Originally Posted by
Koyote
I can't recall ever seeing faded paint on a bike...Is this a big problem?
Don't think so.
My wife's car needs a new paint job after about a dozen years sitting outside in all weather. My oldest bike, about the same vintage, is protected at least half the time (inside a shed or garage). The bike's enamel paint has suffered more from dings and rubbing against fenceposts, light poles, benches, etc. than it has from the sun. If it were powder coated, it'd look much better.
But how many people will keep one bike for 12 years or more? To read these fora you'd think you needed to look for dinosaur eggs to find 9-speed parts that were state of the art that long ago.