When is Retro actually "Retro"
- Thread starter Mad Cow
- Start date
Wu-Tangled":3phfyxsc said:Ziggy":3phfyxsc said:
yeah...
like a road movie doesn't actually need to have any roads in it.
It's a state of mind man.
The dictionary definintion of retro and the term we use here are pretty different...
As for a date, like Wu says....it's a state of mind
We had a similar discussion a few months back.
Anyway in the true sense of the word Retro refer to something new which has been made to look like or mimic a style from a previous time/era.
i.e. New Mini styled to look like an old one, Santa Cruz Nomad with curvy top tube similar to something a lot older etc etc.
A car, bike, clothing or other object which has period styling isn't really retro if was leading edge etc in its day but rather should be classed as classic or period.
Missuse ofthe term retro though means that the current meaning can almost be anything you want as there is no hard timeframe attachd to the term (something 2 years old can be retro as can something 50 or 75 years).
In the end its not worth worrying about, in 10 years time we'll probably be refering to our bikes as "post 80s fluro" perod machines or maybe "late 20th C" to ditinguish them from the "disc brake all mountain" Retro Machines
Anyway in the true sense of the word Retro refer to something new which has been made to look like or mimic a style from a previous time/era.
i.e. New Mini styled to look like an old one, Santa Cruz Nomad with curvy top tube similar to something a lot older etc etc.
A car, bike, clothing or other object which has period styling isn't really retro if was leading edge etc in its day but rather should be classed as classic or period.
Missuse ofthe term retro though means that the current meaning can almost be anything you want as there is no hard timeframe attachd to the term (something 2 years old can be retro as can something 50 or 75 years).
In the end its not worth worrying about, in 10 years time we'll probably be refering to our bikes as "post 80s fluro" perod machines or maybe "late 20th C" to ditinguish them from the "disc brake all mountain" Retro Machines
Mad Cow
Devout Dirtbag
Yeah I didn't actually have anything in mind.
As I bought my first mountain bike in 1989 and I'm still only on my fourth bike (and still own three of the four) I tend to get maximum value out of things, so don't neccessarily think of them as "old" or "retro".
Indeed until I bought my Epic in Feb 2005 (Yes I bought a last years bike so already out of date in many minds), I still referred to my (then) nine year old Scott as "my new bike".
Of course Retro is generally held to be something that is new but looks old. The more appropriate term might be "classic" or "veteran" but I like Retro as it has a much more ambiguous feel to it.
So yep it's a state of mind!
As I bought my first mountain bike in 1989 and I'm still only on my fourth bike (and still own three of the four) I tend to get maximum value out of things, so don't neccessarily think of them as "old" or "retro".
Indeed until I bought my Epic in Feb 2005 (Yes I bought a last years bike so already out of date in many minds), I still referred to my (then) nine year old Scott as "my new bike".
Of course Retro is generally held to be something that is new but looks old. The more appropriate term might be "classic" or "veteran" but I like Retro as it has a much more ambiguous feel to it.
So yep it's a state of mind!
