Originally Posted by daka

Sentimental value? My father was sent to France in WWII and fell in love with Europe. After the war was over he went back and rode a late '40s Raleigh all over. When he married my mother, they did the trip again together - cycling, hosteling and camping. I like bikes that look like his - they remind me of him and all the stories he could tell about where he went on that bike.



I think some folks can now afford the bike(s) they used to dream about as teenagers or college students. You see a lot of white-haired guys driving Corvettes for the same reason. A racing bike may not be ergonomically optimized for an individual of a certain age and while it really doesn't look right to change the C&V bikes much, you may see some triple chainwheels and long arm derailleurs sneak aboard. Although my Dad crossed the Alps on a three-speed, I'm not anxious to try that.