Over the years there has been a multitude of posters with an exceptional amount of knowledge and an almost biblical plague amount of rare,classic and vintage cycles in their stables,ppl such as "the other guy" "7o,sguy" and so on,many of which have disappeared over time,THIS IS A LOSS to this forum, who else has gone and why ? and are they coming back ?do you know where they are ?

Got bored?

Viscount always had cool bikes; but he hasn't posted in a while either.

I remember "the other guy" posted not too long ago, someone made the comment that they were glad to see him back. Maybe he just posts less?

I'm sure boredom, busy lives or whatever else is the reason. I noticed East Hill has been MIA for a bit?

I have his e-mail, I'll see if I can get in touch with him.

It's gotta be life in general. Other things get in the way of sitting down at the keyboard every night. I've noticed that, other than my daily mileage, I haven't been doing much of anything cycling-wise over the past two months due to home, wife, work and a few other matters. It's only in the past week that I've even been in the shop, finally building up that Trek Pilot I picked up at Westminster back in February.

Second possible reason: Burnout? While the group here is great, occasionally one needs some time away.

But I mean, look at the catch of the day thread in 2007. I see USAZorro still around, but otherwise- anyone? Meh.

Has anyone heard from Robatsu? He hasn't updated his blog since June ..

Scott

At the risk of getting flamed here, I'll chime in.

Yes, life in general and the other reasons mentioned are likely factors. But there is another one that has not been mentioned: the C&V site itself is not what it once was.

How so? A couple of ways.

First, although there is still a bunch of cool stuff that appears and great info that gets shared, there has been, to my eye, a general drift toward lower-end stuff. Call me a snob or worse if you want, but I have no interest in UO-8's or Varsinentals or lower end Raleighs. There is nothing wrong with folks who like them, but that is not where my interests lie. And there has been less of the high-end rides that float my boat and more of the Bike Boom Specials that don't.

Second, the tone has gotten less friendly. Lord knows, it hasn't descended nearly to the ongoing nursery school recess that is the Road forum, and I wouldn't go so far as to say it is unfriendly overall, but there has been a change, and not for the better. I know I am not the only one who thinks so, but I won't rat out anyone else. They can rat themselves out, if they are so inclined.

So what's to be done about it? As for the first factor, nothing, I suppose. People will post what they will.

The second factor, however, is something that can be addressed. Remember that this is an area of BF that has always been about sharing info, encouraging newer members, and generally being able to be opinionated without being hostile. Most of us are pretty good about this most of the time, but a gentle reminder can never hurt.

Attacks on my parentage and general mental accuity coming in 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . .

I spoke with the Other Guy about a year ago, and while he still rides I believe that he sold
off most of his collection and has been involved in other stuff.
s70rguy still posts, just not frequently. Other people just move on, its a way of life for
online communities, actually for all communities.

Marty

As is nostalgia for the 'good ol' days.'

You suck you commie bastard! LOL

Maybe - I'm with those who think people just come and go from these things. I've been a regular poster on all sorts of forums over the years and have drifted away. Just here on Bikeforums I started in MTB but got sick of being told I'm a moron for using an allen wrench to adjust my seat or something like that, then the Pro forum 'till I figured out it should be called the "Lance is/isn't a doper" forum, then for a longer time in commuting. I liked it there but drifted away and I do feel like I've found a home here. Before I got active here (and in between those listed above as well) I was a moderator and serious regular poster on ClubWRX.net, also a regular on AlfaBB and Yotatech.....and short stints at other sites as well.

So I've been told.

I came across and old email from quite a while back and sent him a message. Hopefully all is well and he isn't a casualty of the economy.

I still like this place but I haven't seen much of many of my BF "friends,"

Cyclotoine, Easthill, Jan Nikolajsen, Amani576, and WHERE THE HECK IS ROTHARPUNC?

Here's where Jan is: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?...c_id=5521&v=Ec

I'm here. Everyday. Probably WAY MORE than I should.
But I have to agree with BikingShearer about what kind of bikes have been propagating this forum as of late. I mean, I like low-end bikes to a degree. But, I kind of feel that, even with the evaluation forum, C&V has kind of become a general area for one time posters to ask questions about whether their UO-8 is (obviously not) a PX-10. Price Evaluations or Identifications. That's what I feel like C&V is turning in to.
I have noticed a lot of people don't seem to be posting as much as they used to. Perhaps they too are tired of what I've expressed. Iuhno, maybe.
-Gene-

I spend way more time then is reasonable on here. Recently I have given some faulty advice
(well just not reading the OP carefully ) so maybe I am part of problem. Anyway I still find
interesting posts everyday. Enough that I want to read this forum often.

I don't treat my bikes well enough to be crazy about high bike so I don't mind the talk about low end
bikes. We did have a contest a while back were there was a limit on how much you could spend on a build.
Haven't notice that much meanness, but I would tend to just go to the next post if a topic gets off track.

Classic Rendezvous mailing list is often informative, but it also can get off track (recent weird thread about
lawyers ?).

Seems to me there's a remarkable amount of the original, smallish group that posted here during the early years. USAZ, Bigbossman, Lotek, Luker, and some others I've likely forgotten all were amoung the very earliest posters on this board, and are still here. It's remarkable so many have stuck around. There's always some turnover on this sort of board, but I find the lack of it somehow refreshing. And we've sure pulled in a heckuva lot more posters over the last few years.

Well, one-time posters cannot be the problem; more likely a symptom, I'd think. The question I'd ask, is why some first-time posters never return (even to read their own threads), and why some do. To return, I'd guess one would have to be somewhat serious about what they posted, and they'd have to get some kind of reassurance from the replies to their thread. We all know this, right?

The forum does change over time. They all do. All we who are presently posting can do is try to steer the tone and the subject in the direction we hope the forum moves, and hope for the best.
That's why I hardly ever post in threads about UO-8's and Varsities or, for that matter, a good many other things that don't interest me.

I haven't been around very long, but I've found this board to be very kind and fun to converse with. I've posted many questions over the last month and have had only nice and helpful responses. Thank you everyone who has made coming to this board a pleasure!

Could it be that there aren't as many high-end or even c&v bikes in general out there any more? I've only been really looking for a couple months now, but I know I haven't found much. My best finds are a probably low-end Takara and a low-end Gitane in bad shape that I had to go one town over to get.

I've been following Jan's semi regular blogs and think it's a pretty cool experience he's having with his family. I didn't even realize he was a BF member or semi-regular poster.

I'm still fairly new myself but feel very much at home in the Classic and Vintage forum. After reading the comments above, I've decided that I'll do my best to be civil, post about only mid to high end rides, and only chime in if I can elevate the discussion.

CMC

Very interesting direction this thread is taking.
my thought is that the high end bikes are out there, one just has to be patient in looking for
them. I think one reason that we see so many threads concerning low or mid level bikes are
they are what most people buy when they first venture into the C&V world, unless they have
some idea of what they want (i.e. I bought the colnago I wanted back in 1975 but couldn't afford).
That and the lower end bikes are readily available.

I think C&V is still one of the most civil sub forums here, and the 'regulars' seem to try to
keep it that way. Sure we see some threads with snarky remarks but they are the exception, not
the norm. When we set up C&V my intention was to keep it friendly, and modeled much of the
format and feel on Dale's Classic Rendezvous list, only less restrictive in terms of what we do
and do not discuss. I have to say that for the most part C&V has exceeded my expectations
and hopes in terms of information shared and the sense of community.

Marty

I understand wanting to discuss and being more interested in the high end bikes, but I and I'm sure others would be disappointed if people stopped discussing and answering questions about the lower end bikes. Part of the reason I like older bikes is because I can afford them. I know the higher end c&v bikes are still usually cheaper than a new bike, but I can't afford either. So low end to mid-level bikes are what I'm interested in. Also, whether I could afford one or not, there just don't seem to be many high end c&v bikes available in my area.

People come and go. Lives can change.
However, just because someone new discovers this forum and only has a few posts has nothing to do with the knowledge base that they may be bringing with them.
There are a lot of vintage guru's out there that simply do not browse forums.

Viscount still has super-cool bikes and is a really great guy. but is right in the middle of a really important personal situation right now - please give him some space for a few months and I'm sure he'll be right back in there. (Hope it works out for you John).