Adagio Corse

If you were to shop for a new bike today, with an eye it becoming a truly desirable collector's item for your grandkids after you've finished enjoying it, which bike would you buy? Budget is $5,000.

My top 3 in order are Vanilla, Pegoretti and Richard Sachs, based on scarcity, looks and desirability.

yairi

I would consider racing history as well. I'd say Yamaguchi would be a sound choice.

robo

Any bike that people lust over today will become a 'classic' later on, when they are all old and nostalgic

repechage

Probably a carbon bike like a Trek. Not my taste, but when the plastic frames crash, they often fracture. Even Trek suggests you retire a crashed frame, and buy a replacement at cost. Later when trek does not suport thes frames, too old, they will just splinter away, leaving the survivors more rare.

old and new

Sachs has a five to six year wait,as of last month that is.You may find a built frame,a cancellation or perhaps a different highly direable brand. I've seen Land Sharks,Waterfords etc. here and there on the net. Vanilla ..no, I won't say why either,just no. Pegorreti ..YES, no question at all.Aside from :just plain bein' the best serious steel frame,the man's an artist.Each bike he paints as any fine artist would a painting. I kinda like the carbon idea rephachage has,I'd initially thought carbon,I chose to "stick with" those you'd listed. I've seen a Pegoretti or two at reduced prices,the Emma as well.Within your range $$

bigbossman 

Any of the Colnago or Pinarello steel frames I see hanging on the LBS wall in town. Those marquee's and classic road style steel frames will always command attention and a premium, and should be as desirable in the future as they were yesterday and are now.

If I had a loose 3k I'd be down there right now picking out a frame, and then I'd be spending another 2k draping it with Record and wheels...... That oughta cover your 5k budget........

EDIT: I just went to the Colnago website - check out the carbon/titanium Extreme, and the steel/carbon Master. These two are HOT, and they'll be HOT in 20 years:

EXTREME:


MASTER:

old and new

bigbossman, I used to see frames like those hanging in LBSs,not for a long time though.The past few months,I've radomly and not so randomly called shops through-out the east,mid-west as well.I came -up with a few(almost none in 55/56) .Two places I called I got the answer:" I think we have old Italian steel frames,you'd better ask the boss but he's not here much". Northern Cal. may offer some fine choices.I'm sure that they exist,eventually I succeeded,the choices were few and VERY far between,I'm in NC.

bigbossman 

Pegasus Bicycles in Danville CA has walls festooned with current production Colnago, Pinarello, Pegoretti, etc, frame sets. They will build it any way you want. They have quite a selection - you gotta pay to play, though....... they're not exactly giving them away.

Someday, though, I'm gonna have me one.

daveed

Probably true but a tough call because most bikes -- no matter what era -- tend to look alike, so "classic" becomes a matter of minor (though not unimportant) details.

FMM, I bet off-the-shelf fixed-gear bikes meant for road not track will be sought after 20-40 years from now. Reason: The relatively few now available (from Schwinn, Raleigh) will disappear from the market once their faddishness fades.

TLN

I would agree with that statement... Id probably throw in a Moots as well.

I would look at anything other than carbon. CF has come a long way, but still hasnt been perfected, for a lack of a better word. If you plan on riding a lot, CF wont last structurally for it to become a "classic". CF is more or less a throw-away material. Lightweight, gets the job done for the pros but in the end, its just doesnt have the longevity.

thebankman

IF and Rivendell come to mind due to rarity, high price, assumed quality, steel/Ti frames which last a lifetime.

bigbossman 

Just curious - do you have any empirical data to back up this assertion?

rmikkelsen

A.N.T. and Bilenky for artistry, scarcity, unique designs.

https://www.antbikemike.com/bikes.html


https://www.bilenky.com/Bilenky%20Models.html

seaneee

I have to say that I think it's a bit too easy to go for new bikes made in a classic style, i.e. Vanilla, Rivendell, etc. Those bikes all draw on something that is already considered classic.

I would opt for something way more modern. You know, like all the bikes we think are ugly now...

hockeyteeth

I'm riding a carbon fiber Peugeot from the late 80s. I think carbon fiber frames have come a long way since then, so if mine has held up for about 20 years, I feel the newer ones will fair even better.

Not sure which frames will become classics, but I sure hope the ugly carbon fiber cranks and fully-adjustable Look stems don't become sought-after.

Bikedued

Too many bikes are going to integrated headsets these days. Longevity isn't the big thing these days, more like planned obsolescence. It's a big enough deal that an LBS owner insulted the next bike I brought in, when I mentioned that in front of a customer. It was an accident and I didn't realize what I did until he shot me a look that could've caused immediate death, lol.,,,,BD

He not only insulted my bike, he refused to sell me a headset for it. Kind of a spite deal if you ask me.

repechage

Well, there is, but not documented very well for bicycles. In the yacht (sailboat) industry there is quite a bit about galvanic osmosis where the connection of galvanically dissimilar materials via the carbon strands themselves have erroded the epoxy matrix, it is the epoxy limiting the movement between the carbon (or glass) strands that gives "carbon" fibre much of its mechanical properties in application. You might have heard or read of seat posts being frozen in carbon frames, and Bottom bracket cups and such, that is why some makers are starting to use kevlar and or glass cloth isolators (and alloy liners) to add a dielectric barrier to stop the battery, so to speak. Much of the solutions exist, as solved in the aircraft and boat industries, but the cost rises fast, and carbon has gone mainstream in bicycles with poor engineering for durability already out of the bottle.

By the way, the carbon cloth layer you often see in a part or frame is for the most part Decorative!, not structurally significant, and an opaque layer of paint would be much better to protect the epoxy from UV degradation, it will happen it is happening...clear does almost NOTHING.

Rant over. Note a bit of frustration with the marketing types?

repechage

May you never crash. Had two customers back in the 80's with some of those Peugeot Carbon frames, in concert with Vitus. both broke, one guy had a 3" splinter of carbon extracted from his thigh. Nasty.

If your Peugeot was assembled in the tube and socket style, the adhesive will be going a long way toward keeping the thing neutral and together.

New ones better? not one of the sub kilogram units. At least for durability.

USAZorro

I think that quality custom built frames, and also some of the higher end bicycles - Kleins and Serottas will be quite popular. The new Titanium/Carbon could be a big thing too (Litespeed).

Bikedued

As in LitespeeeeOMGtheywanthowmuchforthatbike? Sorry couldn't resist.,,,,BD

rhenning

I suspect this one might qualify. 2007 Schwinn Madison at $529 plus tax if you can find one. Took me 4 months to get mine but I would never buy any new bike as an investment. Roger

seaneee

Those new madisons are great. In a perfect world I would opt for two things-

Decals overs the clearcoat.
Frame set purchase option.

But at $500, you cant really complain. Right before xmas they sent a few out to shops and sold em in the $300 range. ARGH!

/hijack

marqueemoon

Give it 15-20 years and everyone's going to want one of these to recapture their lost youth

bigbossman 

But they won't be able to, because their knees will be shot from riding one so much when they were youngsters......

rmikkelsen

Well, that is a good point. I think there are at least a few categories.
-- Top-of-the-line bikes by major mass-market manufacturers - today's Trek Madone = yesterday's Paramount?
-- Oddballs and exotics - Calfee Bamboo anyone?
-- High-pedigree racing bikes - the Colnagos etc.

I would certainly think CF bikes would have a following, since they are state-of-the-art for racing nowadays and the lust objects of many riders who cannot now afford them. Any fragility may only make surviving ones in good condition all the more valuable.



My dad, who restored cars for a living, used to say his customers wanted the car they first got laid in. Not sure how that would translate to bikes!