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@oddsock
Have any of you read 'The Chap Manifesto' by Gustav Temple and Vic Darkwood? It looks like they're the ones responsible for the Tweed Cycling Club too, though I couldn't see any concrete evidence of authorship on the Tweed pages. Anyway, I can heartily recommend 'The Chap Manifesto' -- it's littered with pearls of wisdom on such diverse topics as 'dressing for reading', 'the semiotics of smoking' and 'trouser semaphore'.
If I may be so bold as to paraphrase their comments on choosing a car:
"As any Anarcho-Dandy knows, profundity can only be discovered in the surface of things, and when it comes to cycling it is the dash that you and your vehicle cut that is of prime importance.
"When buying a fixed-wheel bicycle forget prosaic notions such as age, condition, etc. and concentrate on important things. That is, its colour, lustre, the presence of chrome and the aesthetic beauty of its lugwork. Bicycle design has hit a bit of a nadir in recent years, and it seems likely that your basic requirements may only be fulfilled by a vehicle that pre-dates 1972, when the art of bicycle design effectively died. An older bicycle also has the advantage of travelling at sedate speeds more conducive to neo-foppist reverie.
[...]
"It is almost certain that you will find yourself at one time or other made an object of ridicule by local boy racers too dull-witted to understand the sanctity of your mission. This should only have the effect of spurring you on to greater heights of aestheticism. [etc...] "
Well, I imagine that such sentiments might find some sympathy on this forum!