New definition for NOS

[H]

Some of you may know I have just acquired a unicorn (for me anyhow), the fruits of a long, long search.

Now comes the fun bit, researching, quantifying and scoring the bits to make my dream ride real. Or at least, that's how it was. A short trawl on the bay and other sites has revealed tat at stupid prices, anything that might pass as cared for looks like its weight literally in gold...

...NOS might now stand for 'necessitates over speculation'

I'm prepared to hear that I've got champagne tastes and lemonade pockets, but things are surely near to loosing all sense of proportion. Components prices are close to condemning everything to show use only. For example, chewed up XTR950 mechs at £50 to £60! Anything NOS is almost too expensive to mount let alone show the mud of a trail. I have some bits that I was looking to move on, but should I become a hoarder and/or acquaint myself with the finer points of single speed and garage appreciation?

For me it's about the ride, always has been. I buy things to use, their use gives me pleasure. A case in point; at last year's Icons do in Warwick I asked an owner how their bike X compared to their bike Y? Their answer "dunno mate, I've never ridden them," to which he carried one off to his car. Well why wouldn't you with period correct tyres at £100 a set.

We've got to be careful peeps. Our mutual love of old MTB's might result in our steads collecting dust not memories and our passion excluding newcomers and the bikes use. I hope to see you on the trail, so we can indulge our passion not the pursuit of other interests.

What says you?

H

 

[brocklanders023]

Re:

The only way to do it without spending a fortune is to play the long game. Keep an eye out for poorly listed bikes that have the parts you want as complete (or nearly) bikes tend to be worth less then the sum of their parts.

Many times I've been able to get a bike, take off the parts I wanted then move what's left on for around the same money. You need patience though and lots of spare time to trawl ebay.

 

[H]

Re:

We are kindred spirits, that's how I acquire my bits. Do you, or anyone else for that matter foresee a time when the cost of replacement parts (even a commodity such as a cassette) might preclude use?

I've got a modern Cotic Soul, but would hate to arrive at a time when my retro bikes only see the inside of my garage or pave.

H

 

[legrandefromage]

I was lucky, I bought most of my genuine NOS when it was real NOS and not kNOS (kNackered old Shit) passed off as NOS.

And it was still relatively cheap. Theres an RB member who had the foresight to raid the NOS of shops in the early to mid 2000's. He is now sitting on a potential fortune at todays prices, even if he undercuts the market by some %

I have now used that NOS for what it was meant for making it kNOS.

I'm not sure if I should be ashamed of using a brand new CS-M737, actually riding it, enjoying it knowing it was possibly the very last NOS at the time from an actual shop.

Now, apart from a few bits, I just use Chinese cassettes without worry and I'm unlikely to wear hard to find manufacturer specific chainrings anytime soon as the wear on the bikes is spread over 4 or 5.

 

[brocklanders023]

Re:

There will be a huge selection of parts available for a long time to keep our old bikes on (off?) the road but you might need to compromise on condition or exact spec if you don't have deep pockets.

It's the reason I can never see me getting some of my real dream bikes as I can't justify the cost of doing them properly. :cry:

 

[jimo746]

Re:

It is all about the ride for me.
At the rate things are going I think I could buy a NOS rear mech (for example) for say £60, ride it (infrequently, as I now have a couple of bikes and not just the one bike like bitd) for 10 years, and it would still be worth £60 in used condition after 10 years if the market carries on the way it is going.
So nothing to lose imo, but everything to gain by riding/using the part and getting enjoyment form it.
Some bikes are a real treat to the eye and lovely to look at, real feats of engineering (often of the back garden shed school of engineering ), but at the end of the day it's a bike, designed to be ridden. I don't begrudge those who collect retro MTB and hang it on a wall, for they are preserving things for the future, but personally I'd rather be out riding bikes than ogling bikes.

btw, have you seen the price of a New XTR rear mech?? it makes even retro NOS XTR rear mechs seem like a bargain!

 

[brocklanders023]

Re:

Do you mean the electric one though?

From looking around the site it does seem that the camp has split more in to riders and garage queens in the last few years. Looking at the section aftermath threads people seem to concentrate more on what works then what looks good now. A few years back when I was more active on the rides there seemed to be more 'period correct' bikes about and the fashion show was an important part of the ride.

Makes sense to use stuff that works better I guess but the way my mind works I'd just ride modern instead of a functional retro. That's not to say the functional bikes aren't great and of very high quality but it's obvious they are set up to be a great ride rather then a beauty queen.

 

[legrandefromage]

I'm sick of bikes today. Built three. Lots of knackered old parts that didnt work or dont fit or dont have damping (as promised by the seller) etc etc etc

 

[jimo746]

I'm sick of bikes today. Built three. Lots of knackered old parts that didnt work or dont fit or dont have damping (as promised by the seller) etc etc etc

Maybe it's time to go New/New, as in a new/modern/new bike? You'll still have a load of parts that don't fit anything else (or each other half the time) though, and you'll get more damping than you know what to do with (quite literally!).

The older old gets the newer the new new appears, in reality it's still the same old old, but with a newer spin on it to create a new/old

 

[legrandefromage]

I rode an old/old bike the other day and it beat the new/new of my friend. Or I beat my friend with my old/old whilst he was a bit pooped trying to beat me with his new/new. Technically the old/old could have been described as new/old as most of it was NOS. But after a few rides the new/old becomes old/old again.

He wasnt riding new/modern though