Lost my Retro Mojo.........

My love for cycling never wanes - all weather's, all year I'm on the bike (notwithstanding I try to have one day a week with no bike or gym). Be it work, shopping, visiting friends on my Audax bike or hacking round the forest on my various MTB s I'm out there. All seasons, all weather's, because for me its a lifestyle choice not just a hobby.

That said, within the cycling sphere my interest waxes and wanes, largely depending on what I'm building at the time. MTB s are my thing, but recent diversions of interest to a Raleigh RSW, and recently a 70s roadie, but invariably back to MTBs, particularly older ones.

Unless its Ti with £1500 on it then sell it either in parts or complete and take a little rest. Then start paroozing ebay and gumtree and see if anything pops up that you like
About 2 or 3 weeks ago a really nice couple of square tubed Paces came up from the one seller on Ebay. One was standard silver 18" the other a very nice black ano @ 20"
The 18" went for £130 and the 20" for i think £150
At that lucky price its the kind of project that you just stumble on ,pop in a stupidly low bid and win. Bingo- New Project

Its still gone. Its not that I haven't been trying either. I have taken my modernish ride out for a thrash and that put kind of a grim on my face but its just the old stuff, I look in the shed at a collection that know has no direction or meaning just a collection of Retrobikes for Retrobikes sake.
I love my road bike and I loved my 400 mile cycle challenge, its just the Retrobikes that I have fallen out of love with, for the moment. I look at bikes on here and don't get enthused anymore, I just see bikes!

I think after careful consideration that I might sell just about all of the retro stuff and sit back and wait as many have suggested for something that really excites me to come along, or do I keep it all, I don't know!

I think I will have a day soon to sit in the shed and smell all the tyres and bit to see if that helps me. If not, its going........for now!

TBH, building up "scene" bikes primarily for posting on here is rubbish.

Ride bikes that make you happy.

I ride nearly every day - either road or the muddy stuff

But I need another project all the time, its like I get a buzz from sourcing, buying and receiving bike parts :facepalm:

My Wife has given up trying to follow my builds

But then she is obsessed with cake making accessories

I think this is a common story...when you first find the love for retro bikes you think of all that you wished for when you were a boy! Then you find the bike you wanted BITD...but by now the fuse has been lit! You go on to see other bikes that you can now afford and buy another, then another, then another! etc etc! Then you find this forum and you find like minded folk who encourage your love and it can then evolve into an obsession. Before to long you reach the point where you have a shed/garage/house full of bikes that you can never possibly ride all of. So if like me you realise that unless you are going to start a bike museum there is little point owning half a dozen very similar bikes unless you just want to collect and collect. I like to ride my bikes, so I have had a recent cull...

...I've gone from 6 retro bikes to 2 and 2 modern bikes to 1...I think to focus on just a couple of bikes helps remind you of the original love and why you wanted the bike in the first place. It too easily becomes about just aquiring more and more bikes because you can, and less about riding the bikes and enjoying cycling which is what it is about for me...

Unless its something really rare, or in stunning condition, most bikes can be re bought. There is no harm in selling a bike as you can re buy most of the time. Sometimes "clearing out the closet" can help you regain the perspective thats needed to find the love once more. For some its about large collections and thats fine, for me its about quality over quantity and most of all that the bikes I own are the bikes I ride!

Hope this helps

Doug

maverick":1k36lwfs said:

Its still gone. Its not that I haven't been trying either. I have taken my modernish ride out for a thrash and that put kind of a grim on my face but its just the old stuff, I look in the shed at a collection that know has no direction or meaning just a collection of Retrobikes for Retrobikes sake.
I love my road bike and I loved my 400 mile cycle challenge, its just the Retrobikes that I have fallen out of love with, for the moment. I look at bikes on here and don't get enthused anymore, I just see bikes!

I think after careful consideration that I might sell just about all of the retro stuff and sit back and wait as many have suggested for something that really excites me to come along, or do I keep it all, I don't know!

I think I will have a day soon to sit in the shed and smell all the tyres and bit to see if that helps me. If not, its going........for now!

Click to expand...

Are you just mtb or have you ever tried.................Road :shock:

Ive always been mtb but recently ive bought a few road frames with the intention of giving this big skinny wheel business a go.
It may all come to nothing but im also getting somewhat bored with the same old so its a new game and bound to be full of new challenges

Like Why cant i put sus on the front of a roadie ? The potholes are terrible and i think its something roadies should start to look at :?

Maybe you should just consider yourself lucky!

I love retro at the moment and that's great but I do sometimes wonder if it will ALWAYS take up THIS MUCH of my time??? And if I'll EVER be interested in ANYTHING else (other than family and friends). I don't even listen to much new music anymore!

It's a familiar tale but I had no idea retrobike had this much power to suck you in and I still don't really understand why.

cce":idmnc8dq said:

TBH, building up "scene" bikes primarily for posting on here is rubbish.

Ride bikes that make you happy.

Click to expand...

Whats a "SCENE" bike....?

Every bike should Inspire you to ride...!

Every bike should be a Journey of Exploration whether the build or the ride or both together...!

To build a bike to post on here, and nothing else is financial suicide surely....?

I am aware people build for BOTM, and then sell or brake and sell.

That's a sad day too.... :facepalm:
(unless the build is purely therapeutic and for and health related reasons and the member cant fully enjoy the ride and yet still wants to contribute his knowledge and experience to the website.
I am glad to say I only know of one genuine case of this and I fully support the member.. )

Im sure every member has his or her reason for building and I suspect for sum there is a bigger picture too.

I know of one member who now has his bike collection on public display(and all the same brand), what a "scene" that is. More of a speechless Spectacle to be fair.


Each Hobby has it pockets of following, whether it be "YETI, KLEIN, FAT CHANCE etc etc etc".

is this what you mean by "SCENE" bikes.....?

Surely these examples are nothing more than branches of the RETROBIKE tree.

A "SCENE" in itself.... :?

Touched a nerve?

PMSL