Classic & Vintage - C & V Median Age/Why are you here?

Who started this thread anyway?

I like vintage bikes because I like hanging out with old guys who usually have strong opinions.

Who started this thread anyway?

I like vintage bikes because I like hanging out with old guys who usually have strong opinions.

:thumb:

I like vintage bikes because I like hanging out with old guys who usually have strong opinions.

Watch who you're calling old, sonny!;);)
A few years back I stopped to help an older gentleman (and I just turned 50) with a flat tire on his huge older Caddy. I saw the globe and anchor tatoo on one forearm and the bulldog on the other and said "can I help you out, old timer?" He glared at me and replied "you can help if you want to, but call me 'old timer' again and I'll put your lights out!"
The older I get the more I understand his point of view......:D
Top

Watch who you're calling old, sonny!;);)
A few years back I stopped to help an older gentleman (and I just turned 50) with a flat tire on his huge older Caddy. I saw the globe and anchor tatoo on one forearm and the bulldog on the other and said "can I help you out, old timer?" He glared at me and replied "you can help if you want to, but call me 'old timer' again and I'll put your lights out!"
The older I get the more I understand his point of view......:D
Top

well, as you did I meant it with the highest level of respect :)

Speaking of old timers, that womens Centurion frame you sent me a while back? I gave it to my father who built it for my mom. It's sporting an internal 7 speed nexus hub, a brooks saddle, and some other goodies. I'll have to get you a pic the next time I see it :)

OK. I'll bite. I'm 57 and have been riding bikes most of my life. One bike has gotten old with me, I bought the other one that is old, and the third is new. I like the old ones best - quality all 'round, and I can work on them. I love to fix things (I always have) and I love to ride. I'm kind of a grouch now, and have "strong" opinions, but I'm a pretty nice guy generally. So are most of the other bikers I meet too, no matter how old they are.

52. I like vintage bikes because they're generally attractive, comfortable, inexpensive and a bargain, and I love bargain-hunting. And I also like recycling. I hope to make a few dollars from my bikes rescued from the trash to sustain this hobby, because I can't justify spending thousands of dollars, or even hundreds, on a bike. I'm on this forum because I know very little about bikes and I appreciate the advice given here, as well as the photos of beautiful bikes.

I generally use my Schwinn to commute a short distance to my office in warm weather (I work in I/T and I don't bother to count in hex) or to the public pool or the corner store. I aspire to riding great distances but I do not have that much leisure. I cannot understand how people manage to go "car-free" although I admire them for it. I really do not understand the "fixie" craze. I'm not mechanically inclined and so I dislike working on anything, so vintage bikes are generally simple enough for me to handle without too much trouble.

Most of all, I enjoy riding my Schwinn because it's the kind of bike I aspired to when I was a kid, but it was well out of my parents' price range, and mine. I never heard of all these French and English and Italian bikes until I joined this forum.

My favorite "new" bike:

I am 64 decimal
40 Hex
100 Octal (my that sounds old)

Old enough to know better but too young to resist :) It looks like I am one of the older group members!

Got into bikes fairly seriously pretty late in life though I did have an old Raleigh in the 1950s, in the Philippines. My father ran a refinery for Caltex there.

Picked up a Colnago SL frame with Super Record gruppo about 14 years ago for a reasonable price and found I preferred the ride it gave compared to CF or aluminum. Per the date code on the crankset the Colnago is from about 1983. I also have a steel Duracycle track style steel lugged bike from about 1994 or so that I converted to a 3 speed Sachs gear hub. The frame has road geometry. I still have the original FG wheel too and a 5 speed SRAM hub on the way for a new rear wheel.

I like the feel of steel and the look of lugged construction though I also have a couple of more modern aluminum frame gear hub bikes. I like gear hubs for city and suburban riding as under those riding conditions I find them much more convenient than derailleur gear trains. Nice to be able to shift when stopped or coasting. The newer bikes are a Swobo Dixon and a Civia Hyland Rohloff.

Retired and have a fully paid for house with a full basement, unusual in this area. Other interests are amateur astronomy, science fiction reading, tattoo collecting, hobbyist machinist and reading about history, including bike history. Vietnam veteran too (Navy).

I'm 24 years old, so I'm one of the babies here.

I'm here because I believe in good stewardship. I love when a historical artifact can actually be used today. It means that history is not lost. But I buy up these old bikes because I know that if I don't, someone else will, and I don't want a good piece of history going to someone who may destroy it. I want it to go to someone who can preserve it for the future. we are but stewards, holding these artifacts in trust for future generations.

It's the same reason why I collect old firearms. I have a nice collection of WW1-WW2 era military surplus rifles. Why? Am I starting a war? No. Of course not. But I am keeping them in trust for future lovers of history, museum curators, and collectors. these are functional bits of history.

I can take out a rifle that was use to fight in the trenches of WW1, and bring it to the range and go shooting. It still works just like it did 90 years ago. It's the same with an old bike. I can go out and ride my father's 1973 Puch just as he did when he was my age and the bike was brand new. It gives me an undeniable link with history. A history that I, unfortunately, was not yet around to see.

I just turned 21.

I love classic rides because I think they're beautiful and simplistic. I've always been interested in what's old. I'm also cheap and love what I can find for the money. Treasure hunting has always been a passion of mine.

My classic/vintage/older bikes include a 96'(not that old) Giordana Capella Strada and a Bridgestone Mb-1. Eager to find more.

I'm also cheap and love what I can find for the money. Treasure hunting has always been a passion of mine.

Oh yeah. I forgot. that's also part of it. It's much easier to have N+1 when the "+1" is only $30 from Craigslist.

It's great to see the younger enthusiasts posting here. It makes me feel really good about the future of our little hobby as some of us progress in years.

57 I rode and raced bicycles until my late twenties when I move away from my riding friends. I had not really thought about my bicycles, except moving them out of the way until last summer when my High School senior son wanted to ride my racing bike on the annual cross country team's bike ride. I got ready for the 10 mile ride, but it still needs over hauled. I found this site while looking for parts. When I get time I'll post pics of the fleet (PX10, Follis tandom and Bartlett )

34

I've gotten into vintage bikes in part because of the nostalgia of it. I recently put together a mid-80s Eddy Merckx with Campy C Record parts. I would have dreamed about a bike like this after seeing it in magazines when it was current.

Also, I have noticed that I prefer older items that have proven themselves over time. The same thing goes for cars, cameras, books, etc. I find myself preferring the character of these items as opposed to the latest, new-fangled item whose impact may be fleeting.

Well said, rugerben.


I'm 24 years old, so I'm one of the babies here.

I'm here because I believe in good stewardship. I love when a historical artifact can actually be used today. It means that history is not lost. But I buy up these old bikes because I know that if I don't, someone else will, and I don't want a good piece of history going to someone who may destroy it. I want it to go to someone who can preserve it for the future. we are but stewards, holding these artifacts in trust for future generations.

It's the same reason why I collect old firearms. I have a nice collection of WW1-WW2 era military surplus rifles. Why? Am I starting a war? No. Of course not. But I am keeping them in trust for future lovers of history, museum curators, and collectors. these are functional bits of history.

I can take out a rifle that was use to fight in the trenches of WW1, and bring it to the range and go shooting. It still works just like it did 90 years ago. It's the same with an old bike. I can go out and ride my father's 1973 Puch just as he did when he was my age and the bike was brand new. It gives me an undeniable link with history. A history that I, unfortunately, was not yet around to see.

I agree with the sentiment above. I live in a historic district, in a home built in 1920 (our friends across the pond would laugh at 1920 being "historic", I know) and we have antique furniture and kitchen implements that we use daily, because, in my opinion, they were meant to be used. I have my dad's old fishing tackle and guns, too, a rifle made in 1946 that his father gave to him, and shotgun made in 1966 -- and they work just as well now as they did then. It's the same with bikes, which often do not receive the care and respect accorded other older artifacts.

I'm 52, enjoy wrenching/rebuilding/restoring vintage bikes. I keep the best ones that fit, and sell the rest to fund the activity. I am particularly drawn to the 80s Japanese bikes.

My primary rides are a 1984 Lotus Classique, a 1983 Univega Gran Turismo, and a 1992 Trek 950 (OK, I have one outlier in the group). I do have one modern bike, a 2005 Trek, that I might let go next Spring. Kind of depends how comfortable I become with the Lotus.

I usually pick up bikes at garage sales or thrift stores. I have sold over a dozen bikes this year, have four for sale right now, and another six to prep for sale.

Hi,I'm 65 and still ride my 1977 Schwinn Super Le tour 12.2 that I bought new in 1977.Still mostly original,changed rear derailleur,seatpost and seat.Also have a Bianchi Brava and Raleigh SC30.Enjoy riding all 3,but only ride the Raleigh in the winter months.

23, enjoying my Schwinn Le Tour. I'm considering building it up as a nice IGH city bike.

They really don't make 'em like they used to.

Oh alright, I'm 63.

Let's see started riding as an adult in the early 70's when I was married the first time and too poor to own a second car and continued to ride on my Viscount 'Death Fork' into the mid-80's when I just got too busy and self-important to ride a bike to work anymore. After years of my wife nagging me to get a hobby--something she surely regrets today--I dug out the Death Fork and started wrenching on it, then started looking for parts on eBay and CL, then started buying bikes to have something to do with my spare time hobby, then started flipping the ones I didn't want and keeping the ones I did. My sig shows what I keep around for riding--I commute to work as many days as the weather allows and ride recreationally after work and on weekends--but I've got a few more in storage and am always on the lookout for something old that's new to me. Bike people are my kind of people, it's that simple.

Well I guess at 51 I am not the oldest, but certainly getting up there.
I've seen ages expressed in hex, octal, decimal, but not binary. 110011 Man, does that sound ancient...

I built bikes as a kid, and was an avid rider until my early 20's, then quit. We adopted kids late (first one when I was 39), and didn't start riding again until my daughter asked me to ride with her. I got into collecting/restoring about a year ago and am really enjoying it. It's mainly about wrenching, something I have done all my life. Old houses, old cars, garden equipment, now bikes.

RobbieTunes is 50.

1-20" used bike that could be converted from girls to boys by changing the top tube. 1964 or so.
2-20" West Point banana bike. 1966 or so
3-26" Columbia paper route bike with all the baskets, F/R lights, generator, etc. 1970.
4-Sears Free Spirit 10-sp, 1976 edition w/bicentennial stripes on white w/R/W/B saddle. Only new bike ever. Sold it to a girl who became a hooker.
5-$10 Schwinn Varsity, two triathlons and 2 years of campus cruising. I'm sure the seller stole it. 1980 to about 1987.
6-Trek 510, used, 1987, sold it to finance a Honda down payment around 1988.
7-Raleigh Technium, totaled when I hit a dog, about 1995 or so. Dog died, too.
8-Centurion Ironman, '88 model, in 2006.
9-And that's when things began to get out of hand....hee hee. Many more since, Centurions, Pinarello, Cinelli, Miyata, Raleigh, Triumph, Specialized, GT, Schwinn, etc. All old like me.

It's cool.

Why am I here? I heard they had free donuts.

I'm 27, i like stuff older than me.

My house is 100 years old, my bikes are between 35 & 15 years old, I have traditional style tattoos, I shop for my clothes at thrift stores, I like classic films, I listen to music older than my parents, my furniture in my home as well as my dishes & cookware is either from thrift stores or my grandparents, I collect old coins, vinyl records, paintings, bicycles, I am helping my dad rebuild an old '65 Ford Falcon, I enjoy the company of people twice my age, etc. etc. etc.

I don't consider myslef a retro-grouch or a hipster at all, i just like old stuff

My taste in bicycles is an extention of my taste in everything else....'cept the ladies of course, i like them more my age ;)

I'm 27, i like stuff older than me. My taste in bicycles is an extention of my taste in everything else....'cept the ladies of course, i like them more my age ;)
You really need to try the women, too. :D

I'm 37, but I'm an old soul.

I'm 37, but I'm an old soul.

Ditto.

I'm 27, i like stuff older than me.

My house is 100 years old, my bikes are between 35 & 15 years old, I have traditional style tattoos, I shop for my clothes at thrift stores, I like classic films, I listen to music older than my parents, my furniture in my home as well as my dishes & cookware is either from thrift stores or my grandparents, I collect old coins, vinyl records, paintings, bicycles, I am helping my dad rebuild an old '65 Ford Falcon, I enjoy the company of people twice my age, etc. etc. etc.

I don't consider myslef a retro-grouch or a hipster at all, i just like old stuff

My taste in bicycles is an extention of my taste in everything else....'cept the ladies of course, i like them more my age ;)

:thumb: +1

You can't beat some of the older ladies though, gorgeous, and they have their stuff together!

I'm 37, but I'm an old soul.

Many people have told me that I have an old soul as well. Quite a lot of people have also called me an old man, mainly cause I'm so grumpy.
-Gene-