What really floats your boat about our bicycling hobby

[Gary Mc]

This is not about a Top 5 bikes or Top 10 list of bikes, it's more about what really keeps you in this hobby, what deep down really excites you. It can be your top 5 or 10 bikes if you wish but I've seen many of those lists started already on the CABE. Think deeper, what keeps you here & excites you about the bicycling hobby in general. Can be restoration process, history & historical context, friendships within the hobby, going to swaps & meets, riding by yourself or in groups such as the Cyclone Coasters, a brand, head badge collecting, chainring collecting, the search for a certain part or accessory, Pre-War ballooners, 50's bikes, bikes with tank lights, TOC, motorized bikes, Pre-33', a certain bike or your top 5/10 bikes/manufacturers, etc.. You get the idea.....

Think a little deeper on this list or item. My short list is:

1 Pre-1933 bicycling history and historical context

This to me is number one, I love digging through old periodicals, old catalogs, old books, and old ads to discover the history of bikes and bicycle memorabilia from certain manufacturers and then understanding the context in relation to what was going on in the world at the time. This fascinates me and I have particular areas of interest such as Westfield, Indian, Corbin, New Departure, among others. I also love restoring a bike and then understanding how the people of that time lived, what of importance happened the year it was manufactured. So I guess history floats my boat first.

What historically I am interested in seems to change over time but a few remain constant. Those constants are all pre-1933 including Westfield built bikes, Hendee-Indian motobikes in particular but the brand overall as well, Corbin & New Departure Coaster Brakes, Sears Chief's, and Miami built Racycles. Others move on and off the list, these never seem to change.​

2 Bringing an original paint Pre-1933 bike back to life

This one is finding that diamond in the rough and then over time carefully bringing out what's left of the original finishes. It's the long hours of researching and finding correct parts and accessories, the hard labor of removing the rust, very carefully polishing the paint to bring back the original color while trying to balance keeping enough patina to retain that old but clean look you can't get with a restoration, it's shining all the metal to the best it can be but not replated again retaining some patina, it's building a set of wheels myself not letting someone else do it, it's the mechanics of putting everything back together carefully so it's maiden voyage is nothing but pure joy. It's the satisfaction of knowing "I did that" including the sometimes stupid mistakes we make but trying to minimize those. Then finally, it's enjoying it immensely by riding the bike regularly.​

3 CABE Friendships

I have developed many online friendships here and let's face it that comradery is a huge part of what keeps me coming back. I hope to someday meet most of you in person at a swap or meet. I am extremely grateful to Scott M. and the moderators for this site and the opportunity to feel I am a valued part of this community and the friendships it has generated.​

4 Riding

This is usually just me or me & my wife, not many antique bike nuts in GA. Hope to one day get out to some West Coast & New England rides.​

Look forward to reading what floats your boat in bicycling!!!!!!

 

[decotriumph]

Reasons

Those are really well thought out ideas, Gary.

My reasons for attraction to old bicycle somewhat parallel yours.
1. Number one would definitely have to be the history. I worked in manufacturing (automotive and plastics) much of my professional life and I'm also a gearhead, so American manufacturing and the products have always been of interest to me. Old bicycles are so simple yet work so effectively. The processes used to manufacture them mirror the other important manufactured items of the first half of the 20th century, as does their styling.
2. Number two would be the styling. I am into hot rods, custom cars, anything Mid-Century Modern, etc. Bicycles from the 1900s through the 1960s reflect the styling of those periods, some of them being extremely beautiful and elaborate, others being beautifully simplistic. A collection of bicycles that spans that era reflects the styles of that era (and takes up a heck of a lot less room than cars of the same period!).
3. Third would be a desire to preserve important (to me) items that fit the above criteria. In this day of throwaway manufactured goods like TVs, crummy low-quality Chinese bicycles, etc., the survival of these old bicycles is testament to the durability of quality manufactured goods. The desire to preserve them is testament to their beauty and style.
4. I am editor of a couple of hot rod/custom car magazines (Ol' Skool Rodz and Car Kulture DeLuxe) and I want to educate some of my younger readers on the style and quality of old bikes and hopefully get a few of them interested as well. Some of the custom car shows we regularly cover have started adding a vintage bicycle show within their car shows, which is cool. My 1935 Excelsior is going to be a mini-project in Ol' Skool Rodz.
5. The CABE has already added a huge amount of camaraderie and knowledge to my old bike experience. This is a great resource and all of the people I've dealt with thus far have been really helpful and honest in our transactions. I am very appreciative of Scott for maintaining and providing this site and to all the people who participate on it.
6. I need to get my fat butt on a bicycle and lose some weight and get into reasonable shape for an old guy!

 

[bricycle]

What makes bricycle tick? Hmmmmm......

1). Love the comradorie(sp), the bantor, new ideas, shared stories...

2). Have the Frankenstein complex...like to bring stuff back to life/former usage/beauty.

3). Love (lust) for all things old/ancient, and their history.

4). Old motorized bikes give me an organism (one or two celled animals...he, he)

5). think I was born a vendor....? Maybe I'll grow up to be Mike Wolfe....

 

[Boris]

I like old bikes. Some more than others.

 

[jd56]

TANKLIGHTS! Tanklights! oh and let me mention TANKLIGHTS!

As a kid I didn't have many bikes or I cant remember.....the brain cells are still growing back, I think.

But, living at the beach, and seeing some cool bikes whizzing by made me want a classic rider.
Saw an old guy, like my age, ride by on a chromed framed Spaceliner styled cruiser.
After that the search was on, I had to have one.
Knew nothing about taking a crank off much less how to remove a chain. Or even what a cantilever frame was. Drop center rims, or even how to recognise a bent fork. I know now and that's because of the CABE and it members who contribute.
Without Scott and Patrick and the rest of the moderators this site would suck. I'm a proud member and happy to be here.
Sometimes I even enjoy Dave and Vince's picking at each other.

So here's the list:
#1....chromed forward thrust tanklights are my first passion and will always be the stepping stone and cause for my addiction.
Then seeing the ballooner heavyweights and their various styles, as you can guess, I had to have a few of those. Seeing and riding what they had to ride to school, work and the sand lot for a ball game is just amazing to me. Bringing a 1940s or early 50s bike to back to life.
I too like the original paint and want to leave the marks from the newspaper saddlebags and foot rest marks on the sometimes beautiful painted frames. Some were very plain and I stay away from these at this point. That research is also addictive.
Then there is the bling...
Wow so many different items we as kids would put on or bikes. The present collect is small but, they are easier to hide from the wife. But, recently she has shown some interest.
#2....Has to be the CABEs fault, and if it wasn't for you guys and girls I would be lost.
The comraderie here and the amazing friends I have made amongst everyone here is spirit uplifting.
#3....Finding a way to help those that are lost as I was ( actually still am).
What do I have here?
Whats it worth?
What am I missing on this bike?
How do I......?
All valid questions and based on my experience, any response is a good one.....I want them to feel someone is listing.
Sure all the collectors in this hobby have an opinion and some are wrong I guess but, it does help to be heard. But if you dont ask how can you learn.
#4.....I guess this is where I am now, "the search" and "the haggling"....does get my hormones bubbling. I get butterfies when my bid could be the winning bid, or driving hours to vo look at a bike that is based on a simple poor pictured Craiglist ad.
I do love #4 alot.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[GiovanniLiCalsi]

Gary,
You are welcome to drop by our place in Alameda, California for lunch and a bicycle ride.
Alameda is where Neptune Water Park first introduced the Sno-cone and Kewpie dolls.
Alameda is one of the Victorian Jewell's in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Greg Barron manufactures highhwheel bicycles in Alameda.
http://www.hiwheel.com/about_rbr.htm

What interests me is the history detective work and rare bicycle accessaries.

 

[rubblequeen]

Riding one of my classics and this almost always ends up talking to strangers around town who may remember having one similar as a kid. Or enjoy discussing the background or history of the bikes.

I also like odd style bikes whether they are classics or not - just something different.

 

[OldRider]

I like old bikes. Some more than others.

What Dave said
Actually I love anything vintage......I collect everything from old pop bottles to coins. I love the fact that I'm doing a very very tiny part in preserving history by bringing things from the past back to life. I've always remembered something my Dad told me about history a very long time ago. "How do you know where you're going if you don't know where you've been?"

 

[ridingtoy]

For me it's the design of the older bicycles and their smaller counterparts, the tricycles, from the 1930s to 1950s, that stirs my desire to collect them. Then there's the comfort of riding the older classic bicycles, though they only get ridden back and forth on the private road going into our small subdivision.

Dave

 

[charnleybob]

The groupies.