Litespeed titanium fork
- Thread starter troje
- Start date
troje":1tgrzskm said:
I saw one for sale about 4 years ago locally (Atlanta GA USA). It was on Craigslist as a complete bike. The pic was very blurry and the seller was about 2 hours away. He never responded to my questions and the ad was gone a day or two later. So, I think this counts as 'yes they exist'. But certainly rare as hens teeth.
Yeah, that’s about the frequency these rare gems come by. What strikes me though is that they indeed exist, but apparently all are hidden somewhere stucked far away in a collection that probably nevers sees daylight. And yes, they exist. Read the really old threads here, they occasionally came by for sale, not very often but definitely more often than now.
My conclusion is that the real gems have gone, are somewhere in a collection owned by someone who does not want to sell. Don’t get me wrong, it’s everyone’s right to do with parts whatever you want to do with it, but it definitely destroys the active retrobike community if rare items are extinct. I like hunting for a part, but come on, three and a half years and not a single one comes by? There is no easier way to lose interest in old bikes than this.
And I would not mind if these rare bits are often shining in build threads, or at retro shows and gatherings, but I just don’t see them. There are dozens of them out there, but all hidden. Yes, they have value, but the value of a part is also determined by how active and how big the community is. I think this is one of the reasons the retro bike community is slowly dying.
My conclusion is that the real gems have gone, are somewhere in a collection owned by someone who does not want to sell. Don’t get me wrong, it’s everyone’s right to do with parts whatever you want to do with it, but it definitely destroys the active retrobike community if rare items are extinct. I like hunting for a part, but come on, three and a half years and not a single one comes by? There is no easier way to lose interest in old bikes than this.
And I would not mind if these rare bits are often shining in build threads, or at retro shows and gatherings, but I just don’t see them. There are dozens of them out there, but all hidden. Yes, they have value, but the value of a part is also determined by how active and how big the community is. I think this is one of the reasons the retro bike community is slowly dying.
ti_pin_man
Senior Retro Guru
- Feedback
- View
until the unicorn arrives why not get one custom made. just a thought. No, it wont be your ideal answer but then at least you can finish a build until it turns up. I'm after a rear clark kent pineapple hub. I bought a non pineapple ck hub until the unicorn pops up. 
good luck.
good luck.
