I would strip it and ride it bare

Maybe. I wanted to avoid stripping it (toxic ew) and was going to sand prime and paint. It's already raw but with horrible decals under a clear coat.

See if there is someone local that can soda blast it.

C40s and C50s

I agree with Jet...

Along with:

Look 585 (French lugged CF goodness)
Time VXR (more of a good thing)
Pinarello Dogma (ugly but innovative)
Serotta Legend Ti (especially given the Serotta demise)
CAAD 10 (I think the 10 will actually surpass the 9, in spite of the import status)

-Mark in St. Louis

How did I forget this and the 585..

I would include any of these in a list as well.

The CAAD 10 is an absolute deal of a frameset.

I've seen three this winter on our local CL built with Ultegra.

Each was priced at a dirt cheap price for the performance received.

Love the looks as well.

Agreed on the Giants. They have some really great, not good, bikes. The best way to describe it is what would you rather ride a Colnago or a Giant? Let bickering begin.

Orbea Orca





I'm partial to the DeRosa King.





Wilier Cento





Cervelo RS, especially the Giro model





Ritte Bosberg





And of course the XCR

[QUOTE=iab;16500003]Orbea Orca

There was a very nice Orca frameset at our swap last weekend for $500.

I was sorely tempted, but escaped with my wallet intact.

They are beautiful.

Maybe not today's classics, but the trend is that pre-Trek associated anything (Gitane, Fisher, Lemond, Klein, etc) is more sought after than post-Trek anything. Many of these still found for cents on the dollar. Today's bikes as investments for tomorrow's trends would be difficult to predict. Best to take the best riders of today, and keep riding and caring for them. Most of the culling is done by car roof racks, sewer grates, thieves, etc

Some of the "production" 953 and KVA bikes seem to me as bikes that will really be special in a few years. I could see full 853 frames being sought after as well. I think that bikes that have "special" ride qualities are more sought after than the techno firsts. Steel excels in that regard.

How true.

In general, I watch for any 853 framesets. Great ride qualities and yes, the 953 and KVA will be worth watching for in years to come.

Smart money would also go on bikes with True Temper OX Platinum. Man, that stuff rides great, especially off road.

My son's Salsa La Cruz is built from OX and I would ride that over their ti La Cruz any old day.

I didn't list these because I think they already are classics. The value isn't there, but nuts like us take notice of them.

I loved my OX platinum Poprad - magical, so stupid for selling it. Lemond just made some great frigging bikes.

There are only two bikes I've really missed - the Poprad and a Miyata 916.

Yeah, both are great bikes.

Chrome Molly just scored that super nice Poprad frameset. I am trying to find one at a reasonable price for a gravel racer this summer. There are plenty of alternatives, but very few that ride that sweet. Lemond had a real winner with that bike.

GMG - one came up on my CL, 55cm I think, for $300. Let me know if interested.

I just sold my Pugsley with plans to build another from the ground up... just built up an 80's Raleigh atb with some reasonably fat tyres to fill that gap and the new trike is gonna get fat too.

Tomorrow's classics are what the 15-25 year olds want to ride today - but can't quite afford.
Fat bikes, 29'ers, Steamrollers and (why not) Dutch bikes.

Narrow tired road bikes are iffy for future classics, I think. Proprietary parts will really put the hurt on some things. Eight speed Dura Ace is bad enough, but what are the odds of finding a replacement sending unit for a first gen electronic shifter in 10 years let alone 30. If you thought Swiss threaded bottom brackets were a challenge ...

This one?

https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/bik/4334187823.html

Saw that as well.

Just a bit small for me, as the 57cm Poprad would likely work just right.

That is a nice price for that frameset though.

Would be a whale of an allroader.

That's the one- I didn't know you checked our CL.

These Fargos are selling like hotcakes in the shops locally as well and I see them down at the river bottoms constantly.

Mostly younger guys buying them to use like atvs.

Our roads stink here and I see them becoming commuters favs as well.

Definitely!

I chose the Anthem because of the suspension design. It is first class and has a strong following already.

Smallish builders such as Serotta, Cinelli, Moots, etal, would be considered off the list due to the obvious limited availability status which naturally gives them "collector" status.

LeMond bikes before Trek are already considered as collectible by many. After Trek, not so much.

Caad 9 makes sense in that it was last of USA built and a great ride, but the Caad10 because of the ride quality engineered into it. It changed how alum frames are designed.

Never thought of the Orca as a great frame, but it does look nice and probably should be included.

SL4 frames really upped the ante for carbon designs utilizing oversized down tube diameters. For this reason I see them on the list. Much like the original Cdale frames are now classics due to the oversized alum tubes which created the stiffness of steel in an alum bike.

Never thought of the Venge as a game changer, but the McLaren link may put it on the list.

Off road, I would certainly pick the Giant over a Colnago!

Wow, happy to see people mention two bikes that I have as potential classics:

1) Kona Jake The Snake
2) Serotta Legend Ti (with ST stays)

The Kona makes me smile EVERY time I throw my leg over it, and the Serotta is just butta smooth and insanely light.

I think the shear production volume currently will mean this stuff is available for years to come.

I did have some remorse as I used my last rolls of Cervelo/CSC bar tape on a 1973 nishiki last night... I thought to myself.. someone is going to want to restore a Cervelo from those glorious few years and want this tape.. oh well.