This seems to be what drives a lot of the vintage mantra. People identifying with products from their generation. There will always be those who collect certain eras regardless, but it seems that when interest in products from a newer time frame starts accelerating it is because of the nostalgia of a generation with disposable income to re-create/enhance memories.

John

My 1998 Toyota pickup is mundane & boring. A classic in the making!

My Neo Classics --

98 Litespeed Ultimate

1991 Litespeed Tachyon

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps548b55b6.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3.../IMG_0032r.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psbc15d53f.jpg

I wonder how the astonishing price of the carbon fiber bikes will play into this.

Aside - the forum this morning is feeding me ads for Bianchi... holsters. Swing and a miss!

Even there... the 22R motor versions and the solid-front-axle versions have more cachet for offroading reasons than do the V6 / IFS versions. The one year where the fuel injected 22R and the solid axle overlapped is sought-after.

I have a 2007 Taco and it's strange how similar but different it is. Toyota small pickups still have that low, car-like seat...

I think that was 1985 with sfa and fi 22r. Definitely valuable. Same reason the 84.5 4Runners were.

07 Tacos are probably more sought after. They are definitely highly valued pickups.

I had one of those. Two, actually. The first one developed a clicking noise around the cranks after 2-3 years. I never could find the source until I took it in an empty parking lot so I could safely look down while pedaling. I could see the BB and down tube separate slightly when pedalling hard. The second frame was a warranty for the first. By the time I stopped riding it I noticed that the interface between some of the lugs and the tubing looked like something white-ish was "blooming" underneath, which was suspiciously what I remembered on the first frame.

The lugs were aluminum, the frame tubing carbon fiber. They were supposed to have some kind of dielectric material between them, I was told, but some developed galvanic corrosion.

I've been considering this lately in terms of technological advancements and what will soon define me as a retrogrouch in the near future. I'm really not digging electronic shifting, and not sure when I will warm to it. In that sense, I wonder if my Domane with mechanical DA9000 will be a classic because it's the *last* mechanical DA group (pure speculation at this point). I also (personally) feel that the association of a legend like Fabian Cancellara to the bike will help it to gain a "classic" status down the road.

I think it will mostly come down to what bikes the current 20-30 something set lust after now. Those are the ones that might want to reignite some of that youthful feeling when they get some more time and disposable income at around 50 years old.

There is obviously the Cult of CAAD, so those will probably be classics. A lot of the older Madones aren't far off and get second looks when they come into the shop. The Specialized Roubaix basically created the "endurance" segment and are emblematic of a shift in the industry, even if they are ugly (I think the older ones look better). Pretty much any Look bike has some sort of status at almost any age.

I am a Di2 fan and agree with you.
DA9000 is really a pinnacle group. I do hope they continue developing the mechanical DA group in the future though.

As wonderful as electronic is, the nature of it makes it disposable. Granted, it may last quite a long time and I have no doubt it will but if you consider the battery alone, you constantly have to put in substantial money to simply make it operate.

OK, I'll say it. Bicycles, new or old can be beautiful classic designs with symmetry and understated elegance, but a lot of the new entries are clownish, overbearing, unbalanced looking blobs, plastered with logos and garish colors that look like they came out of a comic book. Then, the riders complete this goofy looking picture by dressing up like insects. But, to each his own. I'm not being judgmental or anything :rolleyes:

Cant say I disagree. :)

Your comment is interesting to me, since electronic shifting is the one thing that **might** at some point attract me away from non-indexed mechanical, which is what I still use exclusively. What are the (or your) issues with electronic shift? I am fascinated with the possibility of wiring numerous shift buttons in parallel, to facilitate gear changes from any position of the hands on the bars. The automatic and programmable front derailleur trim is also interesting, given the mixed results of a few mechanical attempts in the past.

I get on a bike to unplug. Electronic shifting is counter to my goals of riding a bike. I don't care if it's better, smoother, and all that. There's something very satisfying knowing that I could keep riding as far as I want with an uninterrupted supply of convenience store snickers bars and apple pies that were cooling on the windowsills of passing farms.

Jesus, I want to ride where you ride.

I think [MENTION=286310]Chrome Molly[/MENTION]'s real name is Gabriel, not Pete. This is him on his bike, out for a ride with his wife, searching for apple pies.

https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0jL...l_cycles.0.JPG

:)

That, plus, I love the simplicity of bikes. With modern bikes, with all the electronics and high-tech crapola, it's getting to the point where they are essentially just motorcycles minus the engine. It seems ridiculous to me, that a machine which gets it's motive power from our legs, should have to have an electrical system!

I mean, we're using our own power to propel the bike....but we need a stinking servo motor to nudge the chain over an eighth of inch?! -or a computer to trim the FD, as if nudging the shifter is too burdensome?

More like motorcycles with softer engines. :)

But remember: "Loud pipes save lives"- so always eat plenty of beans before riding your bicycle!

Once hydraulic disc brakes become common on race and sport bicycles,.......the roadies will always have a good reason to chuckle at our kool stop brake pad shod brake calipers when they see us on the roads........ I guaranteee!
Sure, one might be able to find a Magura HS77 hydraulic brakeset to try and counter, but those might look absolutely silly when compared to a modern disc brake setup.

This, mostly, IMHO. As much as old-fart me wants to define classic as lugged steel and non-indexed shifting, that's only a definition of classic for some in my age group. Think of all the folks into balooners and sting-rays.

And the definition of classic morphs over time. CF bikes with modern componentry perform well, are raced to success by professionals, are considered attractive by most potential buyers and can be jaw-droppingly expensive. I see no reason why the best of this litter won't be seen as classics 30yrs from now, by those who are now in their 20s. Not likely by me, but 30yrs from now I'll be lucky to have my wits about me at all, much less still be bicycling.

Exactly. It's not us that decide the next classics, it's the 14 year old dreaming about an s-works.

I think I've I spend too much time with the classics because this is the first I ever heard of electronic shifting. Interesting, but doesn't that add a bunch of weight to a bike that racers would want? I thought brifters were the ultimate convenience but I see I was wrong.

If not weight, certainly the complications such as I would never accept. Electric anything requires batteries or dynamo, maybe solar panels to be worn by the wearied rider.

Yes, the electronic groups are heavier than good old mechanical. The racers don't care, because they can get a bike that is under the UCI weight minimum, and then use the heavier group to get the bike up to the needed weight (Money is obviously not an issue there!).

Personally, the idea of having computers and batteries and servo motors, just to accomplish what you can do with a simple lever and cable, is abhorrent. Part of the appeal of cycling, to me, is the simple, low-tech "unplugged" nature of bikes. The day I need batteries and computers and motors to nudge the chain over an eighth of an inch, is the day I'll trade my bike in for a set of checkers!

Sad- the bikes some people are riding these days are festooned with more electronics than the motor vehicles I drive!