On 02/27/2017 09:36 AM, Addison Wilhite wrote:
I've had people assume my Riv is an "old" bike for a long time now but
yesterday when I was riding home I stopped to take a photo of the
rushing Truckee River in Reno and a gent paused to compliment me on my
"beautiful old bike." I just said thanks and didn't correct him. And
then it occurred to me that I shouldn't correct him because my
Allrounder is going on 18 years of age. Many miles but it looks
sharp...I've taken care of it through commutes and offroading and
tours. Anyway, just ruminating...and posting a couple pics. Happy
Monday!
http://reno-rambler.blogspot.com/2017/02/when-is-bike-old.html
By the standards of most consumer goods, 18 is pretty old (imagine an 18
year old computer) but bicycle frames are in an entirely different
category. At least, steel ones are. (I wouldn't bet on 18 year old
carbon or aluminum.) Steel's pretty sturdy! Stuff like cranks, bottom
brackets and wheels are really just consumable parts, they're not /the
bike/ -- that's the frame. Swap wheels and it's still the same
Allrounder; go from 7 to 8 to 9 as I did with my 1991 Titanium Spectrum
and it's really nothing more than replacing shifters and cassettes,
obviously still the same bike.
Consider for a moment the 1963 Jack Taylor frame and fork that's been
posted on another list. Wheels, brakes and a drive train are required,
but pick the right ones and that bike could be every bit as nice and
just about as contemporary as your Allrounder or, for that matter, a
brand new Roadeo. Well, a tiny bit limited by the 120mm dropout
spacing, that standard is at this point /old/ and it is limiting
compared to 130 but basically it just limits you to no more than 6
sprockets. But that's a frame that's almost 55 years old. With the
right set of parts you can have perfectly contemporary performance,
albeit within the limitation of having only 18 speeds to choose from.
(However, it's my belief that all 18 could actually be used.)
There are several bikes shown in The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bikes that
went back to the builder at some point for modernization and updating.
I think I recall one Herse that was updated by Alex Singer. The idea
that bikes are disposables certainly hadn't come about at that point.
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