Best era for bicycles?

[BRMatt]

I'm pretty well stuck in the late 1990s - my tastes in music, clothing - you name it - pretty much haven't moved forward since about 2003! At least I'm not still using a pager or flip phone.

This extends to my taste in bicycles. My favorite bike of all time was my 1997 Eddy Merckx Titanium EX. It was a melange of all international flavors: a Belgian-brand frameset made in Chattanooga, Tennessee USA by Litespeed, with Merckx's usual Italian threading. I had 8-speed Campagnolo Chorus and Record parts on it - solid performers with sturdy chains that didn't wear out quickly, and a precise, reassuring "thud" when you up or down-shifted. The outliers were svelte sculpted Sachs New Success brake calipers - ostensibly German components but actually made by Modolo in Italy. Everything ran on Campy 8-speed hubs and Mavic Reflex 32-hole clincher rims, laced 3x. I had a pair of tubular wheels that I raced on.

The Merckx wasn't custom, but the Century geometry fit me like a glove. When the shop team I raced for got a deal with Fondriest USA, I reluctantly traded the Merckx for a Fondriest Top Lite with Campy 9-speed. I wasn't sorry I'd done this for long.

It was the era that saw the apotheosis of aluminum bikes - lightweight, stable and yes, comfortable. I could - surprisingly - fit 28mm tires on the Fondriest, which made it plenty comfortable for those 5 or 6 hour long rides that I was still ticking off on a regular basis.

The best thing about the Fondriest was that it was a looker - Italian flair trumped Belgian (American) utility. It had flashy, electrostatically applied "paint" and graphics that didn't chip or fade like even the finest paint jobs can.

The Fondriest was the only bike I've owned that I can legitimately claim was a "babe magnet." One day leaving the shop for a ride, a college co-ed stopped me and said "nice bike!" There's a first and a last time for everything.

Even the Fondriest had a life span, and it was traded in for the next latest and greatest. I've lost track of the numbers of bikes I've owned since the year 2000, but a recently cultivated interest in vintage (or maybe "classic" is the correct term here) bikes saw me pick up two bikes that attempted to capture the spirit of these gems from my bicycle past. Here's some photos of a 1995 steel Eddy Merckx, and an early 2000s Fondriest Top Level that were a part of my bike stable recently.

   

   

These latest attempts at nostalgia have also cycled through my collection, but a large part of me still doesn't want to leave 1999.

How about you? What is your favorite era for bicycles? Are there any bikes in your past that you wish hadn't got away?

[Painkiller]

Very nice bikes indeed! Probably the best era of bicycles for me is the 80's thru the mid 90's for both road and mountain bikes. big fan of the steelies and of course rigid Mtb's.

[BRMatt]

(08-22-2019, 08:20 PM)Painkiller Wrote:  Very nice bikes indeed! Probably the best era of bicycles for me is the 80's thru the mid 90's for both road and mountain bikes. big fan of the steelies and of course rigid Mtb's.

Yes I'm with you there. I had a Greg LeMond steel frameset that I got through a sponsorship that served me well for six full seasons of racing at the Pro/Am level. It was built by the Billato brothers in Italy. Great bike.

And I think you'd especially appreciate my mountain bike from the era - an iconic Specialized Stumpjumper. Steel frame (still built in northern California I was told) and rigid fork. Since I was racing on the road at the time, I mostly rode the Stumpjumper during the winter. I'll never forget an epic six-hour long winter ride through frozen woods along the Potomac River northwest of Washington D.C. on it - one of those tough but beautiful days that you never forget.

[Painkiller]

Sounds sweet, I think people seem to like the Era of bicycles that they have the fondest memories of. Never had the Stumpy but here is my 93' Rockhopper Comp, before and after shots. love this bike. To me it is one of the nicest ones out there. It was rather shabby when I first got it, then repurposed it for urban use.

[BRMatt]

So nice! Really like the color on that one.

[fishboy316]

I am an early 70's Raleigh guy. Love the International, the Professional, Grand Sports ect. I find that era of bike very sexy. They are sleek and ride fantastic. I have a 17 Trek Domane SLR 6 and sitting next to it is a 69/70 Raleigh Professional. I really have to think about which one I am going to take when I go ride. Have a bunch or Raleigh's from 1941-1985. Adding a International to the mix as we speak.