[/caption]Just what is my fascination with vintage?
I'd be hard pressed to even define "vintage" or "retro." But when it comes to vintage stuff, I'm a bit of a sucker for it. I don't need vintage clothes. I still dress the same way I did when the Beatles first hit America. Jeans and a button down shirt and tennis shoes. Is that vintage? Is it retro?
I've always been in love with the look of early 1950s pickup trucks. Drove a 1951 International when I was in high school. That was vintage in 1975. What is vintage now? A 1970s Ford truck?
Vintage really has a lot of meanings to me when we're talking about old bikes. That 1972 Raleigh Grand Prix would sure be a vintage bike today. But I like to go into the Wayback Machine and go back to the '50s. There's an industrial design style that existed in the bikes and cars and toasters of the 1950s that always catches my eye. It has been argued that the '50s ended in 1963 with the death of President John F. Kennedy and the end of Camelot. I think most of that design mentality ended then, as well. The big, round, full heavy metal design was giving way to the sleek, straight lines and the influences of rockets as well as European design.
In my case it was the 1985 movie "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" that brought the old bikes back. I remembered the old tank bikes of the 1940s and 50s. They were no longer cool when I was a kid, too old fashioned. As soon as I saw Pee Wee's bike I wanted one just like it. Me and a lot of other people!
It was easy to find old coaster brake bikes in yard sales. I found my first one, a Montgomery Ward Hawthorne, for one dollar. It was ready to ride, though a bit too small for me. I put a piece of pipe from the hardware store in for a seat post and rode that bike for the next 10 years. I added fenders, then a basket, painted it with spray paint.
Over the years I've grabbed up quite a few more, including one I found in the trash with a tank. I was always going to fix it up. I'm beginning to doubt that I will ever do it. I've given a few bikes away already, and I need to find a home for this one, I guess.
I think my best bet for my future in vintage bicycles will be to get rid of all the old bikes I have and concentrate my efforts on finding one great condition English 3-speed roadster that is ready-to-ride. Then, I swear, no more bikes.
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