Golden Age?
 

Being a good Newbie, I clicked on the sponsor link. The book called Golden Age of Cycling caught my eye.

The question is, what is your Golden Age? Mine starts in 1970, with reasonable priced decent quality 10-speeds becoming widely available. On the cover of the Creedence album, Cosmo's Factory, one of the guys is posing with his 10-speed. Bikes were now O.K. for adults. My dad had a golden Schwinn Continential that I rode to high school. It was stolen in 1978. Still want to catch the guy. My sisters got Ralieghs from the local Gemco- (good bikes for the money) I was gifted with a used rental Lemon Yellow Schwinn Varsity.

It built character. Brakes never really worked right & never could get the derailleur adjusted. In 1980, it was trashed after my attempts to make a bike that could be ridden offroad came to naught. Hadn't heard of mountain bikes at the time. Being incompentent & inspired is a dangerous combination.

With all the bikes & riders out there, I think we are still in the Golden Age

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With all the bikes & riders out there, I think we are still in the Golden Age[/QUOTE]

+1

"...The question is, what is your Golden Age?"

Any time after the mastodons became extinct. They made a mess out of the trail.

I'd say 1965 to 1985. During that period most "decent" manufacturers made a classy looking ride that functioned as nicely as it looked. I'm a little biased though, it's my favorite time period of bike styling.
Another person might say 1945 to 1965.,,,,BD

+1. Although there are a few bikes either side of that range that are pretty sweet too.

"...The question is, what is your Golden Age?"
Great question. I've been noticing that I really like 1980s road bikes. I like that era for all the innovation in technology and how some advancements reached even the entry level bikes. The late 80s bikes are so clean looking with aero brakes, many with braze on downtube shifters and 700C rims. Add on index 12 speed, double and triple butted chro-moly frames. Yeah, that's what I like.
I'm not sure what era of mountain bikes I like, but right now I'm becoming attached to a 1994 Rockhopper I found.

'Golden age ended whenever those consarned contraptions with wheels the same size started terrorizing the thoroughfare.

I'd have to say 1979 - 1980. It is a personal thing, but those are the years when the TI Releigh racing team was at it's best, and also when I was at my fittest. I could ride all day in 52-14 (52-16 for hills), and it wouldn't phase me.

Makes me feel decrepit to even think about it now though. :o Doubt I'll ever weigh a buck twenty five ever again either.

Depends on what type of bikes...For something like a Raleigh 3speed the mid to late 50's, Dawes Tour bike, mid to late 70's YMMV depending on the type and brand:p Golden age of cycling in the US? Prior to the introduction of the automobile...

Aaron:)

Another vote for the '65 to '85 era machines. I love 70's Raleighs' and early 80's sport tourers, and french racing machines, and........

Another +1 from here, at least for frames.

As for components, the same years for stuff to ogle at and enjoy for their beauty and proportions. A Campy NR rear derailleur is one of the all-time classics of stunning form and flawless function, right up there at the top of the list not only for bicycle stuff, but for anything devised by human beings. For compoments to actually use, I'd say we're still in a Golden Age that started with click-shifting that actually worked and clipless pedals (and no, I am not including the infamous Cinelli M71 death-pedals, as cool as they were as a concept project.)

With a 1967 Paramount frame equipped with a 1990-ish, Rivendell-ish, mish-mash of 8-speed stuff and a 1982 or so Ron Cooper decked out with a Campy 10-speed drivetrain (mostly Centaur), I think I have just about the best of all possible worlds, at least for roadie stuff.

1869-1969

I seem to be settling on 1970 thru 1975 for the majority of my bikes
but I'd have to say for me golden age is from 1958 until 1972 (or whenever the bike
boom is reported to have started).
why 1958? campy catalog #14, record gruppo.

marty

okay, okay. I changed my end date. 1982. Because Dale sez.

But my beginning date stays. 10,295 BPE.

Well, I became bike literate in 1970. And felt the demise of the thoughtful cyclist began with sissy shifting by Shimano's SIS.

And I was dismayed by the styling priority of the C Record group, I do like the aesthetics BUT, functionally it was possibly even worse than the last Super Record... and heavier! What a price for styling...

In conclusion, life as we know it ended with the death of Mario Confente.

My "Golden Age" would be late '70s to early '80s. With 10 or 12 speed bikes, alloy rims (brakes work in the wet), high pressure tyres instead of tubulars (I remember being the first in our crowd with Michelin Elans). And you could just about upgrade any bike with any bits.

The end, for me, comes with lack of compatibility and interchangeability. For example our mid-80s mountain bike has Suntour indexed gears. I can't change the mech or the shifters of the freewheel except for another Suntour part, unless I want to change all three. On a more modern bike with cassettes, I'd need to change the rear wheel as well.

Following from that, the growth of the dominant Campag vs Shimano, and lack of choice in other makes. Compared to my bike - Campag hubs, Wolber rims, Suntour gears, Stronglight cranks, Lyotard pedals, Tange headset, Weinmann brakes.

Tony S

My golden age is now, since I can pick and choose from anything I can find that has gone before, and with the internet, I have the whole world as my smorgasborg.:)

Well, for myself I'd say the 70's...as a young lad eyeing the sweet looking Raleighs at the LBS...nothing beats the sound of a freewheel on a sweet Raleigh clicking away.

For bikes overall, however, I'd have to say right after the turn of the century...I mean seriously, bikes RULED back then. Many macadam roads were paved at the insistence of bike riders, women were being liberated by the wheeled machines, and bike racing became the most popular sport in the U.S.

My friend (shameless namedropping) Peter Nye wrote "America's Jazz Age Sport" about the 6 day races and other cycling craziness during this period...it's a great read and convinced me that the 1900-1920s was THE ERA for the bicycle.

Then again, the way gas prices are going hopefully the Golden Age of cycling will be 2020-....