Originally Posted by
BlueDevil63
Holy crap a nasty debate on what constitutes "art" on a vintage bike forum. What fun. Do even the slightest bit of research and you will find that the definition of "art" is controversial even among those much more knowledgeable than most of us here. So what is the point in arguing about it?
I have gotten into this discussion before since I have a large number or very rarely ridden wall hangers and quite often when I exhibit one I get a comment about what a shame it is that it never get's ridden. I don't really understand that since the fact that the bikes aren't getting ridden in no way detracts from their value or their future utility. Many people have huge collections of vinyl records. Is it a shame that they never get played anymore? I have boxes of vintage comic books. Is it a shame that they don't get read anymore? I have absolutely no problem with people riding whatever bikes they want no matter how rare or distinguished but for me most of the value in a vintage bike is the visual appeal, the nostalgic appeal, etc. Frankly, for me, I don't ride the vintage bikes because they suck compared to a modern bike as far as their functionality. Give me brifters, step in pedals, ergo bars, good brakes, wide gear ranges, etc. Modern bikes just work better. But I don't feel they have the visual appeal of vintage bikes, they don't have the nostalgic appeal, the history, the soul if you will. I think vintage bikes are similar in most respects to other vintage functional objects that are collected. Sure you can still use them and many occasionally do but most are seriously deficient in their functionality versus modern versions. I love 60s muscle cars. But they are a pain to drive and I would no longer use one for more than the Sunday cruise. I have a modern muscle car that I daily drive. It has functional air conditioning and heating, good tires, ABS, traction control, etc. I love mechanical watches and I do wear them but I honestly rarely look at them to find out the time. I wear them because they are beautiful and I like the fact that a real person spent real effort to craft them.
Anyway that's my probably useless $.02
Personally, I like what you define as pain. There's soul in old bikes, cars, motorcycles and yes vinyl LP's. It's most gratifying shifting the gears or wallowing thru a corner on a British motorcycle or finding the sweet spot, double clutching a funky trans and drifting an old Porsche 911. Just like an old bicycle, they have the quirks but ooze character. You have only a slight delay of shifting, a bit more cautious on braking, probably dragging twice the weight of a newer bike but who cares? 99% of cyclist are not racing and you basically have the same workout.