When does a bike become vintage?

term1te

Just that really, what defines a vintage bike?

I've got a 10 year old Van Nicholas, a ca. 22 year old Claud Buttler, a ca. 27 year old Colnago and a ca. 32 year old Moser. Which of these is vintage? Do we stick with the pre-1987 Eroica rule, or is it not directly related to age?

napoleond

Never really thought about this but I think the Eroica rule seems good.
But what is vintage and what is classic?

fnb1

I would say 1960/70-80s is classic earlier maybe 1930s to 50s vintage? then perhaps veteran for the really old stuff?

But to really worry about it you should already have a beard :-)

of course you have retro? i.e. something new(er) but with steel framed, downtube shifters etc

team47b

Not sure owning something until it gets old is truly vintage...until you sell it

veronese68

With the classic type definitions in the car game something of merit becomes classic much faster than something run of the mill. So a Colnago becomes classic before a gas pipe Raleigh does. Whilst vintage and veteran have specific eras. Veteran in motoring terms is pre 1918, vintage is 1919-1930, this is followed by pre-war and then classic for post WWII stuff that is of sufficient interest.

ugo.santalucia

Pre 1987 allows for a wide participation to events like the Eroica, but IMO those are not vintage... 12 gears, sub 10 Kg, they are fairly modern bikes that you can ride anywhere even today... the real vintage bikes have no gears... so you are looking at pre WW2... although already in the 1920s there were devices to allow you to get two ratios (like the famous French Retro'-direct mechanism)