Not yet.

Darn!!!
I will keep on riding till it is....

I think the early Kestrels are already catching some C&V karma.
They have a character to them, and the older ones, by now, have all manner of scars and scabs.
There is enough variety in the early models to distinguish them a bit, too.
There are plenty of them older than some people's "25 year" threshold.

That being said, they are kind of the first of a genre. Those and the Aegis of the same time frame.

The lugged carbon are certainly a "side genre," and interesting, and there were plenty of them.

It takes more than time to make a classic.

In 1980, a '57 Chevy was already a sought-after classic. I can't think of any common-production cars from 1992 which are valued classics today. No one is jonesing for cars from the 90's...or even 80's or mid-to-late 70's, because by then, cars had lost their character; and the differences between a 20 year-old car today and a 20 year-old car in 1980 were much more pronounced. So I think it is will be the same with modern bikes.

Also, I think a lot of the appeal of anything "classic" is that it represents a link to a better time (or at least a different time). I don't foresee people wanting to hearken back to the "good old 00's", because the world isn't changing as much in recent years, as technology has been become more pervasive and wide-spread- as i did in times past.

Also, modern bikes mostly seem to all follow certain trends; they're too similar to each other (Like all the black bikes today, which all look the same)- whereas in times past, there was more to differentiate the different brands and models- including cosmetics. Describe a bike representative of today: Black carbon". Describe a bike representative of 1975: ??? Ha! You can't! They were all different! As things become "more the same" they lose their character; uniqueness; and appeal. They become utilitarian- but that's it. Utilitarianism (alone) isn't something which genders fond memories and emotion.

An old pot-belly heat stove from the 1930's has appeal, because it was different than what we have today; it represented a different way of doing something, and a time when life was different. 75 years from now, no one is going to want an Intertherm furnace in their home for nostalgic and sentimental value- because even though it will be old and different, it was never anything but utilitarian; it was just the technology of a particular time- transient- and had no connection to time-honored ways of doing things; or craftsmanship; or appealing design.

1992 Mazda RX7

Mazda Miata

Jaguar XJS

Porsche 964

VW Cabrio

Honda NSX

Toyota Supra

Nissan 300 twin turbo

BMW M3

Vw mk1 GTI
Vw Corrado
Have a following

I don't know how early "early" is, but an early 90s Kestrel just popped up on Chicago CL. Not my cup of tea, but maybe it's someone else's...

early 90's Kestrel 4000 Carbon Road

http://images.craigslist.org/00202_D...qF_600x450.jpg

A "following" is quite different from "a classic"......

2005 or 2006 Colnago C50
 

I've had several CF bike (buying, selling and of course collecting), but none can compare to my 2005/6 Colnago C50 in looks and handling. Has the monocoque lugs, Master crimped tubes and High Performance chain-stays.

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/q...DSC_0001_1.jpg

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/q...DSC_0008_1.jpg

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/q...0/DSC_0010.jpg

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/q...DSC_0006_1.jpg

Does it go fast, only if you're in good physical condition, but it does help to know when I put the pedals to the plastic and the engine is at optimum power, it will respond. Like when you see someone tooling around in a Ferrari, Maserati or a Lamborghini, doesn't mean their racing at Lemons, just enjoying their fruits of life.

Well, both are subjective. They have that in common.

YOINK! I'ma stealing that one! :thumb:
https://cmgajcbuzz.files.wordpress.c...glar-thumb.jpg

99.5 B5 5 spd quattro is probably the earliest "classic" A4
No on the Passat.
But both will look great and the Audi has a timeless look, for a sedan.

Crappy early carbon frames should never be classic, unless there is some historic value toa particular bike.
It the case of carbon, the advances really are performance and durability based.
The only good carbon old frames that look classic are the Colnago carbon lugged frames before they did that stupid b-stay

:lol:

Pretty much any 26" wheeled bike is basically of C&V interest only now. That format seems to have disappeared overnight within the industry.

26" bikes are alive and well in the industry. I work in an LBS, and we sell a bunch of cruisers and entry-level mountain bikes with 26" wheels. About half the hybrids we sell are 26ers, too.

That is probably true. Using a strict definition nothing from the 80's 90s will ever be classic.

The era of the cool automobile is over anyway.

Which strict definition allows a bathtub on wheels in and a 308 out?

Maybe the future "new" classics will be custom made bikes using steel or ti.

How long before a Vanilla, Rodriguez, Chapman, Toei, or Tomii built in 2015 becomes a "classic"?

I think all of these builders have made some bikes that are instant classics.

Personally, it's lugged steel vs everything else, regardless of the manufacture date.

As well as the timeless adage, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". I love the Reynolds and Columbus frames with good and artful lugging as much as anyone. There will always be that place in history and heritage.

Yet, in another 20yrs there will be some of us dying off and younger ones to take our place. These younger ones will have the bikes of their day to add to this classic mania. :)

Toei has been around since 1957. Classic in all senses of the word.

Yes :)

And the irony is: The things which become classics are often the ones you'd least expect to do so- like the '57 Chevy Belair- which was probably the most common, mundane, boring car of the decade. By whatever logic made that so sought-after as a "classic", one would expect a 1988 Cavalier to be a classic- or in bicycle terms: A Huffy.

Good point! A beautifully-made handmade lugged steel frame made today in West Undershirt, can be every bit as good as one made 35 years ago in Italy. (Do they still make chromed lugs?)

Most old bikes are just old, not classic. Most newer bikes that become old will just be old. Very, very few bikes are classic to me. The colnago c40/c50s will likely be viewed as classic by future generations...some of the trek Madones, Pinarello dogmas, moots, firefly. I'm not sure if the current custom steel bikes will be considered classic or not...does a 15 year old lust for a Sachs or a Cervello Soloist?

Like most of us I am not wild about the aesthetics of most current CF bikes.