RetroBike gone quiet..

Seems the MTB for sale section has pretty much stalled at the moment. Compared to a year ago things were flying out!

Anyone got any theories/explanation ?

Mid year... spring... I thought everyone would be madly building!

Less building more riding

I know that's what I am doing. Its been a great start to the year weather wise in Toronto. Riding conditions are near perfect.

I'll bet many more are doing the same. Its time to enjoy those winter builds and beat ourselves up a bit.

You could be right. Maybe my builds are a bit late into the season!

Typical bank holiday weather here in the UK! Cloudy!

Retro66666":1qms9h7k said:

You could be right. Maybe my builds are a bit late into the season!

Typical bank holiday weather here in the UK! Cloudy!

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I cannot remember a better start to the season here. I am one of the lucky ones. My commute is 10-15km of single track each way if I want it to be. I ride 3-5 times a week. Just a blast.

Some of my builds are a tad stalled waiting for work to get done on the bikes. Stuff I cannot do like press bearings out and fill little dents.

Its peaks and valleys though. Someone will have a massive selloff and sales blow up for a week.

Lack of activity on the sale forum could mean one of two things - fewer sellers, or more buyers, buying up what's on offer, so sale threads are shorter lived.

Im in the process of sorting my new cave/workshop so when that's done there could be a sale thread from me, not that anyone seems to be buying much as you say.

I think the other thing is people are not as keen on paying some of the prices for parts like they were a couple of years back, I see a lot of nice bits continually being bumped and prices gradually dropped.

I would just like the time to build the projects I have bought parts for, and then actually get out on (most of) them!

maybe the whole retro thing has had its day :?

Re:

If retro inflation exists then it was born here. I seen a pair of Grafton cantilevers for sale for 300 odd quid, which is madness when a £20 pair of tektro v brakes probably work better. The prices of worn 90s parts are going up because so is the demand

Re: Re:

Member 10502":239g4y57 said:

If retro inflation exists then it was born here. I seen a pair of Grafton cantilevers for sale for 300 odd quid, which is madness when a £20 pair of tektro v brakes probably work better. The prices of worn 90s parts are going up because so is the demand

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Is there the demand though?
They may have been for sale at £300 odd quid, but did they sell for that price?

Tektro brakes may well work as well, if not better, but if you are looking to do a period correct build, they just aint going to cut it.

It's the price of NOS 90's parts that has gone up, understandably as they are getting few and far between, but im also seeing those parts not selling like they did.

Still, it's always going to be better than eBay...

Re:

Various reasons IMO but it's been on the decline for at least a year so is not seasonal. My observations are:

1- Less interest in the low to mid range gear then before. Those of us who have been around a while are bored of LX/DX builds. Same goes for mid range bikes. I think the market has matured and the scene has been around a while meaning it's probably peaked.

2- Too many people trying to make a business out of old bikes and trying to push the price up for any old tat. This has put people off.

3- Demographic of members. Many of us are at the stage of life where other things get in the way of hobbies so we have less free time for old bikes.

4- Most of the best stuff has already been pulled out of the garage and the gems have been found. Also, with a larger amount of people looking the bargains don't stay a bargain for long. Gone are the days of the badly listed M900 equipped bike selling for buttons as used to happen regularly in the past. The thrill of the chase was part of the fun.

5- As the market has matured the lust for top end stuff has increased. This has pushed the price up so many simply can't justify the cost of the stuff they want and as mentioned have been there and done that with the lower level gear. Compare what a Yo Eddy sold for 5+ years ago compared to now to see what I mean.

6- Simply less people are building and there's less interest in the hobby. It was not long ago that if you didn't log on for a few days you'd have a couple of pages of updates at least on both pre 97 chat + builds. Now you could be off a week and only have one page to get through.

7- Less building, more riding as mentioned. Add to this that people are riding what works rather then what looks best. Have a look at the ride aftermaths in the sections for proof. Rather then period correct and perfectly restored bikes you see a lot of decent frames with decent old suss forks with mid to late 90's Shimano gears. People are using what works best rather then what looks best. If you build a functional bike rather then a period correct show piece you're less inclined to bother with a build thread and others are less inclined to comment.

8- Most bikes have been built and shown, in every configuration you can think of so there's less inspiration and less interest in builds. This being the case there's less people looking for parts. I've been here a good while now and it's rare for me to see a bike that has not been done before.

That's my 2p worth.