Originally Posted by
Chris Pringle
[FONT=Verdana]As some have mentioned, 20 years from now, I believe bicycle enthusiasts will be mostly interested in collecting those bicycles handcrafted by small shops and artisans that have popped up all over the country.
The problem with these is that there simply aren't enough of a given run to reach critical mass, and, as often as not, no reason why you couldn't assemble an identical product out of off-the-shelf parts. While these frames will no doubt remain desirable, they will never appreciate in value - there simply aren't enough of them out there for the nameplate to become desirable.
Originally Posted by
Fasteryoufool
I dunno if that's ever going to happen for Chinese made bikes.
Quite a lot of rather nice carbon fiber stuff is fabricated in China right now.
Originally Posted by
noglider
Y
As far as I know, Taiwan is where the best mass produced bikes and bike parts come from now. They used to make crap, but it's darned good. Some of the Chinese stuff is good, and some is not. So yes, we might look back at this stuff nostalgically. I suspect we will. I don't know where stuff will be made in the future. Chinese labor rates are on the way up. Laos? The Philippines? Maybe some African country.
Taiwan is, from what I've heard, a lot like China with the insane communist aspects turned down several places. They make a lot of good stuff.
I suspect China's abusive labor policies will keep them in the lead for quite some time. If nothing else, it's the only place on earth where a corrupt autocratic government supports international business.
Originally Posted by
sykerocker
I'm not so much thinking about will impoverished college students be riding old Trek Madone's, as I'm thinking about the claims I've read over the past few years from die-hard steel aficionados that, say, 2002 carbon fiber bikes won't last until 2020. Period. I have a feeling they're going to be proven very wrong.
Materials science says otherwise. A single minor crash - one from which the rider is able to walk away - is enough to damage the weave of a carbon fiber bicycle to the point where it's no longer safe to ride. Furthermore, the resins used will slowly break down over time due to UV exposure and other factors. Carbon fiber is, to put it simply, rather fragile stuff. Unlike a Schwinn Paramount - which, if unridden, will remain factory-fresh for decades - a carbon frame will eventually lose structural integrity sooner or later. While a few immaculately preserved examples will no doubt remain, there won't be an awful lot of them.
Originally Posted by
pcfxer
I love everything from the 70s.....My Dad's Bose 901 Series IV and Bose spatial .... you know what, I grew up with that stuff...so I suppose that is part of it too.
Bose is, was, and will always be rubbish. Go buy some proper 70s speakers - goodness knows that between the endless JBLs, KLHs, ARs, and endless others, you're guaranteed to find something much, much better.