No derailleurs, weathered, cottered cranks, and a nice Raleigh headbadge.


1955 Raleigh Lenton "Reg Harris Road Model" - fixed gear model.

Even more weathered...


1950 Raleigh Sports

I do have a great affection for 50's bicycles... they are just a little harder to find than 70's and 80's bikes.

i want something from the 50s - nice bikes there 65er
i have a heron crankset that i want to build a single or a fixed around
just waiting for the right frame

I for one am a fan of late 70's and early 80's bikes they had great tech combined with a build quality that you just don't see in newer bikes much under $1000. A couple of the BMX's I had as my early bikes had better welding brazing than anything I have seen since at pretty much any price. Also some of the Japanese road bikes had some of the best lug work of all time and sold for decent price.

Love the decade 80 to 90. I think bikes in those 10 years look most beautiful, distilled to the barest of minimum, cleanest, most efficient design that the technology can provide back then. To me the bikes from that era never look old/passe. Art on wheels!!

Chombi

I think people will be into what ever deal they come across. Most people buying a budget bike nowadays have turned those into the obvious "Fixie" crowd because they are going for a modern retro look without being able to buy a modern expensive carbon fiber bike (so unbelieveably outrageous in price for bikes now days. I was shocked getting back into it after 25 years) I guess I am one of the lucky ones it seens to have bought a new bike back in the early 80's that is now holding its test of time in both function and looks. If I had unlimited funds, I would certainly buy something new and modern technology, but instead I am trying to upgrade my 27 year 1984 (I believe even though I bought it late 83) Raliegh Racing USA Grand Prix 555sl. Technology will always win. Its like taing an old car and putting modern drivetrains, brakes and suspension technology into a vintage look.

Dean

I Like the 80's! The 80's just seems to fit my body right.

I can't seem to warm up to the 70's. I just don't like the fit.

Although I own several bikes of the 90's, they just don't get me excited.

Even in the 80's I never had a bike built in the 80's, both of my bikes were built in the 70's. Now I have 4 of my 5 bikes built in the 80's. I did not know what I was I missing back then.

Much as I might salivate over the pure aesthetics of other, earlier decades, I find that bikes from the 80s tend to do it for me best.

I'm an '80s guy too.

Dean is that the Grand Prix with the chrome headtube?? I got the Raleigh Prestige and Competiton, both 1985s, with the chrome headtube. I am dying to get a Grand Prix.. IMO, I think the 80s is the BEST YEAR of them all..

We on to the best decade!!

I'd say the bookends for my bike nostalgia are the early 70's bike boom (when my awareness & ownership of 10-speeds began) and Breaking Away, after which my involvement & interest got mothballed for 30 years or so for the usual reasons. I do appreciate (& own) bikes outside of this era, but the 70's are my nostalgic years.

You are not by yourself!!

The 80s IMO, have it all. Looks, styles, efficiency, you name it, the 80s got it!!

I knew I was on to something when I noticed something special about the 80s bikes. I got a keen eye for cars, motorcycle, and now bicycles..

If one monitors what transacts on ebay, the 80's is rising in demand. I think its a generation awareness thing. Relive youth, or finally acquire what one was aware of but could not afford at the time.

I am going to be the voice of dissent here; I think the best decade is the one we are in right now. In my opinion there are some dang great steel bikes being produced now. It seems like builders have started to actually embrace wider tires, fenders, comfort instead of race-like style, a lug resurgence seems to be upon us and 650b seems to be taking off. These are things I really appreciate in a bike. Quite a few builders are making bikes in the constructeur style with an emphasis on distance and comfort. Touring bikes seem to be a hit as well as off road or all terrain touring bikes seem to be prevalent. I am very glad that so many companies are making bikes and components that I would actually buy. (carbon is still the devil though...boo...hiss)

Don't get me wrong, I really like older, classic bikes. I would love an old British path racer, something I have lusted after for years. My favorite decade though would probably be the 70's, a time where touring bikes seemed to be fairly numerous and bike touring was all the rage. What can I say, I like to carry stuff on my bikes.

70th man! rode a touring bike from the Arctic circle to Warsau Poland, crazied thing I ever done, never forget it!

80,s have the nicest bikes!!

I took my 1950 Raleigh out to run some errands today... it is rolling around on some 650A wheels which look to be a replacement for the original Dunlop EA1 rims which is good as 650A tyres are plentiful while 26 by 1 1/4 aren't, unless you are me.

Anyways... the geometry on the older Sports is nearly identical to that of my 80's Kuwaharas which is pretty much identical to that of the Surly LHT.

The ride quality is simply stellar and the bike barely knows what a bump is.

Gotta love Pro-touring cars
https://www.camaroperformers.com/feat...o/viewall.html


I myself like the '80's bikes.

80's for the decade but 86' for the year. I was in the bike shop trying to figure out how to get the extra $200 to buy the Raleigh Super Course or the Ironman. Both were so hot but I rolled out a Technium instead.

I'm a late 80's guy too, even though I was born in 1990. I think it was somewhat subconscious craigslist buying, but my bikes are....
1986 Schwinn Sierra (perfect campus bike)
1987 Team Fuji
1987 Team Miyata, (being built)
1987 Schwinn Cimarron, (will be a tourer someday soon)
1987 Schwinn Super Sport (in Arizona, hopefully coming to Minneapolis soon!)

I guess I like that time period a lot? Usually I look for the good deals, the bikes that look cool. I'd like to diversify a little bit, but I enjoy the bikes I have a lot!.

You have a nice grouping of bikes with lean towards Raliegh, I think you should keep one of the 79 Raleighs due to year order, your collection could start with 79 and work it's way up. Keep the best one of the two and sell the other.

I like the Litespeed Classic as well, I'm am considering getting a more modern bike to save wear and tear on the others, so I've been looking at the Motobecane Ti LeChamp SL because it's the lowest costing ti on the market and it got rave reviews. Maybe next year since the old 401k is having some issues and I'm trying to pay off a rental.

Late 80's to mid-90's.

This is true for virtually any collection. My favorite decade whether it's cars, bikes, or anything else, is whatever is outside the classic trend because it means maximum bang for the buck. Old cruisers are coming down to a price where I may consider one, and I've been given a couple 90s bikes, but anything nice from the 80s is out of my budget.

When it comes to road bikes, I lean towards the late 70's and early 80's up to about 1982. Beyond that I felt bikes lost some appeal.
Other bikes that get my attention are pre 1970 British bikes, and pre war balloon tires.

Some features that I never liked on a bike were decal head badges, index shifting, and anything plastic.
A decal for a headbadge to me always made it look like they didn't take the care or time to be proud of their brand.
Index shifting, no matter how well it now works, bring back memories of Shimano Positron shifting on cheap department store bikes.
Things made from plastic like pedals, racks or any other functional part to me were a waste.
The only exception I can think of is a nice set of Blumel fenders on a vintage bike.