Reminiscing about catalogs

[Spaghetti Legs]

Those are very cool and I have a stash of a few but I must admit when I read thread title, I thought of the Sears catalog. I loved looking through the toy section when I was a kid.

[harryschwartzma]

Who remembers getting xerox or mimeograph sheets? I think tri-zombies was one. No pics, just a list.

[AngryScientist]

The one's I remember being excited to get:

Campmor
JC Whitney
Jegs
The Sportsman's Guide

[mcteague]

I still have an 86-87 Palo Alto catalog. Looking inside it really screams THE 80s!

Tim

[jemoryl]

Originally Posted by KonaSS

Colorado Cyclist and Excel Sports were top shelf. I seem to recall another, maybe Frankford Bike?

Also liked World Cycling Productions. Browsing thru VHS videos and cycling accessories.

I think closeout places like Performance, Nashbar, Supergo, PricePoint might have been hurt by the decline of the catalog. I would certainly flip through those and pick up a closeout or sale deal here and there. But I am not about to go to a website and sift thru page after page looking for deals. It just isn't the same.

Yeah, I really miss the old Nashbar and similar places. Not having a lot of $$ but being able to pick up some quality gear was great - I have 10 spd. era Campy Chorus crank and ergos that each cost me about $100 at Nashbar.

[reuben]

I had a couple of those Descente jerseys, and a pair of shorts as well.

[GregL]

Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs

Those are very cool and I have a stash of a few but I must admit when I read thread title, I thought of the Sears catalog. I loved looking through the toy section when I was a kid.

When I first became aware of "European 10-speeds" in the early 1970s, I remember seeing a Reynolds frame tube bike in the Sears catalog. I was so impressed that I could (if I had the $$$...) order a "world class" bike from the local sears catalog store in town. The Sears "big books" and their numerous small, specialty catalogs were important reading material for this farm boy.

A couple decades later, the Colorado Cyclist catalog was my favorite bike porn. I drooled over the Merckx bikes in their glossy catalog.

Greg

[jemoryl]

Originally Posted by GregL

When I first became aware of "European 10-speeds" in the early 1970s, I remember seeing a Reynolds frame tube bike in the Sears catalog. I was so impressed that I could (if I had the $$$...) order a "world class" bike from the local sears catalog store in town. The Sears "big books" and their numerous small, specialty catalogs were important reading material for this farm boy.

A couple decades later, the Colorado Cyclist catalog was my favorite bike porn. I drooled over the Merckx bikes in their glossy catalog.

Greg

I believe the better grade of Sears bikes were made in Austria by Puch. The ones with Reynolds 531 never seemed to show up on the floor at my local Sears.

[bob_in_pa]

I remember ordering lots of stuff from Nasbar when it was illustrations on newsprint. The first glossy catalog with actual photos I recall was PS&S. They were a local shop that put out a catalog for a few years (at least) in the 80's.

[GregL]

Originally Posted by jemoryl

I believe the better grade of Sears bikes were made in Austria by Puch. The ones with Reynolds 531 never seemed to show up on the floor at my local Sears.

That's what I remember too. The nearest small town to my home had a Sears catalog store. The front room for customers couldn't have been more than 150-200 square feet. Just a countertop where a friendly lady took your orders for Toughskin jeans, Craftsmen tools, and Ted Williams sporting goods. You gave her your paper order form and your goods showed up a few weeks later. Great memories!

Greg

[Toeclips]

Visual Systems had quite the catalog later replaced by Pearl Art which also had a massive catalog

[avalonracing]

Originally Posted by mcteague

I still have an 86-87 Palo Alto catalog. Looking inside it really screams THE 80s!

Tim

1980's + cycling kits + a touch of cocaine = That photo shoot.

[GregL]

Before broad adoption of the internet in the early 1990s, cycling catalogs were my favorite items to find in the mail. The "big four" (Nashbar, Performance, Colorado Cyclist, and Excel) were always good, but my favorites were Supergo and Bike Pro. Supergo's prices and closeout inventory were amazing for a cycling enthusiast on a tight budget. The first time I went to their Santa Monica store, I thought I had entered cycling nirvana. The Bike Pro catalog read like an encyclopedia of bike parts, complete with low-level details that never made it into other catalogs or magazine articles.



Greg

[Hindmost]

If you got a racing license you were put on the mailing list for several of these. I didn't mind at all; it wasn't like it was Spam, it was essential reading.

What was with 800 Bike Pro? They were a big deal for a few years and then disappeared.

[Red Tornado]

Originally Posted by KonaSS

Colorado Cyclist and Excel Sports were top shelf. I seem to recall another, maybe Frankford Bike?

Also liked World Cycling Productions. Browsing thru VHS videos and cycling accessories.

I think closeout places like Performance, Nashbar, Supergo, PricePoint might have been hurt by the decline of the catalog. I would certainly flip through those and pick up a closeout or sale deal here and there. But I am not about to go to a website and sift thru page after page looking for deals. It just isn't the same.

I remember Frankford Bike. IIRC they were based somewhere in Ohio?
Bought my first pair of cycling specific shoes from Nashbar. Mailed in my order form with a check and had to wait for the check to clear before they shipped my order. Man, how far we've come since then!