2018 French Fender Day and the Future of Vintage

by Igor

Another French Fender Day is in the books! This year, I think, was the best one yet. Lots of new people, fantastic bikes from several generations, terrific weather, and great riding through the gorgeous New England countryside. This year was particularly of interest to me as we had our little guy, Theodore, with us. In addition to having him with us as well as seeing a really good turn out of young people, I thought a lot about the future of vintage and how to continue the knowledge and traditions we've developed - you can find my notes about this at the bottom of the post after jumping in to all the cool stuff.

This Jack Taylor mixte and the blue diamond framed one next to it are sequentially numbered units!

Simon of Transport Cycles in Philly measuring up a skirt guard

Bonus Jan of Compass/BQ and Matt of Crust. Great to see them both out here for the event.

Dulled Zeppelin Fenders with paint matched striping on the above 650b'd Raleigh

Gorgeous striping, box lining, and logos on this Weigle

This picture is actually one from last year's event as context for the next.

And this one is from when Mark pulled me aside and showed me how the bag mounts. Quite clever and exceptionally secure!

Postino Bars

Peter's new-to-him support Volvo

Daniel's rig was properly weird and I love it.

Left shifter controls the internal crankset gearing, right one is for the rear derailleur

Segmented fork

Volvo and the VO Bus. The show was not relegated just to bikes.

Anodized stem

Surprising amount of Rustines Grips on the drops!

VO abounds at this gathering.

Super neat and clean internal wiring channel.

Flat topped fenders with two simple leather straps for newspaper retention

Color matched fenders

Jay with his VO'd Raleigh. Be sure to check out the DC Tweed Ride he organizes!

Woody from Trophy Bikes and her Lilac Polyvalent! We actually saw the crew riding through Cape Henlopen last weekend. 

Dave from Waxwing Bags

Corey Thompson's personal tourer. Gorgeous black and red lug and box lining. A beauty with many, many miles!

I noticed something this year that either I was not yet, perhaps, acutely aware of in years past: fresh faces. And that doesn't just mean people we haven't seen before, but rather that of younger folk. Even though I am technically part of the millennial generation, I have been into vintage bikes and cars for most of my life, and can speak fairly fluently about details, history, and technical aspects. But it is different if that isn't how you were brought up.

Throughout my life, I've gone to car events focused on both new and old, worked on my own vehicles (and sometimes others'), worked in a bicycle shop that did high-end customs and restorations, and currently attend/exhibit at shows that cater to our niche of the bicycle world. In the world of vintage, you cannot fully learn things simply by reading them in a book or even seeing them online. You need to ride a bike with downtube friction shifters, learn how adjust a loose-ball bearing bottom bracket, ride a 10-speed bike that has ten speeds total to really grasp how far we have come as well as the context as to why these things even existed. And often, learning by osmosis is paramount. Once the context lines up with the technical aspects, then you have knowledge. With the basis of knowledge and accessibility to resources, hopefully an interest will blossom and, with it, an appreciation of vintage cycling - and that is future of vintage.

Seeing an old bike, to some, may be a novelty or on the other side of the spectrum worse, garbage. We need to keep the younger audience in mind when we have these super neat events such as French Fender Day, Philly Bike Expo, Builders' Ball, NAHBS, and smaller regional shows. It may be easy to misread a lack of knowledge as disinterest, when in reality, it is simply hard to enter into a conversation when you are unable to articulate a question or interject with additional information. I've been a part of this industry for long enough that I can tell when someone I talk to has that spark of interest, but doesn't yet know some of the terminology or why a certain accessory even exists. It's exciting to see that ah-ha moment when they can understand the desire for frame/fender/rack/lighting integration and can see why Rebour identified and illustrated particular items on a Constructeur's frame.

Owning and using a vintage bike is a labor of love. They aren't as light and don't shift as crisply, but they exude a style and flair that is often lost on modern, wunder-bikes. There is a story behind the bike, even if you don't know it. The scratches tell how the bike was used, the stickers tell you where it lived, and the design tells you what the fashion was. There is something unique about riding an old bike (even with new VO components) that shows your personality and your desire to keep perfectly good old things in use rather than in the landfill or recycling plant.

We need to ensure we are open to all types of cyclists and expose those who may have never ridden toe-clips to these simple and wonderful machines. And that means being open, honest, and also accessible. Perhaps it's something I've learned though reading parenting stuff online, if you don't know something, rather than saying, "Because" or "I don't know", say "hmm, let's find out together". There are various forums and internet resources that house an amazing wealth of information from frame identification, part compatibility, and period-correct selections. Use it. And make sure others know about it as well.

And with that, I would like to implore our readers to comment with at least one resource, forum, show, or event that you find extremely useful in your daily vintage bike life. I'll start with two sites I use every day. Whether it is to answer questions from our readers or to satisfy my own curiosity, they are jewels of resources.

• www.velobase.com
• www.sheldonbrown.com