ThermionicScott 

+1. Hair dyeing is fun.

rothenfield1

One thing that I have changed is not to completely clean every obscure component to some mythical NOS condition. If the frame is straight and dent free, I will put my best effort into bringing the finish back. However, I have started to concentrate on the shifting and braking over the looks.

mkeller234

I got tired of super polishing everything. I put a half-hearted effort into most parts now and even leave a few alone. I just don't really enjoy doing it.

mkeller234

I can agree with light beer! My early experiences with beer were all the usual suspects, normally light beers. I was positive that I just didn't like beer. Years later, I tried something a little better and it changed my mind completely.

It seems like there is a Craft beer boom happening now. In smallish Canton, OH there are three places with Founder's Breakfast Stout on draught. I never in a million years could have guessed that would have happened. There is a beer convention in Columbus, OH, this years crowd looked twice as large to me.

Those ultra-light beers are just ridiculous! Why bother drinking beer at that point??

mkeller234

Well, I suppose that all depends on the Schwinn. I know they aren't for everyone, but I really love them, even the cheap ones.

elginkid

So it's a little out of everyone's date range it seems, but I particularly don't care for Schwinn Phantoms. Everyone points to it as the pinnacle of American Heavyweight bicycles and an icon of the 1950s a la the '57 Chevrolet. Maybe it's because I like the '57 Ford better, but did buy a phantom when the price was right. It's been nothing but a pain. It's tremendously heavy (and it doesn't even have the tank, and the 4 D cell batteries required to run all of the electric bits), the crank arms are short, and it's dreadfully unpleasant to ride.

Wes

kiwigem

I feel ya. I took in my grandmother-in-law's Schwinn Hornet. "We can't get rid of this because it was mom's, but I don't want it, and you don't want it. Hey, the daughter-in-law likes bikes!" It needs way more love than I was lead to believe, and I just don't want to face it when it really doesn't seem like it will be that much fun to ride. The things we do for love!

RobbieTunes

Well, they've gained weight drinking all that beer.

mkeller234

Lol!

I did think of something that I am not into: Cycling is Suffering. Good for others who push themselves, but I am in it for enjoyment.

USAZorro

Is that punctuated the way you meant it to be?

I like my attitude (about bicycles at least) better since I broke my obsession over acquiring. True, a bit of that was forced on me, but being free of the "I like it, therefore I will someday own it" point of view is a thing of the past. With it, some measure of my concern for "period correctness", "originality", and C&V dogma have slipped away also. It can be a very fun thing, and I still appreciate the knowledge that many have regarding vintage bicycles, manufacturing, history, frame-making, racing, etc. Have simply chosen to not let it take over my life.

oh - garish fixies are a lot of fun. I don't get the micro-handlebar thing though.

bikegeekmn

I can't justify the expense of switching away from 8 speed.
I cannot, in any way, figure why single speed and fixed gear bikes are so popular-derailuers have been around for about a hundred years and they have the bugs worked out of them pretty good. I live in a town built on a hill so, that Kool-aid will never touch my lips.

sauze

I really think it just has to do with where one lives. Fixies/SS's are also extremely popular here (Winnipeg) but for good reason, it's EXTREMELY flat, and for most people multiple gears really are actually unnecessary.

WNG

The fixie/SS craze is a fad and trend. And as such, their popularity is not based on technical merit or practical sense. Flat or hilly, makes no difference. Just look at the number of them in SF, CA.
For better or worse, at least it boosts riding and the awareness of cycling. More riders is a good thing.

MACAQUE

downtube shifters
friction shifters when I have the option of indexed
the whole never repaint mantra
the idea that brifters aren't easier to use and ride
bike snobbery
the idea that campy is better than shimano or vice versa

slowtostart

A Sports is superior to a Sprite.
Steel is more real than carbon.
The folks on the Road Forum are not informative, amusing, and nice.
We can't all get along and accept our differences. (To clarify, I think we can.)

shipwreck

Myself and a buddy started out with the old Schwinn fat tire bikes in college along with our new mountain bikes. We drank a lot, and they were probably the best bet for wobbling back from the bar on.
I was visiting him last year, and asked where all his balloons had got to. They are stored at his fathers farm at the moment. We got talking, and finaly it came out that we both really dislike riding those things. Neither of us would admit that to the other for years for some reason...