I've posted to this list a couple of times, and I greatly appreciate the responses and interest. So perhaps it's time I introduced myself.
I'm Steve Maas, age 53, living in Long Beach, California with my wife of 30 years and one of two kids, a high-school senior. Older kid, aged 26, is a free-lance musician and recording technician. I'm an electrical engineer, a consultant specializing in microwave technology.
I have been bicycling about 48 years. My first real bike was a Huffy three-speed (one of the Raleigh bikes Huffy sold under their own name in the late 50s) which I got for my birthday at age 11. I rode it about 30 years and stupidly gave it away. I still lust after those beautiful, scrolled lugs. (Sigh.) So what if it weighed 40 pounds?
I rediscovered bicycles in 1987, when, on impulse, I bought a Centurion ten-speed. Not much of a bike by many standards, but what a revelation! Fifteen pounds lighter than the Huffy, real gears, and I felt I could go anywhere. My older son eventually wrecked it, but not before I'd traded up to a decent Univega hybrid.
A few years ago, I saw a perfect late-70s all-Campagnolo-SR Colnago for sale on Ebay. Beautiful, red, and flawless; I fell in love on the spot. Still, I restrained myself, didn't bid, and it sold with one bid for $600. I'm still kicking myself. The next old Colnago frame to appear on Ebay was mine! Built it up with SR components, and discovered that I'm hooked.
The contrast between old bikes and modern ones is more than just the technological one; it's a fundamental difference in style and purpose. Today's bicycles and components are designed around a "coolness" standard, intended to appeal to guys in their mid-20s who are unperturbed by big credit-card balances. Old bikes get their value from true beauty, elegant design, and their lessons about our history and place in society.
Here's a list of the creatures in my bicycle zoo:
1. Miyata touring bike with Shimano components (OK, I do need one modern bicycle.)
2. Tour Easy recumbent, ca. 1990, rebuilt by me with modern components.
3. Colnago XL, 1988, with SR parts. (Yes, a bit of an anachronism, but I like the SR stuff. Sue me.)
4. Colnago Super, 1978, a real beauty. NR and Modolo.
5. Univega hybrid, from the days before I saw the light. Still, it's accompanied me to Europe twice, once in Switzerland (http://www.nonlintec.com/biketour/) and recently in Portugal.
6. Carlton Catalina, probably mid-60s, my current restoration project.
Pictures and journal at http://www.nonlintec.com/
Six bikes? That's nothing. There's still plenty of room in the garage...
Regards,
Steve