I know countless people that have large bike collections like I do. I sort of got is as a result of my hobby of building bicycles. At some point, people slowed down buying used, reconditioned bikes and started buying new often very cheaply made bikes with poor components.

This meant that I started building up bicycles faster than I could sell them off. I am rather surprised that the Colnago CLX3.0 hasn't sold since it is almost impossible to get a better bike with better equipment. About the only change you could make to it is to put a top end crankset on it. You'd save a couple of ounces and depending on the crankset it might be less reliable.

But with all of the new riders, I suppose they have to live and learn the hard way. Bike riders seldom leave the sport with even very old pros riding into their old age. I don't believe this will change but since there are so many new riders maybe it is a new generation that rides for a couple of years and then takes to drinking and driving.

On Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 3:20:44 PM UTC-5, cycl...@gmail.com wrote:
> I know countless people that have large bike collections like I do. I sort of got is as a result of my hobby of building bicycles. At some point, people slowed down buying used, reconditioned bikes and started buying new often very cheaply made bikes with poor components.
>

There is and always has been a competition between new and used for some products. Bicycles, houses, cars, furniture, firearms are ones that come to mind quickly. Some people only want new. That new, unused feeling, smell. No one else has soiled it first. Some people only want used. Old time quality back when they knew how to make stuff. Lower price bargain. And others mix up new and used. Cheaper to buy used. But new is better quality, features.

Lets make up some examples. Houses. New house has better insulation with the expanding foam. And the walls are braced for earthquakes. Trusses are stronger than old time 2x10 rafters. Electrical panel is up to current codes and has 200 Amps. Asphalt shingle roofing. New houses can come with expensive hurricane resistant architectural pretty looking tough heavy asphalt shingles today. Or it can come with the cheapest three tab asphalt that is the exact same as the only option back in the 1950s. There weren't no different levels of shingles when asphalt started. Lot of advantages to new houses. But old houses do have plywood sheathing instead of OSB. Old houses have copper water pipes instead of CPVC. Older houses have real hardwood molding and floors instead of vinyl plank floors and vinyl molding. Lot of advantages to old houses.

Bikes. Old bikes are cheaper. Old bikes have friction shifters. Or older models of STI, Ergo. Newer bikes have 11 or 12 speed gearing. Older bikes have 5-6-7-8-9 gearing. New bikes are more expensive. As for quality of bikes between old and new? I would say zero difference. Look, Kestrel, Time were some of the first carbon frame makers back in the 1980s. I doubt Trek or Specialized or anyone else making carbon frames today are doing it any better. Now I realize you can buy the cheapest carbon bike made from China and it is worse than the old time makers. And its worse than the current good makers too. But if you are comparing apples from 1980 to apples from 2020, same taste. No comparing crabapples to apples. Shimano made Dura Ace and 600 back in the 1970s and 1980s. I suspect Shimano is making the same quality Dura Ace and Ultegra today. Shimano made cheaper components back in the 1970s and 1980s too. And today Shimano make lower priced components too. Now as for functioning better, I'd probably give the nod to current over older. I suspect the cheapest Shimano parts today work better than the 1970s Dura Ace. Kind of like TVs. The cheapest LED TV at Walmart today is better than the best Curtis Mathis console color TV from the 1970s. The best handheld portable telephone from the 1980s is garbage compared to the cheapest cellular phone today.

> This meant that I started building up bicycles faster than I could sell them off. I am rather surprised that the Colnago CLX3.0 hasn't sold since it is almost impossible to get a better bike with better equipment. About the only change you could make to it is to put a top end crankset on it. You'd save a couple of ounces and depending on the crankset it might be less reliable.
>

Your carbon Colnago has not sold because you are pricing it too high. Other people are pricing their comparable carbon bikes for less. Carbon bikes from 5-10 years ago are about the same as carbon bikes today. No difference that anyone can tell riding. Your components are probably fine and dandy.. But they are used, not new. Same function, more or less. But old, not new. Does it matter? If old is not better, then it had better be priced for less, much less, than new.

As for your claim of "it is almost impossible to get a better bike with better equipment." Well...in your mind. Most manufactured things on earth, progress. Not regress.

> But with all of the new riders, I suppose they have to live and learn the hard way. Bike riders seldom leave the sport with even very old pros riding into their old age. I don't believe this will change but since there are so many new riders maybe it is a new generation that rides for a couple of years and then takes to drinking and driving.