Why do you collect retro bikes?

Roasted

Kona Fan
Just wondering what drives everyone to collect the retro bikes that they do? Are they from a particular era, frame material, discipline, nostalgia or you like a bit of everything

I like dirt jump/4x/DS bikes from the late nineties and early noughties. At this time there was a lot of exciting development with disc brakes coming mainstream, 9 speed and some well built CNC components. I mainly get the bikes I lusted over in the magazines, so a huge part of it is nostalgia. I have a soft spot for Kona, Orange, and Curtis but not fussy about frame material.

So why do you collect?
 
I'm mostly into slightly more modern retro bikes with disc brakes and functional suspension, and for me:

There's a charm and character to many 90s/00s bikes that I find lacking in most modern MTBs.

It's a way to enjoy MTB without excessive consumerism, low cost and low environmental impact.

I very much enjoy being able to keep up with (and sometimes even outdo) riders of modern bikes, despite the MTB media/marketing saying retro bikes are borderline unrideable (what a massive load of capitalism driven bollocks!).

I love rebuilding and restoring old neglected things, and find bikes particularly rewarding as it's relatively easy to turn them from skip fodder into a nice ride.

They are arguably more fun to ride on most UK trails than a modern LLS 29er enduro type bike.

Pre 1997 bikes, the above all still applies, (perhaps even more so), but I do find they restrict the rising you can do considerably compared to a modern bike, whereas a 2000s bike can generally hold it's own against a modern one. So performance on the trails is a big priority for me.
 
I very much enjoy being able to keep up with (and sometimes even outdo) riders of modern bikes, despite the MTB media/marketing saying retro bikes are borderline unrideable (what a massive load of capitalism driven bollocks!).

I've noticed that. They really aren't complimentary towards older bikes, apparently the geo was rubbish, suspension rubbish, brakes rubbish and drivetrain was rubbish. And when they test them they don't set them up properly for the rider. Jordan Boostmaster seems to be doing a good job flying the flag for older DH bikes with his Super Monster T equipped Norco A-Line.
 

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