So many bike sites seem to loathe "retro". Why?

[enigma]

A young bike mechanic all but pleaded on Radio 4 for people not to do repairs or servicing at home as it was dangerous and 'there's over 120 moving parts on a bicycle and they shouldn't be touched by amateurs or well meaning but miss guided family members'

Most bicycle shops started out as 'amateur' mechanics so to hear this on the radio... Nearly spat out my granola

That's what you have to deal with these days, a separation from customer and product. What we bearded old farts see as a quick and easy fix is a confluxation of problems that the shop must fix - us beardies are now the same men in sheds that we in our youth mocked or at least allowed a titter to escape when wandering around classic car shows

Except for us, our hobby generally makes us a fitter and younger looking generation to those of 30 40 years ago. We are the usurper, an irritant to the cycling industry, we can operate independently without the need for social media attention, we can fix our own weird old shit as well as ride the tits off it.

And people don't like it

And the average man in the street couldn't strip a bike, most people I work with, use halfords or similar to fix punctures... mental nonsensical behaviour but fits the current narrative I guess.
I was born a grumpy old man in a shed.

 

[ChromeChainstay]

No, all steel is indestructible and all carbon fibre is weak and feeble. Retrobike facts.

another customer wanted to buy the hammer • get outa' here!

 

[ChromeChainstay]

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[Russell]

The average man in the street could never strip a bike themselves which is why bike shops have existed for over a hundred years in the UK.

There is nothing ‘current’ about this narrative at all.

 

[legrandefromage]

Well, no, because at one time, cars were expensive luxury items and the average person would be able to fix most things, especially their main mode of transportation, a bicycle, themselves.

Same with cars, as they got more accessible, home mechanics was the norm

Ison distribution was started by a guy who tinkered. No tinkerererers, no bike shops, no brands, no industry

Many instruction manuals of old contained servicing and repair information

Cars now can involve removing the front bumper just to change a light bulb and that's if they still use them.

 

[kermisking]

I was out on my clubs "club run " today. which is a lot more like a cafe race . One of the blokes asked when would I be buying a carbon Trek . I replied unless the local bike shop owner Dan gives me a new Trek I will never own one . It's just not my thing . Also I did not like the way Trek treated Greg Lemond when he outed Armstrong as a doper . I n the road bike market we have aero this , concealed that and electricity . More stuff to go wrong and an headache to maintain. The bike Industry wants to follow the car makers in making everything reliant on taking your bike to a shop because you will not have the time , patience or tools to tackle the latest and greatest . It is steel bikes and steel cable shifting until I die for me .

 

[trailwright]

The funny thing is that all of our retro stuff was the 'in' product 30+ years ago, marketed to the hilt, and uber cool. When mountain biking started to really take off it was the local roadies that turned their noses up at us colourful posers, as we were definitely non-traditional. I got stopped from riding a ten mile time trial as a junior because I had branded shorts on which just wouldn't do - I might be mistaken for a professional and this was a strictly amateur race.

 

[SFP]

I equate the old/retro MTB stuff to old/retro/vintage appliances.

The old stuff was meant to be repaired. I've got a 1983 Kenmore fridge that will outlast any modern unit. Yes it gets repaired as it was supposed to.

Hell, there are a few guys on IG who specialize in pre-1960 appliance restoration & repair.... love seeing a 1952 fridge brought back to life.

Like the meme/joke goes, "I'll pay more for a modern old style washer and dryer without internet connection and digital everything".

Vintage audio gear (pre-1984) - same deal - I love bringing old turntables back to life and gifting them to people who are just getting into records or wanting to get back into records.

 

[Russell]

Halfords and Evan’s cycles have both existed for over a hundred years as bicycle shops offering sales and service to ‘the average man’.

It isn’t a modern thing.

Marketing campaigns have always tried to sell ‘the next best bike’. Chainless drive anyone? You’re guaranteed to kick ‘his’ up the hills if you get one of these babies! (c1898 )

It isn’t a modern thing.

Some modern bikes still come with manuals detailing servicing instructions, some even come with pots of touch up paint.

It isn’t a retro thing.

 

[legrandefromage]

<listens to the sound of sidepull brakes trying to do a skid during a major u-turn >