I'm really enjoying the silly bikes. The really funny thing about the reverse-steering bike is that it'd be fine to ride no-hands but as soon as you put your hands on the bars it all would go to hell. That Co-Mo tandem is a gag I've never seen before and I don't know why. It wouldn't be hard* to do a bike frame out of all kinds of recognizable tubing or balusters or whatever.

*for a frame builder, not me

Great photos, thanks for sharing!

Great post, Robvolz . Thanks for sharing...

I was just about to comment on an RV show without adult libations when I scrolled down to this pic. The man never disappoints. Looks like fun!

My Raleigh Sports would have fit right in.

Looks like a great show! I was at the Eddy Rando in Boulder this past June, and this seems to have a similar feel. A great variety of interesting bikes. Can you please post some photos of your Kessels? I have a couple of them, and as they're not too common, I'm always happy to see some pics. Is it the Molteni bike shown above?
Thanks for the great photos.
Cheers,

Looks like you need some safety glasses.

He is wearing them! On his collar, though.

And my cap to keep the sun outta my eyes

That looks like fun, thanks for the SITREP. My worry is the demographic, very few young people are interested in this hobby. All the bike nerds I know personally are old, like me.

Not sure if you saw from my pics, but there were plenty of WOMEN!! Like 50% and lots of youngsters too.

My sweetie always jokes that this hobby is mainly "old guys standing around parking lots talking about bikes."

It sure seems like that and may be but if you look around a bit there are younger folks leaning in.

One thing I think I see is when there's a gathering, the youngster hang back a bit as we blab away, it may be a little intimidating when they think/know they have a simple question they're hesitant to ask.

I try to look out for them and engage, it almost always goes well if you give them a good in and a nudge it seems.

It really is incumbent on us to work to keep this alive and going, we're already at a tipping point, the number of folks who want our old stuff is very much weak as we are finding out currently.

You are right.
When the Gangle rolled in past me, I did a double take. The owners were a younger couple and I did notice a few other younger couples around just hanging back and enjoying themselves, taking it all in.

Yep, seen that plenty before too, I try not to overwhelm them and usually fail miserably but most respond favorably and lean in too.

Also seems like they have a question(s) to ask and don't know how, once you tease that out they come onboard more so.

That green CoMotion bike is spectacular.

I especially dug that the reverse bike was a cheapie, but I'm also a special kind

When I was in Seattle last weekend, I stopped by Recycled Cycles and talked with some of the staff I knew. It was a great time, and as we were chatting by their glass cases, they told me that the week's current rain had switched many people into "project mode" where they started picking up all sorts of components, including the nicer pieces in the cases. A lot of mid school as well as a pristine early-6400 Shimano 600 groupset for just $120! Said the Tricolor stuff and other vintage pieces were getting picked up by the college-age set. That stuff, as we know, looks good, works well, and isn't expensive, which is a great recipe for trying something out. That and hopefully a bunch of us simply sharing in the enthusiasm of riding bikes, enjoying building bikes, and making bikes your own.

Thankfully the crankset of that 6400 groupset was too short, so I left it for someone else. I did pick up a Racing T rear derailleur to build with or (much more likely) sell as part of a mini 9-speed Campy group, plus a 7700 GS rear derailleur for my 510. I miss Recycled Cycles a lot. One of the true gems of the used-LBS parts world.