I do think there needs to be a cutoff date, but my idea of a classic is more a keeper of the flame, not of just classic by dated parts and frame, but in a quality of ride, an elegant machine that will satisfy for the rest of my life. At the Cirque I rode with a gentleman (sorry, terrible with names) who was riding a fairly new Hetchins with vibrant stays and, I think, magnum bonum chrome head lugs and an absolutely gorgeous paint job. My size too. It had a Chorus groupo from the early nineties on it and I was dissapointed not to see it on display for the show, even though there were a few more modern "keepers of the flame" for people to see.
I'm still riding friction shifters on all my most modern bikes, but someday I will own a "classic" with Ergo.
Dan, always thinking about bikes and that next ride, Artley Parkton, Maryland
ps: I ran into Larry Black this weekend doing support for the MS ride in our area.