From the Cluttered Bench: Why Does Cycling Keep It Retro While Other Sports Move On?
Have you ever noticed that cycling seems to have a special place for retro aesthetics? We started thinking about it the other day, and it led us to question: is cycling the only outdoor sport that still makes room for vintage gear and style? When we mentally surveyed other sports, few seemed to embrace older technology.
Take tennis, for example—does anyone still use a wooden racket? Or golf—who’s still swinging a wooden-shafted club? The closest comparisons we found were in the surf world with longboards—those traditional, 8-foot-plus boards that contrast with modern shortboards designed for sharp, radical turns—and the skateboarding scene, where retro 80s-style decks are making a comeback, at least according to our resident expert.
So why cycling and board sports? My best guess is that these "soul sports"—surfing, skateboarding, and non-competitive cycling—allow people to do their own thing. There are no strict rules, no judges, and no specific uniforms to adhere to. You can ride a bike with silver fenders and a rack, surf a classic longboard, or skate a retro deck, all while staying true to your personal style.
Once competition enters the mix, though, it’s a different story. The need to win drives technological advancements, which explains why racing-focused cycling is so tech-heavy—what I like to call the "1%." It’s the same reason no one gets extra points for playing tennis with a wooden racket. But in the non-competitive cycling world, riding a steel frame decked out with classic parts is almost like a statement. You see someone cruising with vintage flair, and it just makes you smile.
This vintage appeal seems to pop up in all sorts of ways today, even beyond cycling. Fashion and style are always cycling back—though I'm still waiting for the Roaring 20s to make a return! Right now, the 80s and 90s are making waves in clothing, décor, and even bike culture, as people look for ways to stand out from the sleek, performance-driven products that dominate the big brands.
Functionality is another reason retro gear holds appeal in cycling. Modern tech has made huge leaps—electronic shifting and hydraulic braking are prime examples—but they can feel over-engineered. Mechanical disc brakes give me reliable stopping power without the hassle of bleeding lines, and traditional cable shifting lasts forever with minimal upkeep. Plus, I never have to worry about charging my derailleur!
While big companies focus on racing performance at any cost—like a $4,300 wireless Campagnolo 13-speed drivetrain—I think the non-racing side of cycling will keep chugging along at a more relaxed pace, free from the need to adopt every new high-cost innovation.
So why do you think retro aesthetics thrive in cycling but not in other sports? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so drop a comment below!
The Cluttered Bench is a series of opinion pieces from VO staffers and guests on various topics that may be tangentially cycling related.
Marketing has been pushing for new tech. As in High Fidelity. The real need of the average used is pointless, unless it can be directed to acquiring something new.
I grew up in the city of Saint Quentin (France) where Motobecane had its large factory until it was acquired by Yamaha. There used to be over 5000 workers building steel only bikes (the frame and many components – until Shimano, with the help of the low Yen killed Simplex and Huret).
After Vitus first use of Aluminium for racing frames (constructeurs did long before), US manufacturers outsourced mass production of MTB and VTT aluminium frames to Taiwan. By the mid 90’s they became de facto standard, light and cheap, but uncomfortable. So marketing teams came with a new argument: “man, what if we could make your bike more comfortable?”. So manufacturers started to sell suspended bikes… and you had now to pay more and get a heavier bike…
That is how innovation was spread and progressively killed the traditional bikes. The same story goes for electronic shifting, carbon material, disc brakes….
In fact, there is a “wooden racket” subculture in tennis, at least at the local / club level. Old / retro equipment is not a competitive disadvantage if everybody’s required to use it.
What would be cool would be an amateur racing program with some equipment limitations. 80’s style races… city park crits and short road races, on bikes with no brifters, 9-speed max, no clipless pedals, minimum 28-spoke wheels, etc.
A rim-brake Polyvalent or equivalent would also be really cool, but that ship has probably sailed. I’ve no doubt that discs are marginally “better,” in some measurable sense of “better,” but man, are they UGLY. Especially on a road-ish bike, where they look like some moron put the dork disk on the wrong side of the bike.
Come to think of it, the retro / old thing in bicycles is partially aesthetic. Modern road bikes are pretty uniformly terrible-looking, and modern parts are, if anything, uglier than the ugly frames they’re attached to. The trend towards the all-black look has a lot to do with the fact that, when you hang ugly black components on a boring black frame, it’s harder to see how ugly the parts are. If they were silver, they’d stand out, and that’s the last thing you want if your parts are ugly. Look at cranksets. The crank used to be one of the visual centers of the bicycle. Now, they’re mostly not, because they mostly look like crap.
—Shannon
I feel there are possibly two reasons. the first being that the basic diamond frame bicycle built from the 70’s into the 90’s / early 2000’s are fundamentally sound and aside from some incremental improvements to braking and shifting are still highly functional and provide a similar amount of joy as a newer bicycle that has all the modern bells and whistles. The second is the aesthetic of the older bicycles. The colourways, polished parts, tan wall tires, painted lugs, cromed stays and forks, natural bar tapes, leather saddles, all contribute to a statement of fashion and vintage aesthetic. Maybe the comparision is not other sports like skiing and tennis, but vintage and collectable automobiles, motorcycles, watches, jewelry, and clothes?
This frameset is a modern classic having both provisions for disc brakes and thru-axle hubs AND provisions for an assortment of old school features, single, double, and triple cranksets, downtube shifter mounts, front and rear fender and rack mounts, multiple bottle mounts and the frame geometry balances front and rear cargo loads. But this bike does not handle like your average touring bike as it is quick on the steering. GET ONE OF THESE WHILE AVAILABLE.
Speaking of retro and vintage, it’s about time VO started offering some rim brake frames again. Pretty soon only Rivendell will be left. It’s time to re-introduce the Campeur and Camargue, that’s all, no redesigns needed.
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