but still not commonplace enough to have lost its "exotic" appeal; Reynolds 853 tubesets just starting to make an appearance; more choice in road components due to Mavic and Sachs groups not yet having disappeared off the radar.
Modern-day bikes aren't by any means inferior, just on the whole a bit dull and samey in a lot of ways - turn up to any club run these days and chances are a lot of riders will be on identikit bikes from the same old handful manufacturers (chief culprits: Giant and Specialized) with oversize frames that don't quite cut it aesthetically. 15-20 years ago, even Raleigh didn't seem to dominate the high-end market to quite that extent.

David

 

[Old Ned]

Well, I've voted for the 60's as this is the time when I started and also had my most successful season's racing.

At that time we were still quite naive about the continental scene and drug taking was something that happened but not really mentioned. Anyone who went 'sur le continent' either joined in, lived with it or came home bloody and defeated.

Time Trialling was in an era when fast times started to become more of a reality for the average rider with better diets and training techniques, the down side being the still very apparent intransigent attitudes of RTTC officials over advertising etc. 'You can't ride wearing that hat/jersey/shorts/shoes (delete where applicable)' was a common sound. Riders got 'Banned' for the most ridiculous petty 'offences'.

Road Racing was still able to use most of the national road network without to much traffic problems, even having right turns and crossing major roads (but when I started, 'Give Way' lines were still enforced which, if they were at the bottom of a big hill, could be difficult to keep to!). However, internationally the Brits (amateurs that is) were only 'adequate' in performances apart from a couple of notable exceptions but we did manage to win the Milk Race a few times!

Most of my 'Heroes' date back to this period, the continental ones (Rik van Looy, Jan Janssen, Tom Simpson etc.) were virtually unattainable and only seen in magazines - or the Isle of Man - not like today when cycling is available almost daily in the summer on Eurosport etc.

Sorry to ramble on a bit, nostalgia ain't what it used to be

 

[oldgit]

70s for me.
It's when bike and man were one. Prior the balance swung towards the rider. Post seventies it seemed to swing in favour of technology. Okay you can argue that, but for a moment I think bike and man were ideally matched.

Personally I'll remember it as the period I started racing, steel bike frames from the local shop, sitting atop a Brooks when they were cheap, staying dry under a cape, long road races all summer and going out in the winter with only a wool cap for protection.

 

[fingers]

Im a fan of 'the ergopower era', in campag terms, when 8 speed and aluminium components still ruled, and a good steel gate was still found at the top end.

 

[Skydiver]

80's, early 90's here.

However, the rBOTM has shown me some fantastic bikes from all of the eras.

 

[Jonny69]

I can't decide so I've clicked 80's

But seriously, I've got an early 90's R531 road bike and it rides like little else I've sat my skinny butt on and I can whup guys on new carbon bikes with little effort. I'd struggle to do that on my 70's bikes which are heavier and less efficient, the gear changes are vague and rough and the brakes aren't great. They are rock steady, reliable and nice to ride though.

For me, the early 80's is when I think the frames were painted up with the best schemes, so I've voted for that era.

 

[klasse]

80's

lugged steel
Super Record then C-Record
Shamal

functionally, components have not improved much since then