wphamilton

I just realized that my original commuter bike is about 12 years old now, and since it's the first bike I purchased personally I'm still fond of it. Is that old enough to be "vintage"? Can I call it a "classic" GMC Denali?

thinktubes 

Vintage = 25 yo

GMC Denali trolls only work in the "41"

Wildwood 

A slow day in Alpharetta, so stir the pot.

GMC makes trucks.
Denali is a mountain in Alaska.
Neither apply to cycling (much).
And ‘classic’ has now been denigrated.

Thanks Mr 14,500+ posts.

hokiefyd 

L'eroica says road bikes older than 1987 qualify. GMC wasn't making Denalis of any description back then!

I don't know if Eroica's 1987 rule is on a sliding scale or not. That's 32 years ago. 25 from today would be 1994, which means my 1997 Trek 750 is still on the outside looking in. Just wait, little guy. You'll be in The Club in three short years...

Road Fan

What does this mean? Is there a secret BF C&V official lexicon, where the word "classic" has been rendered no longer operational?

Road Fan

In my opinion, "vintage" is a non-pejorative way of saying "old," in contrast to perhaps "toasted."

"Classic" suggests the object has lasting value and exemplifies a style, a technique, or other desirable attributes of design or craft.

Old: a 50 year old bud vase, or a 50 year old Columbia 2x5 derailleur bike.

Vintage: a 50 year old bud vase that somebody values, or the same bike

Classic: a Moorcroft bud vase or other item of pottery, of valid antique age or not, or a lugged hand-brazed Cinelli, Masi, Paramount, et cetera.

Sorry if you might have to check the 'net regarding the Moorcroft!

Wildwood 

didn’t check out Moorcraft - not a bud vase Forum.
Take your bud vase to the 420 Forum, lots of money there, not much interest in old tho.

Wildwood 

@Road Fan - there are better causes to support than a 12 yo GMC Denali as C&V.

Unless we are being ..... overtly tolerant ... of troll posts by Senior Members.

The Golden Boy 

The more people dig bikes, the better.

If people want to consider their bikes “classic,” who am I to judge.

There’s plenty of regular members that regularly post about new/modern stuff.

I felt bad that one guy pulled all his pix out of the Trek thread. He was genuinely happy to share his bike pix- maybe they didn’t exactly belong here, but we all should share that joy.

roccobike

The rule of thumb from many years ago was 25 years old is "vintage".
Classic is more difficult to define, but I like Road Fan's description in post #6 .
As for the Denali, I've owned one and worked on at least a couple others including the higher end Denali (yes they actually made one with brake shifters and a steel fork). They're OK if set up by someone who knows what they're doing.
While I don't have a lot of respect for Wally World bikes, I can't help but recall a ride I did years ago when I rode with the fast group. A newbie to our group showed up on a relatively new Schwinn Varsity with 7 speed stem shifters. After doing his turn at pull instead of falling to the rear, he said "See ya" and dropped the entire group. Had a similar event happen last year with another club and another guy on a Denali. Some of those Schwinn/Denali riders can't afford a bike shop bike but that doesn't mean they don't have power and speed. Be careful about laughing at any of them lest they drop your butt.

CyclingFool95 

So, my Montello is there, Colnago and Litespeed knocking on the door. And yet, when I go into my LBS, even my 13 yo carbon fiber newbies get referred to as obsolete fossils. I think recalibration of the standard in this age of disposable plasic bikes is required. Perhaps five years?

KonAaron Snake 

If you want to call it classic...call it classic, or antique, or whatever other marketing term you think fits. I'll decide for my self if I have any interest in it. To me, a large percentage of things posted here aren't classic, or vintage...and to others, my stuff isn't classic, or vintage.

Now if you're asking how many will care about a 12 year old Denali, the answer is not many.

Miele Man

Eroica does NOT allow bicycles with Shimano Adamas AX, 600AX or Dura Ace AX because of the aero brake levers each of those groups had.

Cheers

curbtender

I think those GMC's have a wheel lock, like the shopping carts. If you try to bring them into CV, they just stop at the gate...

TXsailor

I think its more than a year model thing for whether a bike is a antique. My '83 Centurion seems about as modern as my 97 GT MB. I think the mountain bike has changed so fast in the last decade that it doesn't take long for them to be considered old.

DiabloScott

Semi-incorrect... aero brake levers allowed in Eroica California.


https://eroica.cc/en/california/regulation

In the bigger picture, Classic/Vintage is mostly about looks and materials, not dates.

gugie 

Unlike the Classic Rendevous site, we play fast and loose with Classic and Vintage.

Aluminum frames, sure, carbon fiber - meh, but I've seen some early Kestrels and Trek Y-frames shown off here from time to time.

A lot of us take older steel frames and upgrade the components.

nlerner

Yeah, I'll keep waiting until that Firenze I got free with a stereo from Matthew's, Top of the Hill, Daly City, will be classic AND vintage.

wphamilton

So what's the verdict, is 12 years old enough to be vintage regardless of who cares for the brand?

As for some of you, would photos prove that it's no troll post? It's not really relevant whether or how many people like it, unless that's part of your definition of "classic". I'd say that because it's become somewhat iconic, that's a point in favor of "classic".

wphamilton

About 5 of them in C&V.

First it's "meh, could have been worse" after I got out of intensive care, and now making fun of my bike. Even thick-skins like me can get their feelings hurt eventually.

But I'm patient. If my Denali doesn't cut it for C&V, I'll wait another 10 years and maybe my Nashbar bike will be up to it.

KonAaron Snake 

Are you saying the crazy eddie t-shirt I got for free at Crazy Eddies isn't both classic and vintage?

ridelikeaturtle

A better thread (that probably already exists, but I'm too lazy to search for it) would be "what do you consider a 'future classic'?"

Any Litespeed
Bianchi XR4

... and so on. That list could be interesting, but you shouldn't find any Cube, Liv, or Giant listed on it.

Classtime 

I wonder what my 12 year old classic Denali that has been artfully displayed in my den for all of its 12 years is worth?

Classtime 

Oops. Sorry. Bad form. I’ll post my query in the appraisals forum.

bikemig 

The C&V forum is a pretty good place because we don't have a lot of people like you trying to stir the pot with posts like this when you obviously know better.