# Why don't more women collect classic bikes?



## SailorMac (Oct 15, 2010)

Okay, so why aren't there more women colectors?
The bikes are:
inexpensive (Not Spendy)
often in great condition (Minty), and not trashed (Janky)
readily available (practically everywhere)

Women collect antiques and are into other "vintage" stuff.  

Hey, I am not going to start a campaign or anything; just more bikes for my wife.

Or should the question be, why don't real men ride step thrus?


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## grey3speedfrmeuro (Oct 15, 2010)

Fifteen years ago I attended a University whare there were lots of people in our art department who rode vintage balloon bikes in fact the bike rack had several rows of bikes from the 1930's through the 1950's era. A lot of the female students had ither male or female frame bikes. I had a chance at a Schwinn intermediate from the early 1960's from a used bike shop it was a ladys frame for $75.00 and I bought it. No one ever said anything to me about riding a ladys frame bike. It eventualy got striped on the bike rack at the dormatory thus preventing me from brining it home for good after graduation. Bicas used to have some realy fantastic early bicycle era donations ten years ago even the people from university bikes in Tempe whould show up.....


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## Tidewater (Oct 16, 2010)

> Hey, I am not going to start a campaign or anything; just more bikes for my wife.




My bride and I started recreational biking in the early spring. It went from once a week to 3, then to 5 rides a week. We've traveled most of the state hitting the railtrails, canal towpaths and a couple of the metro parks. I was infected by the classic bike bug when I received the the '55 Columbia and '58 JC from my father-in-law. My bride and I started hitting garage and yard sales on the prowl for classics.

The old bikes we've purchased in last four weeks:
Ballooners:
1956 26" Ladies JC Higgins
Middleweights:
1966 26" Ladies Western Flyer/Sonic Flyer
Lightweights:
1964 26" Ladies Sears 3spd. 
1970 26" Mens Schwinn Racer 3spd.

Reading through the forums I've seen bikes parted out that were in much better overall condition than most that I've purchased, how many of the ladies bikes do you think my bride will let me part out?.........NONE!

She's been infected with the old bike bug.

If your bride is into it too then I think the campaign has already begun.


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## bairdco (Oct 16, 2010)

'cause women like shiny, expensive, new things, and old bikes are just trash, that the wicked witch of the west rode into a tornado.


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## JLarkin (Oct 16, 2010)

> 'cause women like shiny, expensive, new things, and old bikes are just trash




Couldn't have said it better myself.


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## oktoday (Oct 16, 2010)

i've had a run of customers that are restoring old ballooners for their wives...lots of times you can hardly give the frames away, but lately a few have mentioned they're restoring them for their spouses...


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## JLarkin (Oct 16, 2010)

I have repaired/restored 3 ladies bikes that my wife won't ride unless I drag her to do so.


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## PCHiggin (Oct 16, 2010)

Oh,Cmon!! LOL!! Venus & Mars guys. Women  simply won't ever give full approval of the things we like or do,unless it serves them. Therefore they won't involve themselves in most of the things we like or do. 

Pat


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## Re-Cyclist (Oct 16, 2010)

I've attached a pic of our cycling club. I'm on the red Schwinn Jaguar, my wife is next to me on the blue Murray, and my Sister is second from the right. We ride together quite often. This particular photo was taken last year.


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## bairdco (Oct 16, 2010)

also, most women think antique bikes make great garden decorations.


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## Tidewater (Oct 16, 2010)

> also, most women think antique bikes make great garden decorations.



I just returned from scoring 3 garden decorations. Pics to come.
A mens Hawthorne, a ladies West Point, and a Roadmaster jr.


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## OldRider (Oct 16, 2010)

Same thing here in Canada with our vintage CCM and British bikes, a 40s to 60s mens bike is scarcer then hens teeth, but I can round you up a dozen ladies of that same vintage no problem at all. Its really a shame the ladies bikes are always left behind.


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## bairdco (Oct 16, 2010)

i've got a '38 Colson Vogue in great shape. stored in a basement since the 40's. wanted to sell it, but nobody wanted it, so i found a man's frame and swapped all the parts. 

still have the frame, though. one of these days, if i find a girl who appreciates it and would rather ride that then a stupid pink micargi, i'll put it back together.


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## partsguy (Oct 17, 2010)

bairdco said:


> i've got a '38 Colson Vogue in great shape. stored in a basement since the 40's. wanted to sell it, but nobody wanted it, so i found a man's frame and swapped all the parts.
> 
> still have the frame, though. one of these days, if i find a girl who appreciates it and would rather ride that then a stupid pink micargi, i'll put it back together.





What is wrong with Micargi? They aren't Wal-Mart bikes, you special order them. I got one for my second bike in 2004, driven hard since no problems (except burning up tires).


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## bairdco (Oct 17, 2010)

i hate cheap chinese bikes, and the majority of Micargis i see are those awful unisex cantilever cruisers. ugliest bikes ever made.

(edit) also, here in So Cal, there's loads of stores to get them from. if you want something special like the stretched choppers you might have to order one, but if you want the cheapest cruiser, there's three stores withing walking distance from my house. or i could go to the beach and buy them from the renters ("weeklies") for a third of the price. but in my opinion, they're not worth anything to me at all. if someone offered one to me, i'd decline. the only reason i'd take it is if i needed an innertube to get home. then i'd throw the rest of the bike in the trash.

whew. i need to relax...


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## 37fleetwood (Oct 17, 2010)

you guys just don't hang out with the right girls! there are plenty where I ride.
I'd have posted more but there is a 10 photo limit.


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## OldRider (Oct 17, 2010)

Scott, you have just dispelled a time honored myth............Women do ride bicycles!


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## Tidewater (Oct 17, 2010)

> Women do ride bicycles!




That's exactly why I ride bikes.


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## partsguy (Oct 17, 2010)

bairdco said:


> i hate cheap chinese bikes, and the majority of Micargis i see are those awful unisex cantilever cruisers. ugliest bikes ever made.
> 
> (edit) also, here in So Cal, there's loads of stores to get them from. if you want something special like the stretched choppers you might have to order one, but if you want the cheapest cruiser, there's three stores withing walking distance from my house. or i could go to the beach and buy them from the renters ("weeklies") for a third of the price. but in my opinion, they're not worth anything to me at all. if someone offered one to me, i'd decline. the only reason i'd take it is if i needed an innertube to get home. then i'd throw the rest of the bike in the trash.
> 
> whew. i need to relax...





Well, to each his own. Things are different on your side of the country. Mine has taken a lot more abuse than my POS Schwinn Ranger (Target daily rider). All I've had to do for 6 years is change tires, everything else is as good as it was new. I do agree, most foreign bikes are junk though-MOST.

EDIT: I did wreck it once and had to get a factory fender replacement on the rear. The original fender was a tad shorter.


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## bairdco (Oct 18, 2010)

my daily rider is a 41 colson Imperial, custom, smooth, and sexy. a bike like yours? i never ride that. but like you said, to each his own. since i was a little kid, i've always had a cool bike to ride. it was always clean, it never squeeked, and it (almost) never broke. it was just a source of pride for me. even back when schwinn was in america, i wouldn't settle for something as common as that.

when huffy was making junk, i had an early huffy eldorado, and i bought it to take the piss out of the cheap cruisers they made in the 80's.

i carried kegs to the party in my Worksman cycletruck that i got from the garden grove post office auction.

to me, bikes were like my cars (which i'm not gonna talk about, since this is a bike forum.) they were mine, they were an extension of myself, and i never have, and never will, take a look-a-like product and lower my standards.

seriously, and without offense, why would you buy a cheap chinese stingray clone when there's hundreds of originals you could buy outright or restore yourself? 

to each their own...


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## JLarkin (Oct 18, 2010)

> i carried kegs to the party in my Worksman cycletruck




Kegs?  Must have been a pony keg.


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## bairdco (Oct 18, 2010)

ever seen a mailman bike? i coulda carried 2 full sized kegs and e.t. in that thing...


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## partsguy (Oct 18, 2010)

bairdco said:


> seriously, and without offense, why would you buy a cheap chinese stingray clone when there's hundreds of originals you could buy outright or restore yourself?
> 
> to each their own...





Well, I wasn't quite into bikes yet, I was just looking for something cool and my old first bike was set out to pasture (old USA built Murray Spectra from the 80s). This was late summer 2004 and we looked around at the mentioned stores and those big hulks you call choppers didn't appeal to me. Nor did the repop stingrays. We looked and found this one over the internet. It was Nov. 2004 when it arrived and I rode it while I could and in the spring that next year I was king of the neighborhood. Those cheapo "pacificCycle" bikes were whipped daily and I don't know why.

It still turns heads even today when I ride it OR I ride my Classics around. It's earned it's keep. To each his own...


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## cyclonecoaster.com (Oct 20, 2010)

*Scott is right - plenty of Women come out for the CYCLONE COASTER rides*



37fleetwood said:


> you guys just don't hang out with the right girls! there are plenty where I ride.




Lots of women come out in our neck of the woods -- they are really into what they have too -- here are a few of my own


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## PCHiggin (Oct 20, 2010)

*Some Guys Just Know Where To Hang Out....*

And S0-Cal must be the place! I've never seen that many babes on bikes around here. I went on a couple of Michinganders and  did ride the last 16 or so miles with a couple of sweethearts,they seemed to be the only ones there. Here we are after the finish. The beer went down effortlessly afterwords.

Pat


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## Fendercamp (Oct 21, 2010)

This is my women's bike...

http://picasaweb.google.com/carwileshoot/20100925?authkey=Gv1sRgCKPbyvWYj9DS6wE&feat=directlink


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## Fendercamp (Oct 21, 2010)

here's my women's bike....

http://picasaweb.google.com/carwileshoot/20100925?authkey=Gv1sRgCKPbyvWYj9DS6wE&feat=directlink


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## SailorMac (Oct 22, 2010)

Fendercamp
Sweet ride + radio.


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## Zephyr (Oct 23, 2010)

There's 2 different things to ride and to collect I think. I (women) do both but I tend to not ride less my antiques than my newer. By newer I mean like my 01 Eclipse hybrid or my 91 Miele Alba lx (road bike) or even my 94 CCM Black Ice. I think that women don't collect the vintage bicycle because of their lack of interest into restoring them. I don't know if its the lack of interest in the mechanic itself or the fear of getting dirty but they certainly have more fun into riding than fixing. I could see a small relation over restoring cars. I don't know of a lot of women doing it. I was lucky to be able to get most of my pre 1975 bikes in a decent shape but some needed more work which I had fun to do. I agree that its easier to collect vintage sewing machines or steamer trunks over bikes. Maybe you gotta see over the metal that compose a bike to be able to appreciate them to the fullest and want to be involved over another level than the garden decoration one.


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## Larmo63 (Oct 24, 2010)

I have always been into mechanical things. I can cook, clean house, and even do my own laundry. Most women would like to have their bicycle with the tires inflated, cleaned, and in riding order. If the bike is not ready to ride, then no riding. (or load it up to take to the bike shop) I bought an old Hawthorne this summer in Illinois, and hauled it back to SoCal. It garnered much interest everywhere when people spotted it on the back of our motorhome. When we got back here and I started my process of studying what I actually had bought, (I have always owned mostly Schwinns of all sorts,) and set out to wrench on it a bit. That caught the eye of my girlfriend/fiance', and wouldn't you know it? She bought TWO old bicycles off of Ebay, a '51 women's hornet, and a really clean '61 AMF chrome women's bike that is pristine. Now, we have FOUR old bikes, two pre, and two post war, all rideable, and in good order. They turn heads everywhere here. People don't know what they are, but they DO know they like them. So much better than cheap Chinese crap.


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## militarymonark (Oct 24, 2010)

Boise has a lot of girls on old bikes, matter of fact I have sold a lot of my low end vintage bikes to girls on craigslist even teenagers. Im sure easywind can attest to that.


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