Balloon bikes and parts are getting thin...

[bike]

I was searching my email for something and found this:

"I just came in from the show, it was run very well. layout was good, plenty of space. nice and warm. The only problem was it was full of mid weights and krates.There was not a hand full of balloon tire in the show. Very week on original parts, mostly repop and early wal-mart parts.I will go back, but I am seeing this more often. The real collectable stuff is thin. "

From [email protected] list-server pre cabe 2001...

 

[catfish]

Good stuff is getting harder to find.

 

[Freqman1]

Good stuff is getting harder to find.

...and more expensive!

 

[vincev]

I noticed that on some of the bikes in the "for sale " forum of the Cabe. I think its just a younger collector is starting to enter the hobby and this is what they grew up liking.

 

[partsguy]

Tastes shift and change. Classic and antique transportation is driven largely by nostalgia, and also be uniqueness and appearance, features, etc...

This has been hashed out here before. The hobby is alive and well, I assure you.

In my neck of the woods, swap meets are almost entirely guys over 50. Cruise-In's, shows, and group rides are mostly 40 and under. The hobby is alive, but how it is LIVED is very different. These bikes, whether balloon tire, middle weight, or roadbike, are ridden, driven, and felt. Not just restored and locked up in a house or garage.

Good stuff is still out there...and so are the people...

 

[SKPC]

I agree with everyone above...Since 81 when I began my interest in 30s & 40's bikes, stuff was everywhere I went when I travelled around. On ebay early on there was a lot, but today there seems to be less and less as time rolls on. IMO, there at least seems to be very little low-mile original stuff and higher prices if it shows up...and the trend I think continues. An evolutionary reality, no matter what.

 

[cyclingday]

It’s kind of like Lobster and drawn butter.
If it gets set down on the table, it’s going to get eaten fast by the first guy that sees it.
But, if that guy doesn’t happen to like Lobster, then it’s going to get sold to the next guy for $75.00 dollars a pound.
They’re around, but it’s never cheap unless it’s rotten.

 

[bike]

Just sayin in 2001 bikes parts were thin...we are IN the good old days...

 

[Andrew Gorman]

For some people, things are always hard to find. Keep your eyes open!

 

[catfish]

...and more expensive!

Good stuff always is.