New Bike Chat -->1998 on section

Following feedback from users we have decided to setup a Bike Chat section for discussing bikes 1998 and onwards. The section consists of

Bike Chat 1998 -->
Reader's Bikes 1998 -->
For Sale & Wanted 1998 -->
eBay & Marketplace Watch 1998 -->

This has been given a lot of thought, however as ever things will be changed and adjusted as necessary. We see the benefits as being

Stops otherwise useful bike related posts being lost in the malaise that is General and Off Topic
A dedicated section for discussing less retro (or more modern) bikes should keep the Retro MTB and Road sections more focused.
Dedicated For Sale & Wanted section should again keep the Retro For Sale & Wanted sections more focussed and cleaner.


So, let's hear your thoughts.

Excellent idea especially the for sale split.

A nice idea, the community here is friendly and I welcome somewhere to chat about disc brakes and trail centres every now and then

seems needed to me
i think most of us have a modern bike in the shed

I hope the moderation will be reasonably light touch. e.g., in selling parts, a lot of people don't know what year a part was made. Or someone may be selling say M739 or 217 rims, which could have been made either before or after 1 1 98.

I recognise that many people feel a need for a date cut-off (and I am in a minority over that), but I hope that provided users remember that the basic intention is to distinguish between retro and modern, the moderators will be reasonably relaxed about respecting the view of the member concerned in the case of items that fall close to the cut-off date.

Debates about where an M737/X517 wheel should be advertised wouldn't enhance the site!

My opinion, missguided as it probably is :

Retrobike is for old bikes, the clue is in the title.

There are loads of forums for new bikes, why do we need one too

Please dont shoot me down, there's no need, its just my opinion, not me trying to pick a fight or throw abuse at you.

Sorry

Agree. Shoulld make it easier to find parts to buy

Not a fan but will go along.

In particular not keen on the split trading areas. I like to browse and stumble across interesting items for sale, be they pre or post 1998.

It sounds as though I must now split any selling I do too. pre in one section and post in another. 1998 as a split is in effect a date pulled out of the air and as such works fine, but to widen the metaphorical gap between the split point by further segregation of the various channels of conversation seems like more work for the admins, more work for us plebs and more drift within this fine community.

As some one above me pointed out, Retrobike really says what it does on the tin.

Change for the sake of change?

I can't say I mind the way it is just now but I'm fairly laid back about things.

Problems I can see are even more threads being entered in wrong locations and people getting flamed for it though; which, if happened would turn this place into something not as nice as it has been in the past.

Sometimes folk are unsure where to put stuff - it happens - but if bike related stuff finds it's way into the general or off topic section and if it's useful let's get it moved where it can be utilised? Is it a problem to move?

This is retrobike, the way we define retro is different to the true definition of retro, we've had this debate before but newcomers may well feel that their bike is retro because it's been built with a sympathetic leaning towards bike styles of yesteryear and 'hearkens back to the day' which is pretty much the true definition. Do we need to change our name to something else to alleviate any confusion? If we want to focus on bikes and bike related stuff up to 1998 do we have to make it crystal clear? Perhaps a competition for a new name?

Cheers
Steve

For keeping the community spirit. I don't think I would feel comfortable over at STW or whatever after coming here.
Nice to be able to talk about my modern Kula over here if I need or want to.
The experience on MTB'ing in general over here is probably larger than somewhere like STW as most people have riden fully rigid and have over 20 years in an MTB saddle, where as I guess a lot of guys over there would run a mile at anything less than 8cm of suspension travel.

Carl.