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Do you have a duty to fix up an old bike as original as possible?

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xmtnrider

Look Ma, No Hands!
I'm sure the question opens a whole can of worms, but let's say you have a 100 year old bike frame and you want to modify it from original. Do most people believe that if you modify it in a way that can't be undone that it's ruining the bike? That's my feeling for certain bikes, but not others. What about adding a color or finish that isn't original to a bike? Obviously the whole rat rod movement proves that cool and different things can be done with older frames that people may have otherwise discarded. So by bringing something back from the dead and modifying it from original it has life now and can be enjoyed. The other side of the coin is that you would have to be crazy to take a super rare collectible bike and weld something to it.

What are peoples opinions about which bikes are ok to mod and which are not? What are your criteria for deciding?
 
Here's my humble opinion, for whatever it's worth. First off in the almost two years that I've been on the Cabe, I've made some mistakes that I regret & I've done some things that I'm proud of ( though not everyone would agree ). To a large extent it dependent on the particular bike involved. Say you pick up a frame that has already been parted out & it would take two to three times the amount of money that it would be worth to restore it, what's the point?. That's a prime candidate for a Rat project. In the end, it's your bike & you should be able to have fun w/ it, whatever way you go with it, even as you progress in the hobby & may have regrets down the road.
 
i find that if it is a common bike and the parts are not really all there then i can go in many directions including modifying the frame. If the bike is rare or has all the parts I tend to keep it original or put it back to original.
 
no matter how rare or how nice it is yours and you have no "duty" --grid it to dust if that suits you.
Might not be the best economic move but hey it is YOUR bike.
 
This is a personal decision, like Religon.
My bike- flow chart:
Age...100 yr old bike
Is it at least 75% complete? Yes..... don't modify. No,......go right ahead.
 
Yes you have a duty to history. Some bikes are works of art and if you own one, you have an obligation to restore it or pass it on to someone who will.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Just like any other work of art..Making a beautiful old bike into a rat, is just the same as scratching up the Mona Lisa.
 
No. You own it. It's yours. Do as you please. It might not be the right thing, but if you ruin all of yours, mine will be worth more!
 
Some are highly collectible to some of us but at the end of the day,they're just bikes.Nothing important.Make yours any way you like 'em.
 
I say these bikes only go around once,or in our case twice. With that being said I've decided to try to keep them in the best original condition I can. I try to only add to bike that will not ruin the original look of the bike, we all seem to try in our own way to preserve the good 'ole bike(s) that we have hoping to one day someday pass it to the next enthusiast of the vintage/antique world.
 
I enjoyed all these responses, like I always say, its whatever makes your boat float....
 
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