rothenfield1

I can't believe this post has generated this much interest. Why not enjoy the wealth of steel goodness that's around today and not worry about what will be considered C&V 10, 20, 30 years from now.

531phile 

Looks like an interesting read, I'll check that out. Thanks.

himespau 

These threads come up every so often and people get all up in arms. The Ti that's around today will still be around (maybe even what we call vintage today if they haven't all been drewed down to ss), and probably a fair bit of aluminum too. A lot of the boat anchor bikes aren't really all that cherished are they?

Chombi

I still remember people putting on yellow and red reflective "visibilty" stickers on their Pinto's rear bumpers when they found out that they were driving a "Molotov cocktails" on wheels...... Glad to know you survived your graduation present ciocc_cat! The optic yellow paint must have helped!

Chombi

TheOtherGuy

..You'd be surprised how much '60s & '70s Schwinn Varsity and Continental have increased in value around here... Kids are snappin' 'em up. They're functional, durable, and American-made.
Yesterday's poo is todays hip.

Chombi

I'm just wating for someone to finally come up with CF turkey levers!.....or aero stem shifters......or CF/titanium Flik stands....those could all be so retro khewl!!!

Chombi

himespau 

Hey, there are probably a lot of people that would shell out for some Ti Flik stands. Apparently, tourers love them and the original ones have the plastic degrade and crack after a while.

tonkaboys

And to think my CF bike will prolly be pile of dust by the time my six year old is tall enough to make use of an eighteen inch framed mountain bike.
I guess I should have bought something "real"....like steel.

StanSeven

No way is a 1983 Honda a collectible. Very few cars of the mid - late 70's and early 80s are or will be. The classic performance orientated cars that are worth something ended in the early 70s with pollution controls and started again in the mid-80's with cars like the Mustang SVOs. A 1983 Honda is an underpowered shoe box.

himespau 

I don't know, there are (stupid) people who will collect anything.

RFC

Here, Here +1

Chombi

Just like Stimpson J. Cat collects hairballs and nose goblins........

Chombi

WNG

"One man's trash is another man's treasure." Applies to this heated debate over concerns of life from within a fishbowl.

Personal perception is what determines whether it goes in the trash, and what you drool over on ebay.

You like steel, you like aluminum, you like CF, well good for you. Who are we to say what is the rightful standard, and to determine future trends of items deemed classic and/or vintage? Are we having a bit of that now....older members claim it's 40-50s offerings, middle-aged folks like myself find late 70s-80s to be C&V. And others say anything with DT shifters, lugs, steel tubing, etc.

I really don't care to point out to others that their decisions and choices are WRONG, and that I'm solely correct. And don't give a rat's-@ss when someone can't MYOB and offer you their unsolicited advice.
That's why I think such threads are pointless and generate lines in the sand. Japanese vs. European vs. American....bikes, parts, cars, motobikes, beers, electronics, list is endless.

We were all young. No CF (that I could afford) when I was in H.S. but we all obsessed over upgrades and greener grass. I remember giving away perfectly good components once I upgraded, those are obsolete, worthless...including: 600 EX crankset, complete MAFAC Racer boxed set, high flanged wheelsets, perfectly good Avocet Racer II saddle into the trash because there's now gel anatomic models. So who have done similar? You can't predict what will be cherished and valuable to you later when you're young. We all start off the same way.

As for the 95 Accord....that's a 5th generation chassis (94-97). There is historic/engineering significance to this seemingly unimportant family grocery getter. It's the last global Accord...a shared chassis designed in Japan. It had Honda's signature double wishbone/multi-link, coil-over-shock suspension. A key reason why Hondas were so sporty and damn fun to drive. It was competitive against BMW 3 series and Audi A4's in Touring Car series and was also raced in JGTC. It was the last Accord sold in North America to have such a suspension. Honda America decided the constraints of the global design was too small for their domestic market and came up with their own bigger, heavier, 'better', for America-only 6th generation Accord. They opted for cheaper MacPherson strut front suspension. That ended the handling characteristic that was classic Honda for the Accord (and later the Civic). No more sports car fun, just plowing the front end. The global Accord continued on. In N.A., we got it as the Acura TSX, a driver's car, with a luxury car price tag.

So, there is a story behind just about anything. I praise the virtues of Hondas. I like them and have several, including a late 80s model I'm putting together. I'm sure some find them to be vile evil tin boxes devoid of personality. But that's not my problem.

My wife shared an interesting bike related incident at work. She was in a meeting with district big shots. The one conducting it started by saying she wanted to buy a new bike over the weekend. And thought, it's just a bike, how hard a decision could that be. She didn't solicit advice and at the LBS, faced a myriad of options. She was overwhelmed. She asked her audience if anyone or their spouses were into biking and could shed light on the subject. A few guys quickly answered they were into road, mtb, triathlons....my wife kept quiet and stayed out of the conversation. I thanked her and praised her wisdom. She knew if she had chimed in that her husband is into biking...when asked what type, the only answer was "yes". Which would lead to, "How many?!?!?!" And that the conclusion is that she's married to a lunatic.

Personal perception.

Captain Blight

Clean examples of the first-generation Z cars and the later ZXs sell for considerably more now than they cost new. I think it goes back to iconic designs.

bbattle

And what was considered crap back then is also considered a classic now. (eg. Schwinn Varsity)

The mountain bike boom of the 80's, 90's, naughties and today has dramatically altered the cycling landscape. Kids start off on a bmx bike then get a mountain bike to ride on the streets.


Oh, when I put my '95 Civic hatchback(with the clamshell hatch doors) it sold in a flash to a kid who had already tricked out an Accord and couldn't wait to get his hands on my "classic". (his word)

There are clubs for people that collect Gremlins and Pacers and even Toyota Starlets. Go figure.

Wogster

There seems to be a sliding window, people start cycling in their teens, quit after they buy their first car, then when they get into their mid 40's and life is a tedium, they have what is termed a mid-life crisis, and they start thinking about what made them happy when they were young, so some decide they want a fancy sports car, some decide they want to get back in the saddle. They don't want the fancy and complex plastic bikes of today, they want the bike they bought with paper route and lawn cutting money in 1982. In the US that often means a Schwinn, in Canada it's more likely to be a Raleigh, Sekine, Peugeot or Meile. This demand is what makes a particular model a classic, what keeps it there, is that many of those people have a good 10-20 years riding left, so they may start with a different bike then the one they remember, it brings back the spark, but they really want that original bike. So a 1976 Varsity is likely to remain popular for another 10-15 years, when it will slowly start to fade away again.

So as the 1970's crowd now move into their 50's, there will be a new crop hitting their mid 40's, the end of the road bike era as mountain bikes will start to take over, it's likely that in 10 years the demand for old road bikes will be almost zero again, but I notice now that road bikes are gaining popularity again, so you never really know....

frantik

My 1989 Honda can cruise at 85+ mph while getting 30+ mpg. Plus it has cool flip up headlights. Don't find too many cars like that these days.

since I can't resist... here's my baby:

and this one's not mine, but here's a gorgeous 1981 honda

Wogster

Gee, when this this become a car forum?

tugrul

Flax fiber!

Wogster

Where did you get those fenders? I think a set like that would look great on my Raleigh....

tugrul

Click the image, it is a Schwinn concept bike.

frantik

a few pages back i think..

sykerocker 

It became one for the sake of historical parallels. Collecting vintage cars (and motorcycles, for that matter) and vintage bicycles are very parallel, except for the difference in restoration standards. The big difference is that, 40 years ago antique car collecting already had a 25 year history behind it while virtually nobody was collecting vintage bicycles. So when attempting to predict how the hobby is going to change, cyclists can usually look to car lovers to get an idea of the evolution of the hobby.

Aka, if AMC Pacer's and Chevy Vega's can become collectible, so can Trek Madone's and Specialized Allez's. All it takes is time.

Besides, I'm guessing that a good third of the group here are car enthusiasts to one extent or another. Love of bicycles doesn't necessarily mean hatred of cars.

Wogster

The whole area of classic and vintage bicycles is new, and needs to establish itself, rather then being an odd-ball cousin of automobile collecting, in some ways it's already proved different, the idea of a repaint is one area where it's different.

I don't see a lot of folks here as collectors more refurbishers and recyclers. A lot of us will take an old, rusted, unusable bicycle and make it road worthy again, maybe ride it for a season or two, then sell it and move on. The hobby if you will, isn't the collecting, it's the fixing. I could see a collector as someone who continues to build a collection, but that collection is often singular in scope, like the guy who collects a certain brand, or a certain age, to the exclusion of anything else. Collections tend to need to be completely original, for example a car collector will look at a car that originally had a 1954 MODEL 8264895 radio and if it now has a 1955 model 8264895 radio, then it's considered incomplete. I don't know about actual bicycle collectors, but if a bike originally had a 1983 Campy SR group on it, now has a 1984 Campy SR rear derailleur, few people here would really care. Heck some of us would be happy if it's any Campy from the same decade.

Your right about loving bicycles doesn't mean you hate cars, but not everyone cares about them. My car for example got washed last week for the first time since January, it rained.

frantik

then just scroll past the posts which don't interest you and my car got washed for the first time in months right before i took that pic


the point is though that something can become 'classic/vintage' no matter what it is.. the bikes of today will have a nostalgic appeal to people in the future, and could potentially become classics, just like road bikes of the 80s are very popular today