other thoughts on bikes....

[beatcad]

i almost responded to yeshoneys thread aboutthe hobby with this, but i thought it mite take it off in another direction, and didnt want to misdirect his thread.
if the mods think this belongs there please move it.

yes there are less vintage/antique bikes out there than there were 1 or 20 years ago, and the economy is in the crapper.
and CL and the bay pretty much gives us all access to everyones backyard.
but what about the supply/demand in any given area?
in the car world cars on the east coast rust out from sand and salt thrown down when it snows. or salt/salt water from the beach. most stuff from the 60s and back cancer ridden.
onthe southern west coast (where it's sunny and 75* everyday) stuff that's 40/50 years old is just sun soaked.
also where weather allows you can ride year 'round(texas/arizona/NM maybe). you'de think there would be more bicycles,old and new.
or town where bicycle manufactures were. there were often big bike communities there(ohio,chigago).

i dunno. i'm just tossin' it out there for some more experianced opinions.
more bikes in bike areas? less bikes where they rust to junk? supply or demand?

 

[roadmaster]

i gotta agree about the automotive comparison of cars from the east coast being more salt and rust beatten and ones from the west coast more likley to been garaged or suffer mainly only fading. that makes me also glad me and my collection are here in cali. and i bet at one time, a person couldnt walk across chicago without tripping on like a dozen schwinns.

 

[mastronaut]

There's another factor going on called unemployment. There are simply more people grabbing bikes at the dump, spending lots of time searching and finding yard sales. I made some quick family bailout cash flipping bikes. There are just many more out there like us, trying to make some money in hard times. I have a much keener eye than the average person though... :wink:

 

[deorman]

I noticed over the years that California motorcycles tended to have more mileage/wear on them due to year-round riding conditions in a large part of the state. I would expect the same to be true of non-motored as well.

 

[crackedpiston]

It's funny to see how bikes vary in value and desirability as you go through different areas. For example, here in Melbourne we have older inner-city areas inhabited by uni students, artists, and your general thick-rim spectacled, brown cardigan wearing urban species (I think you blokes call them hipsters :lol: ). It's a bit of a fashion statement, and also I guess an increased awareness of the environment and rising fuel prices have contributed to the movement. I think it's great. In these places you'll find old bikes (not particularly rare, just re-furbed) in cool "retro" shops for pretty big bucks. You also get your more high end bikes like the Felt's, etc in the more specialty stores, and also kustom shops like Locolowriders that get alot of Yankee gear. That's cool, I suppose you don't get many art students who wanna grease up on a weekend, and there's heaps of yuppies who want bling, so give them what they pay for I reckon. And they do.
Then, once you've finished your latte and got your organic oranges, roar along the freeway for 20 minutes in your V8 SS to the vast suburban abyss that I call home, and you'll find it is a much different story. The general perception is that if your mode of transport doesn't have an engine, you're a peasant :shock: . Out here you'll find pretty much the same old bikes lying on the nature strip ready for hard rubbish collection. I suppose that means there is still alot of room for blokes to get old bikes, resto, and make a few clams down here, but only if you sell 'em in Brunswick :lol: .
Thanks for listening, my head hurts from too much beer last night...