SurferRosa

I think it's false to assume that about younger generations. They have taste, style and a love for their environment too.

Atlas Shrugged

Unfortunately the market is speaking for itself, there is no indication that the C&V market or any so called boomer collectible is trending any way but downward.

rccardr 

Today.
But then, nobody wanted mid-century furniture or 1970 Plymouth Cudas 20 years ago (so a bunch got given away, destroyed, junked or rotted away).
Who knows what the future will bring?

Atlas Shrugged

Interesting you mentioned muscle cars! It’s all in the demographics, we lust after what we couldn’t afford but dreamed about in our youth and can finally afford. Obviously the exception lies in rare iconic items which will always receive a premium (rare Ferrari for example). But there is no shortage of top tier bikes from the 70’s - 80’s as so few were destroyed.

steelbikeguy

The Centurions of that era were nice looking bikes! A friend was able to pick one up from another nearby friend, and it's a beauty!




It's hard not to appreciate Surly working to bring decent, good bikes to the market, and not chasing the tech fads. I wonder if there's a term for that sort of marketing strategy? It's certainly worked for Rivendell too, although Grant brings his whole novel philosophy to that brand.

As for brakes, I've got Avid BB7 mechanical discs on a recumbent, and they've done rather well. The organic pads only lasted 3000 miles, but the metallic pads are doing much better. As they get filthy and crudded up, it does get hard to get the old pads out. Might need to flush them with solvent or something.

On the other hand.. I've used the old Weinmann centerpull brakes for a long, long time, and they have performed well with nearly no maintenance at all.
I've also got the Shimano Ultegra/600 "tri-color" sidepull brakes on a bike that have seen 60,000 miles of abuse, and they are just wonderful! Admittedly, I'm also used to the venerable Campy Record sidepulls, so the Shimano's feel as if they require almost no force to operate, but they certainly do the job for me.
I have to ask what you have on the Motobecane... Mafacs? Universals? If they are Mafac centerpull, perhaps someone can suggest how to improve the set-up. Otherwise, pick up a cheap set of Weinmann 610 centerpulls and give them a try. They were good enough for the Schwinn Paramount, so should be fine for a Moto.
I will add the caveat that the old unlined cables and housings from the 70's were just rotten. Definitely upgrade to good modern cables and housings if you haven't already.

Steve in Peoria

uncle uncle

^Taken from Hagerty's site, 2024. It depends on where you want to start and stop your data.... in the case of classic muscle cars, maybe a respite was taken during Covid, when futures looked uncertain.

Classtime 

Lovin me the ignore option but for all these quotes

DIY masochist

Beautiful Centurion. One of my friends had a teal/white LeMans RS single speed and it was one of the lightest bikes I've ever picked up (can you tell I don't hang out with roadies?) I've kind of wanted one ever since, never stumbled across one in my size for a reasonable price though.

You'll never guess... Chang Star side pull brakes. I never looked closely enough at them to realize they weren't original until just recently, when I've been poring over 70s Motobecane catalogs to try to get information about this bike. I planned to sort out the brake situation last. It would be nice to have the correct brakes, but of course I'm missing the original cable stops, which the front would be designed to match the flat filed threaded steerer, because France. I may end up with whatever are the nicest side pulls I can find that don't require me to drill out the mounting holes for a recessed nut.

Back towards the topic though, the interest I see in bikes among my generation is mostly for mild exercise / casual riding on trails, or as transportation in place of a car. There seem to be many people that would like to bike for transportation but are too scared, because cycling in North America is dangerous. What little bike infra we have is not enough to entice people who aren't hardcore or desperate. It's also very hilly where I live, which makes it hard to ride a vintage road double around. I see e-bikes taking off because people can climb huge hills easily, transport groceries, or take the lane without being run off the road for going too slow. I also have mixed feelings about them due to the ethics of rare earth metal mining and battery disposal, but at the end of the day they're still less dangerous and less polluting than cars. I ride a bike for exercise, so I don't see the point for me really.