Have retro's lost their appeal? Options

[azaussie]

So retro's are just "toys"? Nobody told me... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)



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Those are all great shots Capt.

I am still diggin the retro's. I curently own 3 built retros - a PK Ripper, OM FLyer and a Knight Goose. I'm bummed that I sold my built 2007 20" quadangle so I recenly bought a 2007 quad frame to build eventually.

[cheez]

They are still BMX bikes just ride um.

I wish I had bought a Knight Goose race frame when I had a chance

If anyone has one and would rather have a 21.5 TT 38 special let me know

[monkeybiscuits]

KAPPA's still have appeal

The mass produced retro's don't really do it though...

[Kurt.]

Maybe it's just the economy over there? Oz came through the GFC pretty strong and without a recession and retros still seem pretty popular downunder

[mxmug]

i like them as long as they are good quality and have modern technology so i can actually ride them. SE does a good job, for example.

things like the mongoose i'm not into...same tech and geometry as BITD is not rideable, to me, today. Or the Haros - which were too low-end for most of the "retro" market (and over priced for what you actually got).

The Mongoose Kos is not at all the same geometry as bitd.

[sonikk71]

I think the problem isnt retro so much per se as it is the quality. A lot of the retro bikes have had crappy parts and are overpriced. I mean look at the Haro freestyler. I would have crawled naked over broken glass for a proper official Haro retro. Instead we got some not even chromoly tank with crappy parts at a price that I could buy a sweet newschool bike at. I get that due to the limited run it will cost more but it had better be quality! Heck do it right and price be darned. There are some that are doing it right. The new Skyway cruiser is a great example. As general rule the SE retros are decent but even they were a little over priced considering the quality parts they have. At least they were making retro themed parts so I can understand the increased price to an extent.

[GFR Industries]

I think the market in general is limited to the old school crowd more than anything and there is only so many of us to buy bikes. I also think some companies saw a niche market to extract $$ out of by offering bikes of lesser quality / "limited edition" and adding some old school flair to sell it which is why it has the caused the negative vibe to retro. I do like a lot of the retro parts being made by Knight industries, Retro bmx seats, profile retro cranks etc. I use them on current race bikes.

The limited edition bikes are just plain useless especially when you make them in connection with companies I could care less about ... Crooks & Castle or whatever that companies name is. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/good3.gif)

[The R]

I don't think retros have lost their appeal, I just think the selection is very limited. You have SE doing their thing, and they do a great job. They are the standard bearer for retro bikes. But not too many companies offer retro bikes on a regular basis. Haro came out with one, what, four years ago? GT has the 26-inch performer, but will it be sold next year? I don't know -- these companies are out to make a buck, and if the market is limited, then I guess you can't blame them too much. And then when the retros do come out, they come with sub-par parts or high-tensile steel frames (instead of aluminum or chromoly). We desperately need another company like Kappa, just to throw some variety in with SE.

[bystickel]

I'd be happy to build retro frames as a business, but I don't think the public cares about them. With as many old-schoolers as we have racing, and modern bikes being so cookie-cutter, you'd think retro would be more popular.

Heck, Porkchop sponsored a contest for a Retro bike calendar, and out of the 12 months, only 1 retro bike was chosen.

It seems like the vintage purists have branded retro as less than cool. I'd like to think that people are above the peer pressure, but I dunno.

[Rodogg]

I don't like retro! Hate it a little even. Especially if it mirrors anything 80's.

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love old and mid school stuff. A weathered rusted old BMX or a refurbished one still has a certain appeal to me that separates them from retros.

I'm very big on purpose built so the idea of building something new to mimic something old is just as cheesy as a kit car to me.


I think retro just happens to work right now because all the dudes from that era are hitting their mid-life crisis and reliving their childhood through their kids and their brand new assembly line mass produced Philippine made PK ripper.

Whatever, I don't like it but its cool others can get a good (not great) quality ride that mimics (not real) piece of their childhood.



I like My S&M. Its retro to me only without keeping the same named frame for decades. 25 years this year, still made in so-cal by the same owner probably on some of the same machines they bought from ELF years ago.

That beats retro to me any day. I'm getting the real deal from the same dude that has been innovating BMX for decades. I'm steal getting a REAL S&M. Not something from another country that has no history in the sport, selling a product with a name from years ago they bought the rights to.

Ha ha

You want real retro, buy something from S&M or Standard, or another company that didn't sell out and made every effort to keep it real and as original as the day the opened.

Thats buying a brand new piece of history. Not a foreign copy of a piece of history.


I guess I don't even see retro bikes these days as real retro. I think they should be called nock-offs.