What does Classic & Vintage mean??
 

This may have been discussed on an earlier post, but what exactly does "Classic & Vintage" mean? Or perhaps what do those terms mean?

Depends greatly on who you ask. To me, personally, any bike produced prior to the wide spread use of STI shifting would now fall under the "Classic & Vintage" heading, or any bike made since which was made in the style of bicycles produced before then, aka: "Keepers of the Flame" as it is known in some circles. Some sites are more restrictive with a cut off of 1984, the introduction of indexed shifting. That's my two cents, and I'll refrain from trying to break the term up and separately define "Classic" and "Vintage", as those are yet more difficult.

20+ years old and actually worth something 20 years ago :)

As in: 20 year old Huffy - yeah it's 20 years old, but it wasn't worth anything back then and certainly isn't now, either!

So, a Huffy is NOT C&V. It's just old.

DD

It may be a coincidence but the terms Classic & Vintage also refers to cars of the same 60's and 70's era that had some of the more popular bicycles.

We like old bikes, but we also have standards. And we guess some newer bikes meet those standards, too. ;)

The definition is pretty much wide open to interpretation. Just look at all the bikes on this forum. What does it mean to you?

Classic:
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...phia_Loren.jpg


Vintage
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=229708

Classic is to style as vintage is to age.

What style and age is classic and vintage is yours to choose.

I have to be honest, about half the bicycles shown here are what I consider to be classic. For example, a 70's Raleigh Gran Sport 3 speed is in my opinion a Classic machine, a 3 speed Raleigh Clubman is vintage. There are scores of Nishiki's, Univegas, Schwinns, KHS, Ross's, etc, mass produced bicycles that although great machines are really just old bicycles IMO. For instance, a Nishiki Olympic, a Univega Alpina Sport, a Schwinn Varsity I do not consider these Classic or Vintage.

the top one is a really nice classic Italian, how does it ride?

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...sic-or-Vintage

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...643-Definition

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...hat-is-vintage

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...p-Vintage-quot

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ge-quot-For-Me

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...t-Classic-quot

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...efines-C-amp-V

Thanks Colonel! Perfect!

In your example, Classic is fantastic! Although, I may have gotten it backwards in my mind. My loose rule is: Vintage- over 20 years, Classic- over 30 years. But Holy Smokes, I'll concede 'your' "classic" example if you'll line-up a date.:thumb:

For me it means any better built bike made before the early to mid 80's when nearly all the better bike names went bust or sold out.

Unless Ben Serotta made it in 1984

maybe we need a new forum titled "ancient" for those that no longer like their more modern c & v partners :innocent:

To me C&V means spending money on bikes and bits that I don't "need" to ride a bike, but want. Kind of like combining cycling with baseball card collecting.

What's a Raleigh Gran Sport 3 speed? As far as I know, Raleigh was pretty successful at mass production.

I'd say that if the average person considers the bike you ride old, you belong here with the rest of us misfits.

Is that a young Sophia Loren? Man. Look at that .... headset.

Yes, this is it. When I think about my modest C&V collection, it is about the collecting as much as anything else. I have my tastes and have an eye out for parts or bikes that would complement my collection. Then I ride them for a while and decide if I like them. If not, time to try something else.

To me, bikes like the Varsity are definitely classics-- even more than many better-quality rides-- because of their historical significance. The Varsity/Continental, the UO-8, and the S-10-S were the grunts of the bike boom for their respective nations, and got millions of Americans back into cycling.

C and V - if I like it, it qualifies. If I don't like it, it doesn't.

Post whatever you want, some will probably like it, others won't.

To me the difference would be comparing a 1957 chevy, 55-57 Thunderbird, etc. all classics to any other era car which would be vintage as in old.

For me:
Classic = Worth something
Vintage = Old

Both things are subjective

C&V is something that you polish relentlessly, obsess over and hang on the wall. You can't ride these things anyway.