Why do you collect retro bikes?

[GavinD89]

Why do I collect retro bikes?

It all started when I dug my old Saracen Limited Edition (that I raced a couple of times as a teenager) out of the shed during the second lockdown and then started searching marketplace for some of the bikes I lusted after as a teenager...

Fast forward three years and I've got a little collection of retro XC mountain bikes (Orange and Alpinestars), I've shed nearly 5 stone and I'm racing mountain bikes again in my 50's!

Although I own a modern 29er XC bike, I decided to race my retro bikes all year including at the final round of the National XC series on my fully rigid 89 Orange Clockwork. It hasn't all been plain sailing with a broken shoulder and a couple of broken ribs to show for my stupidity

Absolutely stoked that there will be a retro XC race at the Malverns next year (new bike currently being constructed) and the first retro cross country race at Cannock Chase is on the 25th of February at the Winter Classic

 

[Suprachrgd82]

Nostalgia. Stupidity!

 

[youngsspeed]

Same reason I drive an old car.
The crappy ride, compared to new ones.
Much more noisy than new ones.
Brakes that don’t work as well as new ones.

What’s not to like?

 

[KayOs]

I loved my old car also for the smell of petrol and old plastics and first of all for the easy servicability....try to change a light on a newer car and stay sane in doing so....good luck!

 

[KayOs]

Nostalgia. Stupidity!

Why collect retro bikes? For reasons of space. I wouldn't be able to fit in 20 of these monsters in the shed. Not to mention the horror of transporting them...
So it's genius rather than stupidity harrharrharr!

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Because I'm to tight to buy a new one.

 

[KayOs]

Because I'm to tight to buy a new one.

Yeah, I kinda forgot that point....

 

[madjh]

Collect? I don´t collect bicycles, I ride them.

 

[KayOs]

Collect? I don´t collect bicycles, I ride them.

Ha, you said them! So it's more than one wich means you also collect them.

 

[Ren Rawbor]

Same reason I drive an old car.
The crappy ride, compared to new ones.
Much more noisy than new ones.
Brakes that don’t work as well as new ones.

What’s not to like?

You need to sample a Hydropneumatic Citroen (CX, BX, XM, Xantia etc or to a lesser degree C5 (not quite as nice) for example should still be attainable for sensible money). Crappy ride? Depends whether you like suspension that Rolls Royce felt the need to licence from PSA & sitting on what are basically big leather armchairs. Noisy? maybe if you take the exhaust off. Brakes... like an HGV pedal, virtually no "feel" but ALL the power you could ever want.

Mind you, if you start to miss the qualities you mention just leave the Cit' 5 years or so without changing any spheres & you'll return to all of the above and more lol