I tend to agree, though I think 25 is a bit too conservative.. late 80s bikes are pretty popular in this forum, but they are 20-25 years old

1990 makes sense if you apply the the 20/21 rule...

It takes 20 years for your parents (or you) to sell or throw out that "grungy old bike" that's been decaying in the basement since you lost interest in it and 21 years for you to get all nostalgic and want to find another one like it so you can relive your youth.

1967 Mustang convertible with a 287 or 1968 Camaro convertible with a 302 are classics. Is a 1967 Ford Pinto a classic? Is a 1968 Chevy Chevette a classic? Probably is someone's book, but not in mine. From what I've seen on this particular forum is an appreciation for taking a bike and making it ride and look new again or finding a bike in some guy's garage that is no longer availible at the LBS and making it valuable. I have appreciated the fellowship between people who share that passion to restore. I've also enjoyed the wealth of knowledge from people who like to wrench on bikes. Classic and Vintage are just words that people use to bump up the price.

Really? Damn, I'm old... my first son was born in 1990.

Very true, but are they vintage and by what standard? Remember, every age has its new idea or technology. The derailleur ushered in a new era. How about the Japanese quality initiatives, presented in the seventies. Or the mentioned indexed shifting, a huge technological shift. The comments another forum member made regarding Taiwan throwing its Velo hat into the ring? Or how about my 2000 Marinoni Squadra, lugged steel and not much different that a bike made in 1989, if you disregard the Brifter technology...


Kinda looks like my 1976 Marinoni Quebec, if you disregard the brake lever thingies...


So, to me, there is no time period that can be used to mark vintage. Only years passed. But that is just me.

Sez you. I hated mine, never worked right, got rid of it for friction shift.

I am never going to quibble over what year a certain component came out. I just don't give a flying poop about being exactly right about that stuff. I had just looked it up on wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimano_Total_Integration If you're sure you're right then the article needs to be edited.
I peppered my posts with a bunch of qualifiers and "my opinions" to show that I was not interested in being engaged in a factual debate.

What about Classic style bikes? You can't head over to Commuter bikes and drool over lugs. There isn't really a section (that I have found) to discuss Creme vs Viva in terms of weld quality. Where else do continuous production bikes fit? The classic style Gazelle doesn't seem to have changed much in years.

Feel free to flame me, but I feel more comfortable here than in any of the other sections.

it is very interesting how each forum has its own personality

As long as it's out of style, it's acceptable here.

vintage roadies ARE in style

+1
At group rides the more vintage often the more interest shown by others.

If it has down tube shifters does that qualify? If it has a 6spd freewheel does that qualify? What if I don't care what year it is and I just post the pictures of all the painstaking work I have lovingly put into this fake classic wannabe? I think this has been overblown, I'm here to see the work people have done with something someone didn't want. Junk yard trash or Eflay flash, no one here that I have seen is showing off the latest shwag. Some here have carbon bikes but there not showing them here, no one would care if they posted thier latest bike service. ( Hay look I had to wash off my bike.) Some new guys or young people have posted thier yard sale specials and I have to say those are some of the better posts. New people learning how to remove rust, save paint, take apart the stem from the fork, I don't care if it's a 2000 motobecane. Somehow the bike got into the condition that it needs to be saved, and it's not the bikes falt, 68', or 98'. I started working on bikes with my dad when I was 7 or 8, when I was 10 we laced a 5spd freewheel to a 20" wheel and bolted on a derailleur to hotrod my BMX bike. I've been hotrodding bikes eversince. We should have a combination of tech, materials, age, and the custom work put into the bike not a date of XX or YY. I don't think anyone here would complain about a new Sachs being posted, so we should try to be a little excepting of stuff that may not qualify under one category out of two or three.

Finished the A V Conservancy ride and had quite a few people ask about my bike. Some thought it was new, some thought it was custom, some had never heard of Shogun.

Classic: Refers to style or construction. A classically styled bike can be of any age.

Vintage: Refers to chronological age only. Furthermore, a vintage bike doesn't necessarily have to be a classic.

We've been down this road many times. That's my definition and I'm sticking to it.

That wasn't a backhanded way of maligning Positron, was it?

I can't tell you a date, but I know it when I see it...

25 years is a good rule of thumb. Nothing made after Y2K is vintage unless it is cheap wine.

Check out the `confessions' thread in the Roadie forum, it reads like a Jersey Shore episode!

I agree with what's been said about Classic v. Vintage. My Raleighs are not only vintage but classics; the Centurion is vintage but not particularly classic; and a Varsinental will always just be old.

Positron maligns itself just dandy all on its own.