Why do you collect retro bikes?

[Peachy!]

Pretty much all of the above, my first strip down/re-spray/re-build was when I was 12 in 1970, but now I can afford the proper tools, the parts I want and I have the workshop of my boyhood dreams..... just don’t have the bl**dy time!!!!!

 

[Captain Stupido]

Collecting anything is a waste of time really. No point. I still do it though because I'm slightly mental and get obsessed about stuff.

OTOH, there are plenty of sensible reasons for buying and riding an old bike instead of a new one.

 

[W7Ford]

Plus it's a lot cheaper than collecting cars.

I've got a bit of a 'problem' in that area as well as it happens. One's living outside because it's garage space was taken up by 'unnecessary' bikes.

 

[W7Ford]

kinda easier justifying it all to the wife and family

I think my partner just quietly thinks i'm a bit mental, I keep her around because it's an excuse to have another bike that I claim is 'her bike' though.

 

[TSC.]

Re:

For me it brings back memories. Especially if you get the chance to ride a bike you've not ridden for decades, it brings back so much more than just memories though, it's like stopping into a time machine.

 

[Duxuk]

I own my 2 retros to ride, not to look at. Only the frames and suspension are original. My Whyte JW4 has wide bars and a short stem to make it feel more like a modern trail bike. Modern full suspension bikes are, for me, trying to get down the hills faster at the expense of climbing ability. I don't want to struggle any harder on the climbs so I like my older bikes where the climbing ability is better.
I'd love a mid 90s Proflex because I wanted one back then, so maybe nostalgia counts for something.

 

[gradeAfailure]

Re:

The slacker the head angle, the harder it is to make it go uphill..

Utter tripe, trotted out regularly by people who don't know what they're talking about.. My modern FS has a 65deg head angle and a 76deg seat angle with an inline post - climbs steep stuff just fine thanks. It's just a different technique, that's all..

Anyway..

For me, I like that I can buy a fully original 1980s MTB to use as a commuter for £30 - far cheaper than anything more desirable or newer! If I didn't have my '09 Voodoo I'd have a lot more retro bikes, but as it's basically late 90s Kona geometry but with sliding dropouts and disc mounts it's pretty much perfect!

 

[WimVDD]

I don't think I'm that original: I buy vintage bikes because they remind me of a period in my life bikes WHERE my life. It all began with the road pro's passing by our front door every month of April (for the Tour of Flanders): it felt just like the good Lord himself visited our village. During the 1990 edition Moreno Argentin attacked in our street, in fron,t of my eyes, and won that year's Tour of Flanders (https://youtu.be/BCyRbn_ONY8); I believe that's why my first vintage bike was a Colnago Master Piu "Team Ariosteia". From 1992 till 2000 I did some competetive cycling (mountainbiking and road racing) myself and when I have a look at my bikes, these are the years most of my bikes are from. But as I still ride 7-8000 km a year, I also appreciate modern comfort and I believe that's why I consider myself as only "half" a vintage bike afficionado: I love the neo retro stuff.

 

[rwm1962]

Mad for bikes when I was a kid & had a tourer in the 80's but missed out on the MTB scene - I had other mountain related interests.

My son got into it a few years back through friends at school & through his Enduro & Downhill racing & me marshaling so have I. As his first team was supported by Orange & I knew a little of it's pedigree that's where my interest grew. Older, cheaper bikes initially as I didn't know to what extent I'd take it up. A 2006 P7 for the trails followed by my first near-retro 2001 P7 for commuting. I now have the bikes that appear in my signature. For myself only interested in Orange - old or new - fanboyism I admit but not a bad area of focus.

Collecting - I hanker after one more & I'm pretty sure that will be it. I have another 'collector' hobby. One old fellow collector reckons men collect because it's a replacement for the hunter instinct - tracking down your quarry. Couple that with an interest & there you go - bikes & parts become the quarry. Seems to fit for my other hobby. Retro bikes - same to an extent - finding the bike & the parts you want to go on it plus the fettling. For me the bikes are more about the riding though & I get more of a buzz riding an old Orange I've done up myself than I would a new bike.

 

[Gerard]

For me, I often buy parts which I associate with my own teenage years and couldnt afford at the time, I'm not sure why I now need them, perhaps its subconsciously recreating a time where I went riding with friends every weekend and had no boring adult responsibilities. I've got no interest in owning a brand new bike, even though the technology often makes them vastly superior to my own bikes. I also get quite a lot of enjoyment from sourcing parts and putting a new build together, generally basing part selection on my own likes rather than their performance.

retro bikes, besides the challenge/joy of undertaking and completing a build, take us back to a simpler time and, ostensibly, more gentle/innocent world

.......... i think its the ability to buy what i really wanted but could never get as a youth, forever chasing what ive already found, the look and engineering of old bikes, the history, nostalgia, theyre just cool.........

All of these reasons. They just give me pleasure...sitting in my garage contemplating the next build, bit required, rarity......what's not too like.