Originally Posted by
David Newton
Bikes from the '90's are 15 to 25 years old.
As a younger person may see a 25 y.o. bike as "vintage" we are seeing many newer bikes for evaluation/help. I suppose it is because there isn't a forum for "tween" bikes, but I miss the reason I started coming to the C&V forum, that was a proliferation of crusty bikes from the early 1900's up to 1980 at the latest.
Is there a need for a "vintage" and a separate "really-vintage" forum?
No. What you'll find is that C&V bicycles are a lot like car clubs used to be. When the old Model A crowd started to have friction with the younger motor heads in many communities they split up. The muscle car and rod guys had a separate club from the older OEM crowd that would argue over a hose clamp being original. What happened in many communities is that as both groups struggled to maintain membership, and many clubs folded. The older crowd dies off and there is ever less and less interest in cars as they really get older.
The reality is that you can ride a bike into your sixties even seventies, however a bad fall could really set you back. There are people on bikes into their 80s in some European and Asian cities. However, most of us like what we "saw" in our youth even if it wasn't the best kit one could have, it was what we wanted then. The reality is that the US is quickly aging and "growing" population. You'll notice over the next couple of years that many in the C&V community stop riding bikes as health complications prevent them from riding, or caring for an ill spouse, or as people just start to die off.
The danger of segregating is that pretty soon that specific community that only focuses on vintage (pre-1900) aluminum bicycles becomes a community of just one.
The reality is that 80s bike boom stuff is vintage and classic, and 99% of cyclists aren't even interested in anything prior to 9-speed and clipless. Think about it like this, clipless pedals are now classic and vintage. Lemond's Scott Aerobar is vintage and Classic. You can buy a TdF steel bike that was actually ridden in a stage for cheaper than modern carbon. Heck, you can buy high-zoot modern carbon for a price now that would have purchased a home during the time of pre-war bikes.