Why do you want to pay someone for old tat.

[The History Man]

They smell better and have soul.

oh and tin tin, I hate Andrew Lloyd Webber.

 

[drystonepaul]

And there is nothing worse than putting a battered old part on your nice bike. Especially when you have had to part with good money for it.

I've only quoted the last part of this because I wholly agree.
Thing is that most of the collectors, restorers, enthusiasts, purists or whatever you want to call them won't and don't put battered old tat on their bikes.

If like me, you like to stick to period correct builds then finding parts from the correct period can be a case of playing the long game unless you are impatient and take the bait on overpriced stuff.

Having been on this forum for over twelve years now I can confidently say that it wasn't always like this. I suspect it won't stay like this either.

The 'market' has changed of late, but that's true of the whole cycling industry as a result of significant disruption to the supply chain.

My main concern at the moment isn't getting hold of old used parts, it's getting hold of new stuff to maintain my modern bikes and those of my customers.
Planned obsolescence is a real PITA.

There may come a time in the not too distant future when all we will have is battered old tat to work with.
At least until the end of 2022.

 

[midibiker]

I've only quoted the last part of this because I wholly agree.
Thing is that most of the collectors, restorers, enthusiasts, purists or whatever you want to call them won't and don't put battered old tat on their bikes.

If like me, you like to stick to period correct builds then finding parts from the correct period can be a case of playing the long game unless you are impatient and take the bait on overpriced stuff.

Having been on this forum for over twelve years now I can confidently say that wasn't always like this. I suspect it won't stay like this either.

The 'market' has changed of late, but that's true of the whole cycling industry as a result of significant disruption to the supply chain.

My main concern at the moment isn't getting hold of old used parts, it's getting hold of new stuff to maintain my modern bikes and those of my customers.
Planned obsolescence is a real PITA.

They may come a time in the not too distant future when all we will have is battered old tat to work with.
At least until the end of 2022.

I draw the line with even entertaining these chancers and putting battered old tat on the bike I want to nicely restore. Just because their part comes from the 90s. I would rather put on a new part or wait for something to come along.

I have even go so far as to contact some sellers and tell them that how can they put that rubbish online for that price.

Although saying that I did snap up a rare part on Ebay the other week and that had some wear on it. It ended up costing me a lot more because of the import duties too but I wouldn't be able to get one like it again and I had to act fast. But I am going to restore it back to new before I put it on my project bike.

 

[drystonepaul]

@midibiker : Just to pick up on another thread you have commented on regarding the availability of new parts for bikes.

I can very reliably confirm that there is a big problem at the moment in sourcing new components in the cycle industry.
I own a bike repair workshop and have trade accounts with most of the UK distributors.
A lot of items are out of stock. The usual array of options just isn't there.
Some items like shifters and disc brakes aren't expected to be back in stock until early 2022. Some cassettes aren't due until August and some items don't even have confirmed delivery dates.
The 2022 model year suspension forks won't actually be released until 2022 for once and you'll be lucky if you pre-order a bike now to get it before Autumn.

All this has, is, and will continue to have, a profound effect on the second hand market.

It's definitely a seller's market if you have anything to sell.

But you don't have to buy any of it.

 

[midibiker]

@midibiker : Just to pick up on another thread you have commented on regarding the availability of new parts for bikes.

I can very reliably confirm that there is a big problem at the moment in sourcing new components in the cycle industry.
I own a bike repair workshop and have trade accounts with most of the UK distributors.
A lot of items are out of stock. The usual array of options just isn't there.
Some items like shifters and disc brakes aren't expected to be back in stock until early 2022. Some cassettes aren't due until August and some items don't even have confirmed delivery dates.
The 2022 model year suspension forks won't actually be released until 2022 for once and you'll be lucky if you pre-order a bike now to get it before Autumn.

All this has, is, and will continue to have, a profound effect on the second hand market.

It's definitely a seller's market if you have anything to sell.

But you don't have to buy any of it.

True well said.

It's not only the bike industry too.

But like you said I don't have to buy it and I'm not. It just annoys me that people are out there trying to make mugs out of us by putting up their old busted parts for stupid money.

I hope their parts get highlighted on the Ebay Item Watchlist Forum on here, and other places for all the right reasons

 

[bjellys]

It's just market forces you just say yes or no.
Since Covid the price of dogs / Camper Vans / and many other things have gone through the roof but you don't have to pay it you don't want to.

 

[Tootyred]

I suppose in-built obsolescence is good really, as we will never know how long modern parts last.....(this derailleur only works with shimano 11 speed groupsets made between 12th and 16th june 2021).

If you think tatty parts are expensive today, wait 30 years when rarity will be a commonplace thing due to limited duration on the parts timeline now.

You think we have some incompatibility issues on retro bike in the present........retrobike in 2050 will just be pages of people trying to work out which exact shifters do work, or is there a supplier of nos oval seatposts that just fit a 2021 cannondale frames.......

As for carbon...i wouldn't risk me face / arse on secondhand carbon now! Let alone 20 years on.

"Dear retrobike, my 25 year old carbon frame has the bb and carbon seatpost stuck" oh dear.

The shame is more and more new bikes end up in the tip too soon as a result. My local recycle centre is ideal for cheap spares...its full of modern suspension bikes with stuck forks.....not much else wrong, but chucked for that. 30 years ago, with rigid forks....no problem.

But, dont worry all you trendy young things, im sure there's a wheel size change coming in 2022, to help boost shimanos empty coffers! 28.5? Or possibly straight to 30"? Making everything before obsolete.

Better get your order in now.....nobody wants to be seen on an " old" bike.

 

[greencat]

Personally am not paying silly money to put stuff on a bike. I've got enough bikes & parts to last 5+ years. If my modern(ish) 2015 Whyte 901's 11 spd groupset goes, I'll happily put some old 9 spd on it or even 7 spd if new parts look extortionate. Thankfully the Whyte sits in the sweet spot of having a reasonably modern geometry, but quite a lot of compatibility with older stuff. It's 27.5, but I'd stick 26 inch wheels from my stock on it if I had to.

Somehow I doubt the prices of new stuff will come down post pandemic - unless they somehow manage to overshoot in terms of matching supply with demand.

More broadly, if a piece of old functioning tat is the one thing you need to get an old bike up and running - then it probably still represents better value than upgrading/scrapping the bike. And let's not get misty eyed about the old stuff quite a lot of wasn't much cop in terms of reliability and longevity (and nor was it designed to be). Some of it has lasted remarkably well though.

 

[Woz]

Yet another "complaining about prices thread". I don't get it.

- No seller is putting a gun to your head to buy from them.
- If you put the effort in, you can find cheaper.
- If you put the effort in, you can restore old parts, you do not need to buy new.

 

[Magpiegifts]

lol did you ever use parts from the 90's

Yep! All my parts are from the 90's predominantly.
This is Retrobike after all. Retro being up to 1997 I'm led to believe