The death or birth of retro bikes?

[Bimly]

Over the weekend I got the opportunity to quiz some 20 somethings on their view of "retro bikes" and what they believe they are. Also some serious old timers in their 90s and everybody inbetween.

Results are both interesting and worrying at the same time...well from my perspective as a 50s bloke.

Conclusions arrived at....

1. Perspective of Retro moves with age, so retro to a 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 year old will all be different. However a constant is that its probably the bike you could not afford when 15 years old or the bike your dad had which you were not allowed to even touch.

2. Less people are interested in stuff they cant remember than they can. So again retro interest and moves with age of subject.

3. Adults in their 20s are not as attached or as bike centric as other generations. This possibly due to increased ability to contact friends without peddling round the corner or the parents media fear of a sex fiend on every street.

4. Ownership is not a priority for 20s, transience is the norm, so why keep or be attached to something. Phones change each year, cars are leased, houses rented....

So what does this mean for the future of our community? Well tied with the appalling quality of many mass produced bikes now; Possible gloom and doom. It seems at present late 80s to early 90s is the holy grail, but this may be at its zenith of value as the audience will only shrink with age and time. I've already witnessed this in the 70s road bike world where prices of all but the best have fallen due to a lack of interest from an aging population.

So what to do? Nothing you cant shift the goal posts, so enjoy what you own, get out and ride it as much as you can, whilst you can and don't pay over the odds for something you think you might store as a pension pot!

 

[Gerard]

This was discussed to a degree at Mayhem insofar as it is very much age dependent and not exclusive to mountain bikes.
The interest and value in items usually peaks when individuals (men) are 35-50 and it is the items they lusted after in the young to late teens. This because at 35-50 (maybe earlier/later) they have the disposable income to buy. Furthermore most look ridiculously cheap.
So the MTB you lusted after at 14, now on eBay in need of TLC is £200-£300! Not only do you get to own it, but also buy all the parts you dreamt of to make into your special machine.

Problem is, once you get to say 60 and on-wards, the interest often wains. I have seen this in cars. An Austin 7 is not worth what it was 10-20 years ago in real terms. Meanwhile XR3i and 205GTis have risen.....the buying age group. The same with tractors etc.

There will always be the exceptions to the rule: Yeti, Klien (don't know why, just a rebranded Cannodale Andy was telling me a Mayhem ;-) ), etc. but I fear in a few years time the retrobike will be the first 29ners, or 650b or whatever and ours might be seen as nice remnants but only a very few holding an interest/value.

 

[Peachy!]

All notes above are true-ish, but is this something to worry about?
Back in the day I used to spend more in the pub per month than I now 'waste' (so my wife says) on bikes, but then I and most here do this for the joy we get from it, not really any monatary gain (ok so 50% of content on here is trade related)

I know some local VCC club members who snear at anything post 1960... like anyone really cares.

 

[The History Man]

Any woman post 1960s sneers at me. No one really cares.

 

[Supratada]

4. Ownership is not a priority for 20s, transience is the norm, so why keep or be attached to something. Phones change each year, cars are leased, houses rented....

That there is probably the best way to summarise the current generation, or at least in the western, developed world. For people so concerned about the environment, they seem to be heavily investing in a throwaway culture.

 

[Hotwheels.]

The bubble will burst, it's just when, then we'll all be left with a pile of scrap that cost a fortune and is worth nack all. So long as you get enjoyment from it though, that's where it's at.

 

[lensmansteve]

This is an interesting thread. The nature of any niche interest site is that the smallest inconsequential details of, say, a bike's decals become a subject of great debate- and in the context of greater societal issues it's all meaningless trivia. But that's human nature, we love our hobbies, and at least rescuing old bikes isn't doing anyone or anything much harm. Quite the opposite, in fact. Consumerism is like everything else- alright in moderation. A bike can be seen as a consumable, much like a fridge- and maybe there's a Retrofridge site out there too.. So let's make the best of our old bikes and allowances for each other, this site is a happy place!

 

[Peachy!]

My retro fridge is in my shed, its full of RC lipo packs and beer.....

 

[lensmansteve]

There's no room in my shed for fridges, it's full of old bikes.. Think yours must be too..

 

[Peachy!]

There's no room in my shed for fridges, it's full of old bikes.. Think yours must be too..

I’ve got two sheds

As for the future?
Here’s our Jim and his mates stocking up at the garage shop... no lad over 12, no bike younger than 20.

Oh and his mate on the Marin rides competitively and has fallen for the shoreline hook line & sinker, says it’s the sickest bike he’s ever ridden....