So how long will they all last?

South Bound

Senior Retro Guru
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Inspired by new arrivals to the Retro Bloodline (what was happening 9months ago?), I was wondering what chances there are of actually handing our bikes (or at least the frames) down to our kids?

My Kona is steel, 15 years old, not too abused, but is used every day in the crappy weather. Am I wrong to expect this to last another 15 years?

My Ozone is wall art, well garage art really, so there is no reason this should not last me another 20 or 30 years. But being Alu, there is no way I would use it seriously and expect it to last more than another few years.

Anyone fancy Afan on a 50 year old MTB?
 
if stored and maintained properly , no reason why they should not last .

some metal bridges have been up more than 100 years .
 
Well, in a moment of madness :oops: I actually did hand my 1988 Explosif down to my son - this was about 14 years ago when he was 13.
Fortunately however, sanity prevailed and I reclaimed it after only a month or so (and before he'd managed to inflict any damage on it, let all his mates thrash it or have it nicked).
 
There are plenty of steel frames from the 1930s-1950s around. So I don't see any reason why not, provided it's reasonably looked after.
 
............... wondering a similar thing thing.
i hate the thought of my bike being broken or un-appreciated !!! none of my family are that in to bikes, so i dont know how long they will last. :cry:
i was thinking what will happen to my bikes when im dead ?
sold to someone who doesnt even know what it is ? probobly thinking its crap because its got a quill stem !!
a bit of a dark thought :LOL: i might get cremated or buried with my favourite bike. just so i know it will be safe !!! :LOL: ;)
 
magicmistertea":3qf4f5en said:
a bit of a dark thought :LOL: i might get cremated or buried with my favourite bike. just so i know it will be safe !!! :LOL: ;)

I once red of a man in the USA who was buried in his sixty-something Corvette. The car was buried with the man. Don't know how they guard it though - someone might want to dig up that car...
 
i personally don't intend to breed but if i did there is no way in hell that i'd give one of my prized glorius treasures to a spotty teenage oik, from my loins or not!!

:LOL:

but seriously, no way.
 
Well they could easily last hundreds of years if you kept them rust free and didn't ride them much. A regular ride could last a lifetime a few decades but would end up looked pretty tired.

Rust is probably the biggest worry for retro steel bikes. Unless you thrash them offroad in which case it will probably last until you ride it into a tree or jump it off a small (or large) cliff.
 
When I started racing twinshock motocross in the mid 1990's (these are bikes from the late 1970 and early eighties with twinshock suspension), I wondered the same thing. But fear not those bikes are still going strong and as fast as ever through good restoration and maintenance, as are the bikes in pre '65 and pre '74 classes.

The main problem is the riders are getting older and cannot take the the knocks, afford it or put up with the hours of training, travelling and preparation anymore. I'm sure a lot of our bikes if cared for properly will out live our cycling life.
 
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