Too young to be a retrogrouch?

12-12-2004, 11:44 AM

I 'm 34, and I ride with a group of guys around my age--some younger, some
older. I am the only one riding a steel bike in a sea of oversized aluminum,
titanium, and carbon fiber. After our last ride we got on to the subject of
dream bikes. The usuals came up---Litespeeds, Colnagos, Trek 5900s, etc. I
mentioned that I would rather ride a custom lugged Waterford, a Richard
Sachs, or a Rivendell, and they all pegged me with the "retrogrouch"
moniker. Does it make one a "retrogrouch" to want to own a bike that's
handcrafted by an artisan?