Hi Caleb and all,
As an older 50 something I maybe don't have the same perspective. But I believe that people collect what they like and most of us collect what they can afford. As a long time collector of toy cars too (since childhood), I've found that for the price of an old beat up Dinky, I can get a dozen cars that I really like, most maybe new, but they will be or become classics to me. Of course I still do buy a bit of junk!
Those who know me well, know I can be very frugal (spelled cheap!), but I've managed to find deals on what I like. If you're patient, finds come. The only reason almost all of my bikes are on topic, is that's when I got my start with lightweights, in the late 60's, and I really like 70's steel. Many of us have never met a bike they didn't like, and there are too many beater frames out there that can be built into fabulous riders. I'm sure your Lotus tourer is a really sweet ride and perfect for the hills around Baltimore.
If you can make it to the Cirque' this year, now so close to Baltimore, you'll find that you do indeed "belong". The people make the Cirque what it is as much, or more, as the bikes. The enthusiasm is contagious. And maybe unfortunately is this list. I rarely search for bikes/parts, but get so many heads up from the CR list that my parts bins are now overflowin g.
Maybe living in the Baltimore area too, I'll get a chance to see your collection.
Happy trails,
Dan Artley in Parkton, Maryland USA (just a hop, skip and a jump North of Baltimore)
Archive-URL: http://search.bikelist.org/
Hi List, I'm not sure where I fit in the demographic of this list, but from watching the recent discussion on bike values and what makes something collectible and something not, I thought I'd pipe in as someone who got into bikes in 1992 at age 14. I read the now "collectible" 1992-1994 Bridgestone catalogs at the kitchen table to drown out family discord. That is where I learned to look at popular bike trends with a critical eye. I was criticized in high school because I rode my bike to school instead of driving a car (in my small midwestern town, everyone had a car at age 16). In 1995 at age 17-18, I completed a solo cross country tour--on a used (now vintage?) 1985 Cannondale touring bike I had "upgraded" from 18 to 21 speeds. Of course I wanted a Bridgestone RB-T or XO-1, but I got the Cannondale used and it was all I could afford. In 1997, I was riding another Cannondale across Nebraska with buddy and stopped at a fantastic bike shop in Lincoln where I found an early 80s Lotus Odyssey touring bike. I bought the bike, mailed the Cannondale back home, and completed the tour on the Lotus. Been riding lugged steel ever since.
Now, at age 30, I have a basement full of projects, mostly mid-level Japanese frames from the late 70s to early 80s. So in general, my collection is barely on-topic, although I have a handful of truly on-topic frames. I don't race, never have, and probably never will. I don't follow racing, and I know precious little about the great history of racing that is often discussed here. Perhaps in some ways I don't belong on this list. My modest income and family prevent me from collecting at the level many here do, and I take the bikes that come to me via Craigslist or random finds, rather than seeking out particular bikes to re-create or re-live some era in my life or the sport.
But I agree with another member who has gotten into older and older bikes via contact with the list, that the bikes one started with are a "gateway." I have zero interest in the Cannondales (and OT mountain bikes) of my youth, and the Japanese bikes I like so much were made when I was not born or a toddler. I'm working on a super clean Peugeot UE-18 mixte from the early 70s and loving it right now, and a 1975 Raleigh Super Course. Modest projects, but important. I'm happy to leave the Colnago, Masi, Hetchins, Herse and the like to others, while focusing on the somewhat undervalued and non-exotic bikes that are so much classier than anything out there today. If one of the holy grail bikes comes my way, I hope I'll know enough to spot it, but I most likely would not be seeking it out.
As for KOF bikes, well, I can't really afford any of them, so I'll stick to my Tange 2 1983 Lotus Classique for my rider while I tool around with the others.
I'll go back to lurking now, but I'm curious if there are any other 20-30 somethings on this list who don't yet make enough money to collect but do modest projects as they come along.
Cheers,
Caleb Hawley,
Baltimore, Maryland USA