Hello everyone.
I'm a bike geek. I covet, collect and restore classic bikes and parts.
Most of my collection is from the early to mid 80s. I'm fascinated by the period from the late 70s through to the mid 80s which in my mind represents the apex (and the last gasp) of the vintage cycling era.
I'm most interested in road bikes from this era, as they represent the best that cycling had to offer in terms of components, materials, technology, craftsmanship and beauty.
As my username suggests, I am a Suntourphile. In my opinion they had the best components available during the period I've mentioned. I feel there was passion and sincerity in the products they made in comparison to the perpetuation of soulless consumer culture at shimano and the floundering attempts of the european manufacturers selling 30year old technology. They also seemed like a bit of an underdog, and they're dead (thanks to shimano and poor business decisions) which makes them fascinating to me as a piece of cycling history.
I'm from New Zealand by the way . . Auckland
Anyway . . . Blah blah
I'll get on to making 10 posts so I can use photos.
Nathan