What makes a retro/classic bike?

Wondering what makes a classic bike? Age? Is my orange evo 2 gonna be one??

not to me…for most it’s the era you got into mtbs, for me that’s late 80s.

a well crafted set of trouser clips..

understanding that the term ‘retro’ and ‘classic’ have 2 different meanings would help

can it be retro if you’ve owned it from new ? isn’t it like this vintage fashion thing, you have to buy it old ?

I know that, i didnt know which one to put so i put both

can it be retro if you’ve owned it from new ?

if you go and buy a new pashley guvnor it’s retro, if you buy one secondhand it’s still retro.

Definition: The term retro refers to clothing, style, and design which is outdated. Generally to be considered retro, something must be between 20 and 25 years old. The actual item does not necessarily need to be old, but can be a new item that references styles of the past.

Retro is a new bike that looks old – like the pashley. Old is just old.

Retro is a new bike that looks old – like the pashley

So Retrobike is anything but?

What about classic then?

My opinion that all. Classic is old that is still good to ride or has other qualities to make it classic, retro is new that looks old.

vintage is just old

Retro is a new bike that looks old – like the pashley. Old is just old.

ret·ro (rtr)
adj.
1. Retroactive: retro pay.
2. Involving, relating to, or reminiscent of things past; retrospective
n. pl. ret·ros

So no. Not JUST looking old at all. Engage brain before opening gob please. 😛

Classic;

Old;

Retro;

Is qn orange evo 2 classic then?

PP – you definition quoted is what I said surely?

Involving, relating to, or reminiscent of things past; retrospective

??

Old is not retro – looking old, reminiscent of old, is? No?

To be classic it had to be exceptional when new.
To use classic cars as a comparison, an E-type is classic, an Allegro is old and crap, just because it’s not rusted away yet dosn’t make it a classic.

To me classic = old and handbuilt by a craftsman. Retro is handbuilt by a craftsman in an old style.

Or in motorcycles
Classic jap

Retro
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Kawasaki Zephyr 750[/url] by Acrosticox[/url], on Flickr

A bit off topic but I’ve been wanting a tioga disc drive since 1992 & I still really want one!
That’s all.

i think it also matters as to whether the bike has heritage, an old trek or specialised would be difficult to call classic, but a Klein, Bontrager, Yeti, although made in reasonable numbers would be in my eyes.

Although for Yeti, i would suggest FRO’s and ARC;s count, i know some might disagree but i can’t see the Lawill bikes being classic.

A bit off topic but I’ve been wanting a tioga disc drive since 1992 & I still really want one!
That’s all.

They might be crap, but i too really want them to reintroduce them, the sound…..

an old trek or specialised would be difficult to call classic,

I disagree.

Jury is out on the Trek Y Five O, though…..

mrmo,

surely a really old stumpjumper is one of the original classic mtb’s.

fwiw, i own an old bontrager (a trek one, not santa cruz built), it was contemporary at the time of purchase.

it’s not a classic i don’t think, it is retro, and i do love it (although i have toyed with selling it in the past and i dont ride it much now).

if you’re a boring pedant who gets het up by people calling all vacuum cleaners “Hoovers ” then retro is evidently misused by mtbers so feel free to rage at the sheer unreasonableness of it 😉

if you’re a bit better adjusted you know that despite being technically incorrect, mtbers use “Retro” to mean old bikes as per retrobike though maybe it’s caveatted by saying it’s usually only used for bikes that were either particularly good, interesting or different at the time. Maybe “classic”. eg not CFH’s activator posted above.

Involving, relating to, or reminiscent of things past; retrospective
??
Old is not retro – looking old, reminiscent of old, is? No?

It is ‘INVOLVING things of the past’ though, isn’t it? Are you hard of understanding? You seem to have handily ignored the key word ‘involving’.
Please read words and understand first before trying to look clever. 😉

I did PP – I don’t agree with your interpretation. Its only my opinion

I don’t agree with your interpretation. Its only my opinion

Baby steps, Teej, baby steps.

We’re proud of you.

Maybe “classic”. eg not CFH’s activator posted above.

i don’t know, I’ve always found the Activator attractive, in a perverse way.

Odd how things appeal – RTS-1’s, Mantras

RTS is a good example of retro – for me an interesting bike with the lockout suspension design – not great but interesting to ride.

or the LTS – one of the first really useable except full sussers and it looked great.

ime of course. 😉

as for Mantras, well…

hmmm classic/retro

well it is nice to get all gooey eyed over good bikes from the past as I did over my 95 S/works steel bike ( which was a fantastic bike in its day)with 1″ steerer and canti brakes I rebuilt it 2 years ago after it being hung up for 10 years it looked fantastic.

But to ride well lets be fair on the road it seemed to accelerate lie a scalded cat ( it made my Soul feel slow)
Alas that was the good point off road it steered like a barge the brakes were well set up and I would of been better off putting a stick in the spokes to slow down, it shook the crap out of me with rigid forks and in a word it was a horrable experiance

Bottom line is I rode home and sold it

Sorry Retro / classic [/u] is just plane backward speak and better left in the past we have moved on

aa, cfh i’ll give you the first gen stump jumper as it is a classic and did set a standard.

as for the Bontrager, i am thinking Santacruz rather than wisconsin. I do own one from both sites. I say the Bontrager because it set a benchmark for thinking about design, the use of gussets, ring reinforcing head tubes etc.

On a similar theme most fishers wouldn’t count but the CR7 would. because it brought something with it.

Thinking about it a bit more, Classic sets a benchmark, and retro is good old.

i have some agreement with you saladdodger.

the bonti,

light, responsive, went up hill like a rocket, superquick on singletrack.

went downhill like a shopping cart loaded with merangue at the bottom and cans of lager at the top. for some reason i put amp f3’s on it….i have never crashed so much in my life.

all things balanced tho, it is awesome. 😆

really depends what floats your boat doesn’t it? I just love different types of bikes. I’d hate to be like some who will only ride one type of bike whatever that is. mind I wouldn’t ride a “Retro” bike that I didn’t enjoy riding just because it was retro.

On a similar theme most fishers wouldn’t count but the CR7 would. because it brought something with it.

Despite having owned one, I’d disagree- Cunningham’s Mantis XCR would be the classic here, surely.

Classic:

Old:

Retro:

Classic:

Retro:

Oh and CFH, re the Trek Y bike, the jury is not out. The jury returned a verdict of “please allow to fade into obscurity” 10 minutes after they were launched.

all my bikes are old (or maybe classic)

So is my late 90s raleigh Ti classic – not the bonded lugged frame but welded and discs. Running with modern running gear