Greetings all  and Happy New year! As we enter  2026  it should be interesting to see how the collector bike market fairs. As Haggarty points out, Gen-Xers, millennials, and now Gen Zers are pouring into the market, but with different tastes than most of us. Online auctions and platforms like Marketplace continue to make it easier to buy and sell beyond just our own neighbourhoods. Meanwhile, rising costs for labour, shipping, exchange rates, etc are acutely impacting the feasibility of restoring old bikes. Of course, we collectors and restorers are in it for fun more than profit, but if we are aware of these things and use common sense, chances are we can still buy what we love and then, sometime in the future still sell it for at least what we are into it for, and be all the happier for the experience.

In a world that is becoming more and more foreign to us, one of the few things we can count on is the joy of owning a great old bike (or 10) from a simpler time. Be safe- have fun!

Norm

January, 2026