Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,520
Likes: 12
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Bikes: 1959 Bottecchia Milano-Sanremo (frame), 1966 Bottecchia Professional (frame), 1971 Bottecchia Professional (frame), 1973 Bottecchia Gran Turismo, 1974 Bottecchia Special, 1977 Bottecchia Special (frame), 1974 Peugeot UO-8
Originally Posted by
mike
It is interesting to note that some collectors are still seeing bicycles from the 1970's as "too new".
A bicycle from 1970 is 30 years old. Ya, that's right; 1978 was 38 years ago! It doesn't seem that long ago, but bikes from the 19-- anything are from the last millennium.
To put it in perspective, when I started collecting bicycles in the 1980's, a bike 38 years old would have been from the 1950's. THOSE were considered very collectible bikes in the 1980's.
About ten years ago, I suggested that people start collecting the bikes from the 1970's as they were going to the landfills literally by the truckloads. Today, I feel a little better knowing that bicycles are going to recycling rather than landfills, but the good bikes are getting to be rare.
As pointed out in some of the other posts, we are seeing fewer nice bikes from the '70's on the market and those that are available are bringing in values well over $100+.
Now may be the last opportunity to grab the remaining beautiful bicycles made in the USA, England, France, Italy, and even Japan.
Well I certainly agree with you. Who said they weren't? I'm pretty sure the bikes are out there but there is something I see happening that might make it seem like they are getting hard to find. It's a sort looking back at the past through rose colored glasses. The bikes that so many on this forum seem to remember as "nice" or "good" bikes were actually ultra high-end custom made to order bikes owned by only a rare few. Masi's, Colnago's, Cinelli's and the like were not the kind of thing you walked into Joe's Bicycle and Lawnmower back in the day and saw sitting in the showroom. There doesn't seem to be any shortage of Peugeot's, Raleigh's, or Schwinn's out there which makes sense as that's what millions of folks were riding back then. That said, prices have gone up somewhat in the last couple of years and you won't get much for $100 on eBay given that even an old UO8 can sometimes be parted out for twice that.
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1959 Bottecchia Milano-Sanremo(frame), 1966 Bottecchia Professional (frame), 1971 Bottecchia Professional (frame),
1973 Bottecchia Gran Turismo, 1974 Bottecchia Special, 1977 Bottecchia Special (frame),
1974 Peugeot UO-8, 1988 Panasonic PT-3500, 2002 Bianchi Veloce, 2004 Bianchi Pista