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Is the hobby dying again?
- Thread starter Nickinator
- Start date
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bricycle
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
Well if this is any indication... https://www.ebay.com/itm/153679668912
pedal4416
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
I’ve backed away from the hobby a bit because the prices were getting stupid. I was spending way too much to piece bikes together and now I’m broke! I’m back into the vintage BMX scene but the same is happening there!! When a BMX seatpost clamp sells for $1500.....
SJ_BIKER
Riding a 41 Super Deluxe
People deep in the hobby want parts and if it is a needed part like cant live without need..itll sell and fast. As for the next generation of potential hobbyists....i think its tough to hold their attention with so many distractions out in the internet world.
We live in a short attention span vortex that i dont see getting any better. However the bike shows and ride meets still can be effective to spread awareness and for peets sake have a non bike person or kids ride the bikes just for kicks so they can experience the joy of pure fun we get and it can only get better after that.
We live in a short attention span vortex that i dont see getting any better. However the bike shows and ride meets still can be effective to spread awareness and for peets sake have a non bike person or kids ride the bikes just for kicks so they can experience the joy of pure fun we get and it can only get better after that.
vincev
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
THIS segment of bike collecting is slowed down. The hot money maker is BMX bikes.These are the bikes younger people grew up with.Just look at the sales section.More 60's and newer bikes popping up.Seems a new younger generation is now growing and many have no interest in the older ballooners,etc. we have. just go to a BMX show and look at the prices. They are through the roof. The hobby is evolving.I remember when high wheels were the thing but not so much anymore.
Autocycleplane
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
Reading this reminds me of a story I have told Bob many times. Back in the early 90s my buddy and I happened upon a vintage bike meet in our town that was attended by some of the legends of the hobby from that era. They were just as into our vintage and dusty canyon/fire road runners as we were into their Aerocycles, TOCs, etc. The one thing I remembered most about those discussions were "The hobby is dying" and "younger folks like you aren't interested in these things, we need more of you". This concern seems to have been expressed by many a collector/hobbyist over the years but I see new people come in, old ones come back, and others take a break or cash out entirely. All seems pretty normal to me.
The traditional venues for the hobby may be "dying", but I think this is just an evolution of how it works because interwebs. There are so many more bikes out there than we can imagine, both in existing collections and waiting to be found. Time will eventually provide the supply to reinvigorate the hobby.
piercer_99
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
the sky isn't falling, perhaps it is more similar to how the housing market was in 2005, artificially inflated prices. Maybe in reality that $200 head badge is really only worth $50.
I see a lot of people who really just get bikes to tear them apart and make money off of them.
I have 5 projects in que, all of them need a couple of parts, and I am not planning on dying anytime soon, so if and when the parts show up, at a decent price point, I will get them. The reality is though, if you have a bike that is only ever going to be worth $500, and all you are missing is a drop stand, it is hard to suck it up and lay out $100 to 150 for a drop stand.
Yet some folks still score a complete bike for 100 and turn the parts into 1,000. If that is how you make your living, more power to you.
I make my living in construction, we are always asked to 'lower' our prices to get projects. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. I do know that for the last 15 years we do lower more often than not. More volume still leads to a profit margin.
Bicycles on the other hand, are a hobby for me. I have the ones that I really enjoy, and when I get a good deal on a complete bike that I don't want, I pass that on. I am not in it for a profit, I am in it because I love to ride old bikes.
I see a lot of people who really just get bikes to tear them apart and make money off of them.
I have 5 projects in que, all of them need a couple of parts, and I am not planning on dying anytime soon, so if and when the parts show up, at a decent price point, I will get them. The reality is though, if you have a bike that is only ever going to be worth $500, and all you are missing is a drop stand, it is hard to suck it up and lay out $100 to 150 for a drop stand.
Yet some folks still score a complete bike for 100 and turn the parts into 1,000. If that is how you make your living, more power to you.
I make my living in construction, we are always asked to 'lower' our prices to get projects. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. I do know that for the last 15 years we do lower more often than not. More volume still leads to a profit margin.
Bicycles on the other hand, are a hobby for me. I have the ones that I really enjoy, and when I get a good deal on a complete bike that I don't want, I pass that on. I am not in it for a profit, I am in it because I love to ride old bikes.
SJ_BIKER
Riding a 41 Super Deluxe
Bmx bike prices are strange to me. I grew up reading BMX plus as a teen. The catalog then had complete bikes ranging from 1000 to 2500. And prices are just the same now sooo id say they didnt increase in value? If you bought that 2500.00 bike back in the 80s and sell it for 2500.00 now....i dunno. The bmx world did see some really neat geometry on certain frames and real nice components.
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