I’ve just read Manbau’s post on Fixed.org.au (http://fixed.org.au/forums/index.php?topic=3448.0) regarding a 1938 four star Malvern Star track bike he picked up after posting a ‘wanted’ ad in the local rag.. It got me thinking, “How many old bikes are still out there in A-grade condition?”. I imagine that alot of pushies have ended their days on the tip face, replaced by more modern equipment or discarded after the owner passed away.. but surely a few would have survived the passage of time?
I know from my own forays into backsheds and garages that treasure is out there.. I once spent an arvo in a old packing shed sorting through a hundred or more bikes. There were certainly ‘gems’ in there, a Massey Harris track bike circa 1890/1900, assorted track bikes/frames dating from the 1920s to the 1950s, a 1970’s cruiser with GT racing stripe seat and sissy-bar as well as a 1950s Ken Self townbike with sparrow bars and 3spd hub. This collection was owned by an old bloke who had spent the past 40 years rescuing bicycles from the tip and although alot of them were in perfect condition, many weren’t. Regardless, this isn’t what I’m really referring to..
I would love to know the fate of all of those bikes that were loved by their owners , bikes like our own that have memories attached and have been carefully maintained and looked after. For example, what of the track bikes ridden in the 1950s? The owners would now be in their 70s or 80s.. and I imagine that alot of them would have hung on to their rides for nostalgic reasons, there could be a whole mothball fleet out there! Actually, come to think of it, I can think of a similiar example. Only recently I saw a 1970s blue and yellow Ken Self track bike get pulled out of storage after not seeing the light of day since 1978. It was in immaculate condition still.. but the owner, now well into his 50s and highly unlikely to ever race track again was not selling. After an hour in the sun trackside, the Ken Self was returned to it’s resting place in the backshed.
It’s a similar story in my own family.. what happened to the bikes I see in old family snaps? My Great-grandfather rode a wonderful looking bike to work everyday and several of my Grandmothers cousins rode trackbikes seriously in the 1940s ..but where are those bikes? I think I’m going to have to spend a few more sundays going to garage sales. Out.
“I think I’m going to have to spend a few more sundays going to garage sales.”
…only if you want MORE old bikes Ben?
I have thought about what I’ll end up doing with my bikes and where they might end up. I suppose their future use and depends on our cultivation of an interest in cycling in the younger generations of our families!