What state is retro biking in at the moment?

[widowmaker]

Since 1978 I've been riding racing bikes [not road bikes] and my all time favourite has been my Raleigh Panasonic in good
old 531c tubing, it still holds dear to my heart and its 'my' racing bike but what pee's me off is when modern newbie riders
come at the side of me and say.... ''so you ride a retro road bike then - did you get it off ebay''....

I tell them ''no I built this up myself back in the 80's and is a proper racing bike''

This happens to me all the time :roll:

 

[BoyBurning]

Credit to us collectively for saving an enormous amount of ferrous heritage for future generations...

Just that - this ain't a one-man band, it ain't all about only one way of doing things, and no one's passion or persuasion to building/collecting should be considered superior or inferior to any other one's!


As mrkawasaki suggests back on page 03, the upcoming Icon•O•Classic : 2014 will be a great judge of where things are at currently.

The number / range / quality of bikes already registered to display, and the distances some are willing to travel to attend the show, display their bikes, and look at lots of others all in one place would suggest there's plenty of life in the old dogs yet!

If you haven't registered your bikes yet to come and display then get yer arse in gear!

 

[ultrazenith]

Since 1978 I've been riding racing bikes [not road bikes] and my all time favourite has been my Raleigh Panasonic in good
old 531c tubing, it still holds dear to my heart and its 'my' racing bike but what pee's me off is when modern newbie riders
come at the side of me and say.... ''so you ride a retro road bike then - did you get it off ebay''....

I tell them ''no I built this up myself back in the 80's and is a proper racing bike''

After the initial honeymoon period after joining an MTB club, I've started to get people pulling up beside me, look down at my 90s rigid steel ride and comment it's a good bike but bit old (you're bike's a bit fragile for mountainbiking was the latest one!), you should buy a modern one (i.e., my bottom of the range 29er that I'm looking to offload)?

Nice to know your antennae still twitches Carl! I agree with your profiling - that those who have always fixed bikes will continue to do so, forum or no-forum. Having said that, in the context of 'Retrobike' - the activity coined after this forum's inception - then I'd guess a bigger percentage of us are more likely to have unwitttingly developed a love for old bikes. Surely when we all wheeled our new bikes from the shop in 1991 we thought they were state-of-the-art and tried to keep them up-to-date with bolt-on parts from various 'boutiques'. I find that nostalgia creeps like ivy upon me, replacing the one-time desire to have the latest and best with something apparently more fulfilling and worthy in these disposable times. Here is as good a place as any on the net to take part in such a group-cherishing - its been as much fun to watch others passion and excellence as it has been to share one's own dabblings. Credit to us collectively for saving an enormous amount of ferrous heritage for future generations...

Excellent post - totally agree.

 

[sinnerman]

Nice to know your antennae still twitches Carl! I agree with your profiling - that those who have always fixed bikes will continue to do so, forum or no-forum. Having said that, in the context of 'Retrobike' - the activity coined after this forum's inception - then I'd guess a bigger percentage of us are more likely to have unwitttingly developed a love for old bikes. Surely when we all wheeled our new bikes from the shop in 1991 we thought they were state-of-the-art and tried to keep them up-to-date with bolt-on parts from various 'boutiques'. I find that nostalgia creeps like ivy upon me, replacing the one-time desire to have the latest and best with something apparently more fulfilling and worthy in these disposable times. Here is as good a place as any on the net to take part in such a group-cherishing - its been as much fun to watch others passion and excellence as it has been to share one's own dabblings. Credit to us collectively for saving an enormous amount of ferrous heritage for future generations...

Totally agree, and with so much variation in taste, such a wide spectrum of ferrous heritage can and is being saved.

 

[sinnerman]

Credit to us collectively for saving an enormous amount of ferrous heritage for future generations...

Just that - this ain't a one-man band, it ain't all about only one way of doing things, and no one's passion or persuasion to building/collecting should be considered superior or inferior to any other one's!

Who suggested otherwise...?

 

[Ernie]

Just my 2 pence, pretty much summarised what's been mentioned.

1. Broadly I have what I want. I'm riding, not building - and to be fair, riding is WAY more fun!
2. What I still want is proper rare so the likelihood of getting one is slim. So I'll just wait and wait and be back with a flurry if I ever get one of them.
3. It's the summer, there are better things to do!

Popularity will always change, that's life. Anything "vintage" is "in" at the moment so that's impacted us, not always for the better. But as long as folk keep riding the older bikes, there'll always be a "retrobike" - whatever that looks like.

Right now, pricing is ridiculous compared with a few years ago, in fact, even 12 months ago.

I do think the yearly update on retro would be good, or at least bring in new categories as and when. With some decent moderating and re-placement of build threads in could work. I think years would be much better than any other criteria so we get to see the best design evolution and cross-over.

The only theme I can't relate to is the old vs. new, preferring new and somehow linking that to fitness. It's just me, I can't relate to that - whether you have a modern or old bike - the fitter you are, the higher the chance you'll get more out if it. Again, just my two pence.

I agree with all thats been said especially with Al-onestare . I also think that some become more focused than others and the expense creeps in and goes up. I believe we and me also included has to either put the brakes on financially, i will sell stuff to buy stuff. This might be not visit so often..or just dont bother visiting the site for a set period of time. We see new members join..the same reply is welcome..but it gets addictive and get ready to have open wallet surgery.

Coomber also mentioned something about getting the nod from riders who "remember" that bike that we all ride..some might say the "golden days" of MTB. This either gets them riding these bikes that are hung in sheds/garages..or they see their way on to the market place.

This is a great read type of thread..thanks all

Ernie ..still looking for that f**kin Ku/Hot

 

[paulswheels]

Re:

As stated earlier, after the initial honeymoon and spending gobs of money to build a dream bike or two, I've come to the realization that my older body enjoys much better a more modern bike. So the stable is full, some which will hardly see a trail, which is sad for me. Very painstakingly precious builds which initally had all of the intent of using on the trails on a regular basis will be collecting dust as fearful of a scratch or ding. I feel I am riding the bikes, which is the ultimate goal, at least for me that function well and I have much less worries of damaging something while in use than on the pretty dream build bikes of yore. It is very difficult to let go of some of the bits to go modern, but slowly I am progressing in that direction. I feel I would much rather have something to put to use than have a pseudo garage queen not getting out. With that said the Retro bikes will always hold a dear and special part of my life in thier grips. Just my thoughts at the moment.

 

[widowmaker]

Re:

Riding my 85 Steelie make me feel alive

Riding my freinds Giant Defy make me feel.................cold :?

As long as i feel that way Retro everyday !!

 

[legrandefromage]

Dont ride moderns naked is all I can say.

 

[ultrazenith]

Reading back my own posts and others in this thread, it suddenly struck me that my stubborn adherence to retro biking might be a metaphor for trying to hold back the sands of time, as I become ever more aware of the aging process, and the overall circle of life. Fashions change, and always will, yet one gets to a certain age where keeping up with fashions is not only tiring, but starts to become an obstacle to growing old gracefully (or disgracefully - one should aim for both).

Even now, I still have a couple of parts fitted to my main retro bike that I had on my main bike back in the day - It's comforting to still have that link to the old days, before the 4 teenaged best-friends / brothers of our MTB riding group grew up and chose divergent life paths. Perhaps another way to resist acknowledging the passage of time.

Will I be able to let go and let the relentless march of time wash over me? I don't know.

Will I abandon retro for modern? Not yet, as I see no point, although I may get round to having a modern 29er just for the hell of it.