The enviable bike thread
 

Our recent exchange in the Weigle frames thread got me thinking about the implicit but less often examined aspect of riding old bikes: what do others think of me when the see me riding my vintage _______? Given that only a tiny percentage of the population know or care what a Weigle is (or a Raleigh, for that matter), I can expect to meet with indifference from nearly everybody. But what do I imagine some well-informed, discerning onlooker will think as I blast by? What do I want that connoisseur of the wheel to infer from my bicycle? And what bike will best convey that message? Like all good fantasy, it needs to be informed by some real data. So here's a two-part question:

1. As a rider, what bike do you ride (or wish you did) that makes you feel you are creating the impression you would like to create?
2. As an observer, what do you think when you see somebody on a Weigle, Cinelli, Hetchins, Rene Herse, etc.?

1) I don't choose a bike to create an impression. I've ridden enough bikes to know which ones I really enjoy being on for the day. Those bikes are the in my stable. I'm always open to broadening my horizons, though.....

2) What do I think when I see one out and about? If it's my size, I wonder if it is for sale. :)

It is nice to be acknowledged by fellow C&V'ers as someone who knows and cares but one does not want to be taken for a snob. For that reason a prefer a RIH or Bontekoe to a Colnago or Pinarello. For the same reason I like an Alfa 1750 GTV better than a Porsche 911 and prefer an Omega to a Rolex on my wrist.

1) The only impression that I want to create is that I enjoy riding my bike. And any and all of my bikes let me do that.

2) "Mmmm... Nice bike. If I had that kind of money... I'd probably spend it on a vacation riding THIS bike in the Pyrenees."

SP
Bend, OR

Could not have said it better except for #2. I catch up, approach the individual and offer to buy or trade. This works more often than you might think.

I dont have a dozen bikes so the choice is easy. While in training for this century ride the Trek 460 gets choice....in fact, I may never get another bike to do what this one is. Unless it's a vintage Colnago or at the least a Bianchi 848 :D

2. If I see another C&V rider I'd hope to chase him down and talk with him.

1. I modify everything to suit me, and riding vintage provides me with a lot of cheap options. I ride around on a gold women's 3-speed in my jogging clothes, so I have no shame.

On the other hand, I've gotten several complements on my single speed conversion, and I'm finishing up a cool-looking mid-90s Haro. In fact, the 50's clip art lady on the forks informs me that the 4130 Chromoly is both "strong and hard" which is sure to impress fellow riders.

Really, it's less about the bike than it is the ride. Being on the road and having fun speaks way more than the coolness of the bike I'm riding.

2. I have never seen anyone around here ride something like that. Either people ride NEXT bikes or have a recent mid-range Giant, Trek, or Specialized. You can tell the the type of rider from a distance because the former won't be riding properly (middle of foot on pedal, seat too low, never shifts, etc.) and will barely be moving down the road, while the latter maneuvers around traffic effortlessly. I know my LBS mechanic has a Raleigh Sport he converted into a fixie, but I've never seen anyone else riding vintage.

I've never really cared what other people thought. I've found most of them don't do much of it anyhow.

I must say I'm offended by your snobbery sir!

What's so enviable about this thread? Well placed quotation marks make a world of difference! :)

I think this thread will be much like the Milgram experiment, in that as subjects we will deny that we would do such a thing as ride a bike because of its perceived cachet, and yet we are all obedient servants to the tastes promoted by the community. (There's probably a better analogy using a more appropriate sociological study, but I'm not a sociologist, so my knowledge base is rather limited.)

Personally, I ride bikes that work for me, and they usually end up being rather pedestrian. On the other hand, I feel a need to fill the "bike-to-make-them-wow-on-the-internet-and-on-C&V-rides" niche. I think I've failed rather spectacularly at this.

I have to admit I am very proud of my Norman Rapide, even though it's really a bit small for me. Every time I ride it, people comment. One time I passed a young woman on a bike, and she caught up with me just to tell me what a beautiful bike it was. I had to agree. I'm not vain about it, at least I don't think I am, but I really do enjoy the comments. About the bike, that is. Not about me.

I don't really try and create an impression. I ride C&V because I can get so much more bike for my money. I started working in a bike shop around 1980, C&V are the bikes I remember and lusted after. So I guess I'm cheap and old.

Being from the Motor City, we have some of the largest gatherings of classic cars in the country. I noticed there a lot of old people driving a lot of hot old cars. I figure it's because they can now afford the cars they wanted as a youngster.

When I see a nice rare bike I complement the rider. But I agree with bobbycorno, I'd rather spend my money on a trip with my cheap bike.

1. Them - Hey. Nice bike. Me - Uh, thanks.

2. Me - Hey. Nice bike. Them - Uh, thanks.

I don't choose which bike because of what it says to other people. However it does speak to me; I like riding a bike that is old, a bit of a classic, which is to say an icon of its type, and special to me. My experience is that no one else ever notices anyway. I have received compliments from LBS employees about a C&V bike, and that's a nice experience.

I see almost no one riding a good C&V bike. Most bikes I see are either new uberbikes or ratty utilitarian bike-like objects.

1. As a rider, what bike do you ride (or wish you did) that makes you feel you are creating the impression you would like to create?

I am the "old bike guy"and am not sure if that is because people think I am old or because I regularly ride bicycles that are 50-60 years old... if anything, this may have spawned an interest in others to find nice vintage bicycles, particularly older British 3 speeds.

2. As an observer, what do you think when you see somebody on a Weigle, Cinelli, Hetchins, Rene Herse, etc.?

I will let you know when I see someone riding one of these... I do know many of the locals who ride old British steel and many of these meetings stemmed from a couple of guys exchanging "nice bike" comments.

Here's how I'd answer my own questions:

Riding my all-black 1968 Cinelli makes me feel grand, like a stately European gentleman enjoying a tour of his vinyards. My Olympia, a much tighter faster bike of the same era turns me into a hungry American road racer, thirty-five years younger than I am.

I'm impressed by the taste of people I see riding fine old bikes. I imagine they would be intelligent, passionate and fun to talk to, and have found this to be true more often than not.

Junkyardbike, you so right about people not owning up to what is an uncool attitude about coolness, though I assure you I wasn't thinking of the questions as some psycho/cyclo/social experiment. I was hoping for a little more candor about the, "Look at me!" component of riding a rare/exotic/gorgeous old bike. I think it is disingenuous to say that one's pleasure in riding one has to do only with the physical experience, and not at all with the cool factor.

To some degree, I'm a snob. I like to imagine people thinking flattering things about me. I'm not proud of this, but I don't consider it a major character flaw. I think it is harmless to fantasize about how cool I must look zipping around on an all-Campy confection from 1971.

I've ridden seriously since I was a teen, when my now 55 year old Frejus was just an outdated old track bike that I got in 1972 from a racer who was upgrading. Today, it is a bike that I ride because it feels so good, and because it makes me feel cool to be on such a beautiful, desirable machine. I like getting compliments on its age and looks, and telling people about it. Why deny this?

If you really don't care what anyone thinks about you when you ride your vintage bike, fine. On the other hand, if parading is even a small part of the appeal of riding for you, I'd like to know more about it.

As am I, Velognome. Deeply offended by my own snobbery. Ashamed, even.













(Bloody Raleigh snobs!)

I call your humility and raise you some vanity...I've looked at myself in the reflection of a shop window while riding one of my Raleighs
The bikes pretty cool too!


Oh, I heard that sir...I heard that....I'd answer you with a duel but I've got to clean up the oil dripping from my hub.

My bike is cooler than me, so it creates a better impression than I do. However, I know the impression it had on me before I owned it. The first Cinelli B I ever saw was owned by George at Parts Unknown in Toronto. It was his favourite bike and he showed it to me in the back alley of Kensington Market one frosty winter morning, and I just lusted after that bike. His was BEAT, with chipped up black paint, no hoods and a cheap saddle, but the Cinelli crest on the seat-tube, the chrome lugs and the overall aura that bike gave off just killed me. He wouldn't even consider selling it, and said it was his retirement fund. The next one I saw was blue, again with a terrible bloated saddle for some reason and also in Kensington. It was way to small for me but nonetheless I waited around like a creepy stalker until the young lady that owned it (her father ran a high-end bike shop) showed up and I offered to buy it and probably frightened her. When my B showed up on craigslist, I was prepared to move heaven and earth to get it, and I did. The funny thing is, it gets probably less compliments than any other high end bike I've owned, and nobody notices it, but I don't care. To me it's like a magic carpet, and I feel like Aladdin when I'm riding it. The fact that no one else gives a crap about it makes me like it even more.

The bike that I ride that turns the most heads and gets the most comments is definitely the Motorola Merckx. I suspect people think something along the lines of "that fat bastard sure has a nice bike." I usually am riding the Koga-Miyata or the Marnati, and since no one knows what those are, they generally ignore me. I imagine others reacting the way I reacted to people like me when I was young...a mixture of snobbery and jealousy. I used to LOVE blowing by the dude that was out of shape with his fancy bike on my Shimano 105 Sirrus. I like when folks stare at my bikes and chat with me about them, but I'd rather be back to the level where they were talking about how strong I am riding. I think the bike that best reflects my personality is the Koga-Miyata - reliable, practical and heavy.

I just love looking at rare, interesting bikes and I love watching them on the street. Usually I try to talk to folks with interesting things and have had some great conversations that way. Generally my thought pattern is: wow, what a cool person who shares my common interest. I'm definitely more interested in chatting with folks who have more odd ball stuff and I've found they typically know more about their bikes and riding. A lot of it depends on the build, the person riding it and how they're riding it. I really dig seeing updated classics, and my general approach to those people is - wow...they appreciate good steel and quality, but they actually ride and want it to work well.

I always compliment people that are riding nice steel frames. I ended up having a conversation with some guy for 20 miles after complimenting his merckx. I spotted a Bob Jackson the other day, complimented them for their taste. I have to say though, one time a group of guys on rivendells passed me (riding with my girlfriend, otherwise it would not have happened) and I didn't say anything ;)

I was riding my Motobecane one time and some guy called out "nice Motobecane!", from about 60 feet away. I was astounded he could even recognize what it was from that distance. I don't call out much as I see almost no C&V bikes while I'm riding. It's all new stuff it seems. You know, post '85 or so. ;)

These questions are fairly well loaded Aixaix.;)

Where you ride, chances are that it will be me saying that ....

Scott

Which means it was someone with eyesight good enough to recognize it at 60ft.