How old is retro?

[legrandefromage]

Once upon a time in a galaxe far, far away:

There was a halcyon period where thumbshifters graised in their thousands across vast plains full of little single tracks, burms and long sweeping fire roads.

Here & there in little hamlets, great men hand produced small batches of CNC lovleyness. The framesmith of each village would produce fantastic frames which all the village would come together and cellabrate and applaud holding street parties and Stone Roses appreciation days.

The two May Bank Holidays were the now forgotten bike festivals of 'Tange Prestige' and the Hallowed day of Ritchey where the men and the boys of each village would pit their skills against each other.

Archeologists have found remains of one great festival possibly called 'World Grundy cup', they're not sure if this is the true name and are working on it.

Recent finds have been great Kings buried in tombs along with their tools, parts and frames - ancient names that sound so strange to us in these modern times:

'Gary Turner'

'Tim Gould''

'Joe Breeze'

The Archeologists are excited as they have unearthed a treasure trove of NOS (New Old Stuff) which they have listed and discussed a great deal at

www.retrobike.co.uk

 

[GarethPJ]

In car terms I think retro is pretty clearly defined. I think it started as a reaction to those anally retentive "classic" car types.

Those people who think every part should be as original have a point when the car is a historical document, either a rarity or a museum piece, but when there are loads of them on the road what's wrong if you modify the car a little? Why should the owner of an old car spend ages trawling autojumbles for the correct wing mirror for the 1959 model when the mirror from a scrapped 1973 Austin 1100 will fit just fine?

Similarly the idea of a retro car thumbs its nose at those people who think every old car is automatically a classic. The Morris Marina a classic? Pull the other one. However as something you pick up cheap and can maintain with a ajustable spanner and a hammer it's terrific. If you choose to paint it matt black and fit twin carbs and a straight through exhaust, as somebody round here has done, then it's a bit of a laugh. Do that sort of thing to a 1932 Lagonda and I think the owners club would be justified in getting upset.

So I think of a retro bike in similar terms. The crankset may be from 2003 even though the frame is pre 1998, but that doesn't stop the bike being retro. I mean who's seriously going to search for NOS tyres from before 1998? That's not a "retro" attitude, that's an anally retentive "classic collector" attitude.

 

[JeRkY]

Once upon a time in a galaxe far, far away:

There was a halcyon period where thumbshifters graised in their thousands across vast plains full of little single tracks, burms and long sweeping fire roads.

Here & there in little hamlets, great men hand produced small batches of CNC lovleyness. The framesmith of each village would produce fantastic frames which all the village would come together and cellabrate and applaud holding street parties and Stone Roses appreciation days.

The two May Bank Holidays were the now forgotten bike festivals of 'Tange Prestige' and the Hallowed day of Ritchey where the men and the boys of each village would pit their skills against each other.

Archeologists have found remains of one great festival possibly called 'World Grundy cup', they're not sure if this is the true name and are working on it.

Recent finds have been great Kings buried in tombs along with their tools, parts and frames - ancient names that sound so strange to us in these modern times:

'Gary Turner'

'Tim Gould''

'Joe Breeze'

The Archeologists are excited as they have unearthed a treasure trove of NOS (New Old Stuff) which they have listed and discussed a great deal at

www.retrobike.co.uk

Brilliant, I love the tales of yester year, tell us another one old man!

 

[legrandefromage]

I mean who's seriously going to search for NOS tyres from before 1998? That's not a "retro" attitude, that's an anally retentive "classic collector" attitude.

A hell of alot of us here on this site will look out for a set of NOS tyre to finish a race replica or NOS bike

 

[daj]

Once upon a time in a galaxe far, far away:

There was a halcyon period where thumbshifters graised in their thousands across vast plains full of little single tracks, burms and long sweeping fire roads.

Here & there in little hamlets, great men hand produced small batches of CNC lovleyness. The framesmith of each village would produce fantastic frames which all the village would come together and cellabrate and applaud holding street parties and Stone Roses appreciation days.

The two May Bank Holidays were the now forgotten bike festivals of 'Tange Prestige' and the Hallowed day of Ritchey where the men and the boys of each village would pit their skills against each other.

Archeologists have found remains of one great festival possibly called 'World Grundy cup', they're not sure if this is the true name and are working on it.

Recent finds have been great Kings buried in tombs along with their tools, parts and frames - ancient names that sound so strange to us in these modern times:

'Gary Turner'

'Tim Gould''

'Joe Breeze'

The Archeologists are excited as they have unearthed a treasure trove of NOS (New Old Stuff) which they have listed and discussed a great deal at

Brilliant .... Now stop hogging the Weed !!!

 

[GarethPJ]

I mean who's seriously going to search for NOS tyres from before 1998? That's not a "retro" attitude, that's an anally retentive "classic collector" attitude.

A hell of alot of us here on this site will look out for a set of NOS tyre to finish a race replica or NOS bike

Which makes you a "collector".

I'm a "rider" who just likes old style stuff.

 

[legrandefromage]

I mean who's seriously going to search for NOS tyres from before 1998? That's not a "retro" attitude, that's an anally retentive "classic collector" attitude.

A hell of alot of us here on this site will look out for a set of NOS tyre to finish a race replica or NOS bike

Which makes you a "collector".

I'm a "rider" who just likes old style stuff.

er.... I ride bikes too? My Zaskar frame has covered some 60,000 miles since new

 

[sadoldsamurai]

Retro

Hi, what about my chrom moly 930 singletrack trek, plain but serviceable lugged frame, Canti brakes..but sadly have been through a few sets of wheels, this mud just destroys the rims, or is it my cautious nature?

 

[hamster]

Personally I'm with Gareth, but there are plenty of collectors here, so let them have their fun. I don't run old (some would say historic) rear mechs and tyres because I am happy to use and wear new stuff out.

The purists (collectors) will shudder that my 1994 bike has a custom spray job, but so be it.

Let's not criticise other people's hobbies. They are no more (or less) pointless than your own.

 

[John Stevenson]

How about "More than X percent the age of its owner"?

Then we can argue about the value of X

I was about to suggest 50, but that might be a high barrier. Of my bikes, only my 1988 Dave Yates would be anywhere close.

30 percent?

John, who was quite startled when he realised he had a colleague who was younger than MBUK...