what would you sooner pay for?

[meticulous]

full price, and the product/part being mint/nos...

or half price of the nos price, and the product/part being tatty, scratched, dull but restorable?

[dordymush]

i'd sooner restore bits now days if there a bit cheaper.
plus you get more out of it when its all finished and lookin good and you've done it.
nos bits are nice.but its just a matter of bolting them on.

[BENDYCAT ELEVENTEEN]

well i would save the monery and use my hands for hard work and stand back after it and see that you can bring back items with a bit of know how and elbow grease  

I can see nos is cool but if you buy at half the price you can have twice as many bmx 's  

[NORTY40]

i'd sooner restore bits now days if there a bit cheaper.
plus you get more out of it when its all finished and lookin good and you've done it.
nos bits are nice.but its just a matter of bolting them on.

Couldn't of put it better myself 

Far more rewarding imo when you have put a bit of resto work into something .   NOS builds are cool but lets face it all you need is a wad of cash and half a brain 

[markyp]

im sick of restoring stuff,id rather have mint stuff again now after all time is money.the last set of rims i restored took me all day,way to long to justify it

[Glynnyboy]

I like both.
The satisfaction of restoring is one great part of the hobby.
That said if you put a mint bike together...well that is how it would have looked bought from the shop bitd.
Mint is the dream
Tatty resto'd is mostly my reality.
I got into this hobby through dreaming about yesteryear so regardless of expense and reality i would vote the mint dream all day long.
(don't always get it though but i can dream)

[OrgasmDonor]

tatty every time as i build to ride,

that nos ripper xl f/f thats in for sale section is awesome n i'd have loved it but it would only stay nos for a day if i got it as would be built used n abused so instantly lose lots of value so i can not justify buying anything nos for that reason.


think i should add that this is no way a dig at markys ripper as it is fookin awesome just the nos factor killed the option of me buying it as i like to ruin things having fun n that deserves so much more 

[skki3330]

Same as Dordy 

[mattuknc]

These bikes are meant to be ridden so as long as the bits are in full working order then 1/2 price works for me. 

What you sellin'?   

[southern andy]

restore, hence why my bikes take so long to build.

[monkian]

When it comes to things like BOTM I appreciate the resto put into a build as much as seeing builds with NOS parts.
Personally I get a lot out of bringing something back to life but I guess time and patience is offset by paying a bit more. That said, I don't think one is more creative than the other, IMO the scheme concept and part choices are ultimately what makes something work (for me). I think there's satisfaction to be had in both respects

[Spen69]

I've only built a couple of ponies and all of my bikes (even the really nice ones!) get ridden at some point as I love riding BMX

But even the show ponies had a lot of restoration work in them, even to the level of having rims re-annodised to be matched to hubs and built with my fair hands which is very satisfying

Saying that, now I have gained two young children since I first joined this site so I don't have the time and have taken the short-cut a few times with NOS bits or minty bits, so I think you have to strike a happy medium really. I have bikes with a few scrapes and scars I would never restore past a decent clean and polish and have also got a few that I've had re-powdered back to mint with new decals on them

I'd love to think I had the time to restore every nut and bolt, but the reality is that sometimes you simply don't have the time. Mint has it's purpose but I hate riding NOS original rims, everything else I'll ride. Had two sets of rims I've not ridden and still have one of them, yet got another set I had re-done and just rode the fookas

[hunterdubber]

You've gotta do both ,to  get the best out of this hobby  

Restored and NOS  builds  


Only ride restored ones though makes sense,  
 Why ride a bike with NOS parts that WILL get worn/ruined ,,when you can can ride any other bike you have    

Many times I've bought old then restored the part, put on a build
, later sold on to  replace with a minter or NOS when they crop up  

I have 1 N/S ride and 2 O/S riders , you don't need anymore than that , the rest are ponies

[Jt]

I don't generally restore anything, unless it involves hitting it with a hammer.

Nice used or mint restored are my bag. I buy with the intention of using it as is usually, or take it to someone who will do what i need doing to it to make it how i want it.

Don't like Nos. But understand the appeal.

[brettypeeps]

Depends on what it is.  
I love to rip a shoddy set of wheels apart and the rebuild them like new or anything mechanical really
Don't mind getting a frame that needs the paintwork redoing but if it is much more than that I haven't got the tools to do it.

I did do a full NOS bike and never rode it so it was a waste for me.  I Have a NOS frame now to build but haven't managed to bring myself to attached a part to it yet and Un - NOS it

The longer I am into this game the more I try not to use NOS parts.  I tend to keep them in the packets more and more

[jT Racing]

Nos is nice to own if you're a collector, and better to leave unused. But in reality all "nos" bits that float around nowadays have been on more bikes than lance Armstrong.
I know which is the most rewarding, but for those without the time, skills or place to do any resto, I can understand buying nos, even though technically its usually not nos, just previously assembled.
Anybody who frowns down on restored stuff is a bellend. Restoration is the very heart of any retro hobby that involves the concourse element.
Most important part though is to enjoy whatever you do and do it to please yourself not others. Fook what anybody else says, there's no such thing as a shit build, just full of it opinions (the author would like to note that he of course doesn't include the trickstar2 in that last statement, as that would just be lying through his teeth)

[DoubleD]

Putting a nos part out of the bag and install it is easy peasy
i like  to refurb stuff  to mint
it gives more satisfaction  then pulling something out of the bag

But building a nos bike   hmmm   to easy in my opinion

[ultrasham241]

Restore all day long unless nos comes up at right price! Like says above you get a lot more out of your builds when a lot of hard work has been put into them,rather than bolting a load of nos parts on in 5 mins.

[Retrodan72]

Depends on how flush I am and what build needs what parts.

For example, the DP i'm doing and the Streetbeat need the correct parts or they just won't look 'right', i'm in no rush to build so i'll just wait till the right bits turn up, if they do and they need a resto then so be it but on the other side, if I can afford NOS then I will.

I'm all for skimping on some parts like buying repop calipers, seats and tyres to save cash to spend on other areas like bars, stems or grips etc.

[rollin72]

I like to restore as much as possible only using mint bits when you really have to, NOS bikes just dont have any heart 'n' soul

[AKGOFF]

I ride all but 1 of my bikes but I don't have the patience or skills to restore (or build) anything but i do want a beautiful mint bike so i am happy to pay for NOS if i can get it or if not pay someone else to restore it, lace it and build it, that way i can enjoy doing what they were made for and ride it. This excludes my Pink TS which is never gonna get ridden but i could look at the detail on that bike all day

Adam

[Pooch]

I ride all but 1 of my bikes but I don't have the patience or skills to restore (or build) anything but i do want a beautiful mint bike so i am happy to pay for NOS if i can get it or if not pay someone else to restore it, lace it and build it, that way i can enjoy doing what they were made for and ride it. This excludes my Pink TS which is never gonna get ridden but i could look at the detail on that bike all day

Adam

Lovely that trick star!!!!

[deeman]

I ride all but 1 of my bikes but I don't have the patience or skills to restore (or build) anything but i do want a beautiful mint bike so i am happy to pay for NOS if i can get it or if not pay someone else to restore it, lace it and build it, that way i can enjoy doing what they were made for and ride it. This excludes my Pink TS which is never gonna get ridden but i could look at the detail on that bike all day

Adam

i could look at that TRICK STAR all day long too!!i dont blame you for never riding it!i'd be scared to touch it!!!

[kungfunky]

I like a bit of both, don't mind trying my hand at restoring but theres also some items that I want which are rare and enjoy the hunt for NOS.

[AKGOFF]

but theres also some items that I want which are rare and enjoy the hunt for NOS.

X2