Of course people will care a century from now.You just have to look at the vigor of the The Wheelmen organization,whose arbitrary cut-off is pre-WW I, to realize that people will always enjoy some phase of the cycling collectibles.The Wheelmen are organized by State,with each Stae having a captain.They organize rides,parades,centuries(on penny farthings or pheumatic safeties) and give each other tech support through their website and publications. Just check out the prices realized for bikes and accessories on the annual Copake Bicycle auctions. Art Link,Wheelman in San Antonio,TX
Ken Freeman <freesound@comcast.net> wrote: From: "Ken Freeman" <freesound@comcast.net> To: "'Joel McFarlane'" <tomacropod@gmail.com>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Subject: RE: [CR]the future of vintage bicycles Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2006 06:41:37 -0400
I think you're experience and enthusiasm will be valuable in the future. Vintage bikes as a hobby is IMHO (gentlefolks, start your flamethrowers!) based on nostalgia, a set sense of aesthetics, and perhaps a reluctance to give up what works well in lieu of what is newer but not obviously better. Such hobbies have been in existence in many generations. Look at the definitions of classic cars. A classic is often simply "what I and my peers lusted after in high school" (of an inanimate nature, you'd better not tell your long-term sweetie she's a classic!). I grew up in the time of the GTO, and I'm amazed at what '60s cars are now called classics! This sentiment and others that are similar are just human nature, and they'll continue. I think the (warning, OT!!) Specialized Roubaix may well be a future classic, especially since CF frames might not have good longevity.
Ken Freeman Ann Arbor, MI
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Joel McFarlane Sent: Friday, September 15, 2006 2:05 AM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]the future of vintage bicycles
reading, as I do, the CR list and others, I'm constantly impressed by the knowledge and experience displayed in discussions about classic bicycles and cycling in general. It seems to me that the most knowledgeable and experienced contributors are those who were actively involved with bicycles and bicycling during the relevant time period - which makes sense. My question is, can what extent can the sort of vast knowledge displayed here be passed on without that direct experience?
As someone who was, in a cruel irony, born in the year that the CR list appropriately makes the cut-off between modern and classic (1983), I and others of my generation can never have the 1st hand experience of the sort which makes other members of this forum so valuable. Working as I do in the modern bike shop, will my knowledge and experience of modern bikes ever be used in a "classic" context? I find it hard to believe so. This is not intended as yet another post debating the cut-off year or its redefinition over time, but rather whether knowledge of the post-war golden era of the racing cycle will ever lose definition, as we lose those who were involved at the time?
Feeling my age,
Joel McFarlane-Roberts. Canberra, Australia.