Is BOTM too elitist??

Can we have a 2nd division BOTM stripping out the Fat chances/Kleins of the world which not everyone can afford these days - it shouldn't be a question of who has the most cash wins.

I know other more normal brands have won like Saracen, but having something that there is less pressure to enter a top flight/mint condition bike would be more inclusive? Not based on fact, but I bet the same enterants are coming up now and again.

Perhaps sometimes the story behind a bike is as important as the bike itself? Understand though 100's of bike can be judged at any one time.

And yes I'm jealous too!

Don't agree.

It's true there are more bikes that are getting money chucked at them than three or four years ago - and that what happened with collectors of road bikes is starting to happen with MTBs.

But what with themed months like:
"show us your bike getting used"
"British only"
"Canadian only"
"Euro Only"

etc
etc

there are plenty of ways for the less well off among us to show their bikes off.

And let's face it - the only time Kleins seem to win is in Klein only months!
(Oops, I said it, it's out there and will probably cause a nuclear war)

I would propose an alternative solution - which is smaller fields - as what tends to happen is that the more off the wall stuff gets few votes due to the sheer number of entries. By limiting to, say, the first 10 entries - then I suspect we'd see some different and less predictable voting patterns.

hornets nest, stick, run away!

Appreciate what you're saying buy I suspect some of these bikes are built on less of a budget than I ended up spending on my Kili Wot...

...more to do with snobbery than money; I don't understand the pant-wetting over fillet brazing?? It's just an easy way to join two pieces of metal, and was the second thing I learned to do in Metalwork at Grammar School (after plannishing). TIG welding is actually more skillful and produces a much neater finished product.

If people stopped voting for them, then the others would win. Simple.

Members decide each month if they should be there.

We need Bag'o'Shite month and mail order catalogue special.

I've heard rumours of an Activator special early next year.

Rampage":1i83colf said:

I've heard rumours of an Activator special early next year.

Click to expand...

Don't tell marc2tone after riding it around here I believe it may have found a skip on the way back home... Some lucky person may have been skip diving though.

Often the bikes that win are the ones that have had the most effort put in. That doesn't mean most money. Most retro stuff doesn't cost too much, and if you're prepared to wait then stuff can be bought cheaply.

The stand out BOTM's are the ones where there has been a long build thread where the owner has put their heart and soul into each part. Frames have been lovingly painted or polished, parts have been refurbished and repaired.

It is possible to build a BOTM contender fairly quickly if you have loads of money to buy the stuff you need off here or ebay, but it's unlikely to win against the strong competition from people who have obviously cared a great deal for their builds.

My GT Tequesta got a few votes when I entered it which I was very pleased with, so it goes to show you it doesn't need loads of money to enter!

It's themed every second month
Maybe we should have a vote the bikes in then a bike vote type thing month

I think the current bOTM format is fine, and I can't see how you could easily improve things tbh.

There are already themed months as already pointed out, so there's no way the Kleins/Fats etc could win each and every month.

Ultimately though it's us Retrobikers that vote for the BOTM! So despite what you may think, the majority obviously believe that there is something special about those high-end bikes

Considering the number of members, very few vote and a tiny minority enter.

I would be interested to see more bikes that have lived with their owners a while rather than were acquired for a 'build' with the intention of show and shining.