Question.............For all, when did your facination begin for OLDER ( vintage and classic ) bicycles begin?
For myself it was the mid 70s when I was still in High school, not only did I ride bicycles from that period but I was into the older stuff as well, collecting old bicycle parts was an everyday thing for me. At that time it was looked at as like we now look at the newer stuff, toys and so on. Now I must say collecting so called old bike parts was ''A LOT LESS!'' than collecting Japanese koi! Where a fish of 6 inchs could set you back $ 200.- plus, but then again I have scored fish valued at $ 500.- plus for as little as $ 10.-. Sitting on a tank for hours for the fish to settle down to get a good look. Nets were set and ''BANG, BANG......and BANG!.......Done deal, the owner said where did you find these? In the $ 10.- and $ 15.- tanks! He then bowed and said you did very well. 4 fish with a total value of well over $ 1000.-. Then the job offer came, would you like to work for me and perhaps go to JAPAN TO BUY SELECT QUALITY fish. Geeze I'm only 17! This was the 70s! My friends back then thought I was a geek,....Fish and bikes, when they were into girls and cars. I also got special privileges when locking my bicycle up at school in 2 seperate locations, the performing arts room where there was an empty closet where I could lock up my bike! Nothing else in the closet, just my bike! Or within a storage room next to the coaches office.............Those who thought I was a bike geek, learned real fast not to talk mess, the score was settled on the football field where I proceeded to give them a major pounding............One of my victums friends uncles who was a coach at a local Junior Collage was sitting and watching the distruction of his 2 or 3 nephews.........He soon offered me a tryout with the team, I said no,..........old bike stuff is my thing.............Many were wondering what's up with this kid with the bike stuff?
I've been collecting bicycle stuff all these years but it was 84 when I decided to get serious about the bike stuff! This is when I saw the Victory and Triomph stuff up on the wall here in Europe, this is well before seeing it in the U.S. I remember the shop owner telling me this stuff will be replacing the NR and SR period stuff! He was saying it's very beautiful and I was saying to myself.......Total garbage! 8 years later I also saw that Bicycle classics was doing the Vintage thing within the Bicycle guide................Well before this I was setting up my Europen contacts and sources. As I see it, it was a good call.................Everybody was asking what are you going to do, I said since I like old bike stuff I'll be making a living with it as well. At the time I saw that there was only so much of this stuff sitting within the inventories of the U.S........Campagnolo that is..........Here in Europe a whole different story. While bikes in the U.S were factory direct from the major brands or custom built!.........Here in Europe of which I know of the happenings within the Benelux mostly Holland and Belgium. High end bicycle shops here not only had these 2 avenues of having bicycles but there was the 3rd and that was suppliers supplying house brands. So to say these dealers had to have mountains of stuff availabe to provide these bicycles. From order to shop to customer, 4 weeks to 6 weeks. They basically had high end generic frames and the customer could have almost anything they wanted. Shimano, Campagnolo and so. Bars stems saddles, ttt, Cinelli San Marco or SELLA ITALIA, Clement, Vittoria and on and on the choice were there........Having framesets built with the 2 BIG Dutch brands Gazelle and Batavus was also a possibility, Gazelle Reynolds only, Batavus Reynolds or Columbus with you choice of needed braze-ons and so on. I ordered a Batavus with the works and 4 or 5 weeks later it was delivered.............Now you guys know why we have so much to offer.....................We're cleaning up the leftovers.
It was hearing about the the stuff that was heading to Poland by the truck loads that got me to look at selling old bike stuff seriously, very very seriously..............And of course then we found the CR list, 99..........Thanks Dale.
BC Baron C....................And the gang!!...................Cought the Dutch bike people..........zzzzZZZZZzzz Sleeping. Renaissance cycles, Eindhoven Holland.
> Nick:
> That probably was me, as I'm not aware of anyone else here in Michigan at
that time, that was as geeky about it as I. I remember faxing my lists to
Japan and Europe, as well as all over the US, during the mid - '90s. I spent
a lot of time on rec.bicycles.marketplace back then as well. I bought my
early Medici sight-unseen there, as well as a nice set of GEL280 wheels for
it.
> I'm trying to remember how I found Bicycle Trader (maybe in Velonews?),
but after that I know the sequence of events pretty well. In 1992, I wanted
to start a vintage Campagnolo parts business. I had even picked out a name:
"Classic Cycles." When I received about my fifth or maybe even tenth Bicycle
Trader newspaper, there it was: a full-page ad for Bicycle Classics. "Wow!
He's doing what I didn't get off my butt and do!" I said to my understanding
spouse. I was already buying from Bill Ward's hand-written lists at the time
IIRC (quite a character / multi-talented guy), and was getting hooked,
slowly but surely. I started my own "for sale list" of parts and bikes in
about 1995 or so. Then I found CR at some point on the Web, and discovered
eBay in 1999. I watched Bicycle Classics come up for sale in 2001, and
thought about doing something, but didn't (again). Last year, I approached
Alan and asked if he might have any interest in selling BC to me....
> Greg "memories" Parker
> Ann Arbor, Michigan
>
> Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 17:04:45 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
> From: Nick Zatezalo <nickzz@mindspring.com>
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: [CR]Fw:NOW CR Origin & Remembering before CR
>
> My early exposure to us vintage bike geeks was through Bicycle Trader
initially
> and most definitely Mike Kone @ Bicycle Classics. The Bicycle Guide
article
> about
> Mike's shop was a validation that I was not the only crazy on the planet.
>
> Bill Ward always had some cool goods; as did a guy from Michigan who would
> mail/fax a stock list. {Greg Parker that wasn't you... or was it?}
>
> The CR site and email list was like finding a long lost friend.
>
>
> Nick Zatezalo
> Atlanta,Ga
>
>
>
>
> VBS was really my first exposure to the possibility that there were
> lots more crazies like me out there, colliding aimlessly in the dense
> gases.
>
> Wayne Bingham
> Lovettsville VA