Nostalgia vs. reality.
 

When I was a kid back in 1963 I got a shiny red Murray Missile for my 8th birthday and I have many great memories of that bike. Hence my choice of user name. I have long thought it would be great to have one for old time sake. Well, I got the opportunity to work on a virtually identical Murray built Sears Foremost from the same era....... I no longer want a Murray Missile for old time sake LOL and they can't come get this Foremost out of here soon enough. Once again I will let memories just be memories. 😎

So true!! Memories always have a way of glossing over reality. My first bike bike was a red framed used bike back in the late 60's of which I don't remember the name. My grandfather built her up with a long support bar and banana seat. I really loved it, after that a Murray banana seated green bike. Now I come across those and wonder how I was able to ride these very heavy machines. But back in the day, it was the best

My brother gave me a beacon 10 speed of his when i was in high school. I rode it everywhere. When i ran accross one at a yard sale i couldnt pull the trigger. All steel components and rims just dont do it for me anymore. Also the frameset while servicable was pretty darn heavy. Funny how i remembered it.

I have no nostalgia for the dentistry of my 1950s childhood, either. But at least we didn’t have anti-vaxxers then. Nobody died from opposition to water fluoridation. But boy were our teeth rotten. “Just one cavity!” at each visit was a triumph ... and a toothpaste ad phrase.

Every time I think this, and then I see someone on a nicely maintained Schwinn cruiser and just think "huh, that'd be cool..."

i just massaged an old schwinn service bike with a basket back in to rideable shape for a friend. It sucks to ride but she was thrilled.

“Don’t meet your heroes.”

Doing something the second time is rarely as memorable as the first.

I tried it. I liked it. But there is so much more new to try, more than I can do in a lifetime.

My dentist was upstairs over a candy store, the Ben Franklin downtown.
He pulled teeth for $5 cash, fillings were $10. Numbing? What was that?
He kept his tools in an aquarium that seemed to be steamy. It had some cool name. Clavicle?
The chair was a Ritter, black onyx with leather pulley straps or belts. Not high speed. I think they used them in prisons, too.
He used a pedal switch. No clamping things open, no assistant, just "hold steady," and "OK, spit."
He had Parkinson's and would shake until he got to your mouth, and then got steady.
You got very used to it, and it was actually comforting. As a child, I had no clue; thought it was normal.

Today, due to hyper-sensitivity, no numbing, maybe gas if it's not strong.
Wisdom teeth, then several root canals, no anesthetic. One took 4 hours.
I've learned to "go to another place" during these, but one guy only took 20 minutes, so I was barely "there."

As for bikes, my paper route Columbia 2-speed (kickback) was a tank and I would rather walk to the pool than take my paper route bike.

My '76 Bicentennial Free Spirit remains the most beautiful and fastest bike that I or anyone else has ever ridden.
And I'm not about to alter that with reality.

I knew this girl; her favorite saying was "I'll try anything twice." South 'burbs.

Yeah, but you were a Marine. They were looking for a few good men, remember.

Let's not forget the clothes that accompanied those late 50s early 60s bicycles for a kid. In my case my patched knees Levi's over cotton briefs, cotton T-Shirt summer, add a long sleeved flannel shirt in the winter and semi-hi-topped Red Wing Flyer lace up boots. Yet during summer vacation from school I would ride 10-20 miles a day on a bike that weighed the same or a little more than me.

Last time I rode a bike wearing briefs and Levi's the combination of sweat and wet cotton made a pretty good polishing compound, took a couple days to calm down the contact points. :eek:

Well there is what I had and what I wished I had. More interest in the later than the former

I remember walking uphill, in the snow to school. Both directions......:innocent:

you forgot barefoot. I can say I have walked to school at 50 below, with parka and gloves, but not snowboots...that was uncool for a teenager

autoclave and they had special masking tape that had stripes appear once enough time and heat was applied for sterilization...... at least thats what they had in the doctor's office my dad was lab and x-ray tech for

BITD my 3 speed columbia (shimno 333 hub, steel rims) was the greatest, even got my bicycling merit badge on it. then I got my first 10 speed...an azuki and have never looked back

I had a hand me down Schwinn Typhoon from my older brother who had probably had it handed down to him from a neighbor or some such, I commuted to Jr HS on that bike and it took me lots of places. I have thought of finding one and then think better of it. Mine was something like this ....

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...79916b15f9.jpg

I saw a BEAUTIFUL copper tone Jaguar (or some other paper boy-esque Schwinn) at a rummage sale- it was in excellent shape- only $75; my wife gave me the go ahead- I was going to pull the trigger- as I grabbed it to take it up to pay for it- the second I started to pick it up.... there was no way in hell I would ride that thing as long as I had lighter, more 'exertion friendly' bikes. Someone else got a prize that day.

Klunker material!

Sometimes there is a wake up call about old bikes and nostalgia to be had, but I feel like if you approach old bikes with an understanding of what they are there is enjoyment to be had. My favorite riding bike is a 3 speed road bike from the 50s. The bike is slower, heavier, cruder in most every way than a modern road bike (I've ridden a lot of bikes modern and old), but the experience it gives is so much fun. The best comparison I can give to it's ride is comparing a modern sports car to an old MG roadster. The same can be said for something like the Schwinn Typhoon above, a modern bike will be "better" but the experience it gives while riding is worthwhile. Granted I did end up building new wheels for the bike, because steel rims offer no advantage and 26x1 3/8 had limited tires that were any good. I suppose you have to find the good in the old and update what doesn't work (just like with cars)

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ea9fb39e2b.jpg

Cleaning out the old homestead to settle the estate and just threw my first bike on the pile to go to the scrap yard. AMF roadmaster single speed coaster bent fork.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4a365aa4a0.jpg

My first new bike, bought with money saved from mowing many lawns, was a Campus green Schwinn Varsity. Loved it. Rode, it and moved it many times, riding less and less. First comes Varsity, then comes marriage, then comes Thomas in the baby carriage. The Varsity collected dust and cob webs in many garages until, one day, with an air of confidence (aka Engineer's arrogant know-it-all) I said "I cannot see myself ever riding drop bars again." Took it to the recycling center and rolled it into the dumpster.

I now own 9 drop bar road bikes and a dropped mtn bike. But I'm also a part time LBS mechanic and have handled, serviced and ridden many Varsities. Tom Rush comes to mind - "No regrets, no tears goodbye, don't want you back. We'd only cry again, say goodbye again."

Once you've ridden a top end bike, there's no going back.

Looking through adds and articles in bicycling magazine at 15 years old, my dream bike was a 3rensho aerodynamics. Almost 40 years later I actually have one. I must say the nostalgia lived up to the reality!

I thought an autoclave played chords or was a big garage...