Is the old bike hobby growing or will it die out?

[Dan the bike man]

Encouraging to see some youngsters posting here for sure. I look at the bikes as works of art that are no longer being made, although I hate the re-issue bikes out there being passed off as "originals" SOB's. I suppose it won't matter after I'm gone, if the hobby survives. What will become of my hoard.....? One would like to think they end up in a museum......but that is wishful thinking, unless I donate them.....and even then, some museums sell off part of their collection........who really knows.

You can donate them to my museum! I'll care for and ride them!

 

[squeedals]

You can donate them to my museum! I'll care for and ride them!

I was waiting for that.....LOL!

 

[2jakes]

"...it's old, missing parts & rust all
over...it's worth mucho $$$...."

I know this for a fact cuz I seen it
on "American Pickers"...

 

[Gary Mc]

I think it will shift directions somewhat. I think old lightweights and 3-speeds will come up in value quite a bit, with a slight drop to old balloon tire bikes. I think bikes like Paramounts, New Worlds, Sports Tourists, and Superiors are all going to go up pretty heavily in value and find more collectors. I think the ballooners will be flat or maybe have a slight drop (though not a whole lot). The trend among the younger people in the hobby I've bumped into is getting a vintage bike you can tour with or ride a lot. The ballooners work great in flat areas, but they're more limited than a light weight with 3, 5, or even 10 speeds. Raleigh and Schwinn lightweights are particularly popular lately. When I started getting into Raleighs 10 years ago, after awhile of Schwinn and Columbia focus, you could buy a nice 3 speed for $20-30. Now prices are over $200 for a nice 3 speed Raleigh here in the DC area.

I too agree with you Mike. I also think Schwinn's such as Collegiates & Varsity's with gearing will grow in popularity in the future similar to what you are seeing with Raleighs. Not to mention Italian & French bikes such as Bianchi & Automoto or Peugout. These are great bikes to RIDE, easy to ride, and pretty plentiful today but still retain the vintage feel. If I had the money & space I'd be socking away nice original Schwinn Collegiates & Raleighs.

 

[Obi-Wan Schwinnobi]

I too agree with you Mike. I also think Schwinn's such as Collegiates & Varsity's with gearing will grow in popularity in the future similar to what you are seeing with Raleighs. Not to mention Italian & French bikes such as Bianchi & Automoto or Peugout. These are great bikes to RIDE, easy to ride, and pretty plentiful today but still retain the vintage feel. If I had the money & space I'd be socking away nice original Schwinn Collegiates & Raleighs.

Already seeing it with bmx ....

 

[squeedals]

Maybe the key word here is "ride". Some classics and TOC's are not practical riders and maybe those bikes will fall out of favor with the majority, with the minority collecting them for historical reasons. Collecting trends never stay the same......

 

[Gary Mc]

Maybe the key word here is "ride". Some classics and TOC's are not practical riders and maybe those bikes will fall out of favor with the majority, with the minority collecting them for historical reasons. Collecting trends never stay the same......

Think that's it with "ride" & you are right, every collecting boom/bust is cyclical, nothing stays the same.

 

[scrubbinrims]

In my opinion, the lesser bikes as 3-speeds, middleweights, & "vintage" lightweights are gaining popularity being #1 available, #2 less expensive, and #3 practical...I doubt there are many that collect them, mainly appealing to a crowd wanting an older bike with character to maneuver.

I see a number of new folks (young and old) on here and in the hobby which is critical to our hobby growing, but what I don't see a lot of are the folks coming in to amass a significant collection.
What is dwindling are the mega collectors/collections...most newcomers having a modest cache and not into display cases, dedicated areas of the house for show, and peripherals like advertising.
So, I see a rising casual interest hobby, content to wait for a bargain, just not a rise in what I would consider serious collectors that go after it.
Chris

 

[DJ Bill]

The newer lightweight Chicago built and a few imported Schwinns are just so easy to work on, plentiful, and just look like a well built bike that they can't go anywher but UP. In certain college towns and resort towns they are already in the $200 and up range for nice ones. But...you can still find solid examples for $20 all day long in other areas. I have a hunch they will be the next craze too, and am stocking up all I can find that have the upright bars. Us older guys can't ride the race position anymore and the folks that just want to tool around town on a nice bike don't want wrapped bars either.
And the trash they pass off as a Schwinn at Wallyworld does nothing for the name except make people long for the good old days, so smart guys buy a used old one and restore it to what they remember.

From what I have seen the higher end Stingray prices are way lower than a few years ago, so maybe that fad is over...Nothing wrong with a good Stingray, mind you, but the prices were in my own opinion, nuts. Now you see people going for the off brand musclebikes, and restoring them to similar quality levels to the Stingray crowd, which is cool.


And then you have the moneyed crowd that buys at places like the Copake Auction. I do not see them slowing down one bit on the good stuff. You won't see me at Copake but I'm a low end guy anyway.

Pickers and all the PBS shows and Discovery/History channel stuff have brought new folks to the hobby.They even did a bike on Fast and Loud once... Whether that is good??who knows. We have more eyes out there searching for the good stuff in the back alleys, so that will keep stuff away from the scrap man. There is an element of the "I saw it on TV so it is worth a ton of money" crowd too...which stinks...

My opinion anyhow. Worth exactly what ya paid for it , no more, no less. Hope I didn't step on too many toes.

 

[bike]

2 Groups

NOSTALIGIC want what they had or could not have- BIG bubble
Collectors- like the stuff but dont care when made- smaller group.
I have seen the hobby cycle() through a few times...