A Bike Mechanic's Love of Vintage / Retro Steel Road Bikes
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- Опубликовано: 3 дек 2022
- Bike Mechanic, Paul, goes into detail about modernising his Vintage / Retro Road Bike as well as discussing the challenges of completing such a build.
We are Velo Works: www.veloworkshop.co.uk/
More info on our Vintage Bike Restorations here: www.veloworkshop.co.uk/vintag...
More info about Argos Racing Cycles here: argoscycles.com/
The bike in this video:
1990's Road Bike built in Bristol by Argos Racing Cycles.
Reynolds 531 Frame fused with modern components.
Groupset: @RideShimano
Shimano Ultegra R8000 can be purchased on our website here:
www.veloworkshop.co.uk/dt-swi...
Wheels: @dtswiss DT Swiss PR1400 Dicut Oxic wheel set.
www.dtswiss.com/en/wheels/whe...
Tyres: Vittoria Corsa Control
www.vittoria.com/us/en/tires/...
Inner Tubes: Vittoria latex
Handlebar and Stem: Deda Elementi
Saddle: @brooksengland Brooks Cambium C15
www.brooksengland.com/en_uk/c...
Bottle Cages: Elite Vico Carbon
www.elite-it.com/en/products/...
Saddle Bag: Carradice Barley
Thanks for watching. 
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Keeping these bikes alive is the greatest satisfaction, and hanging with modern road bikes and keeping up at a fraction of the cost is even better XD
Completely agree, spending the money on upgrading this bike with high end components has cost far less than a modern equivalent.
I've recently found a small group to ride with. I'm thinking on our next get together I'll leave the Pinarello at home and ride my early 80's FUJI. I love it so much. Even though it has Shimano light touch downtube levers, it actually shifts smoother than the Ultegra on the old carbon fiber bike.
Great to see another bike enthusiast restoring and modernising aged bikes as I do myself giving them another lease of life , thumbs up from me fantastic to see 👍
Thank you Carl and thanks for watching!
That's a proper bike.
Personal Faves I still have:
1988 Bridgestone RB-1 - Ultegra / 105
1986 Fuji Sundance - Sugino / Suntour Pro
Both still in the smoothest ride category to this day
Nice! Sounds wonderful 👍
I have a 1971 Raleigh (Carlton) Super Course that I've modernized a couple of times. (I'm in the US.) A few years ago, I spread the rear spacing from 120 to 130 mm. I've done this on a few frames. I also build my own wheels when it's the most convenient thing for me.
Sounds great, please let us know how you go about spacing the rear drop outs?
Carlton made the bikes with frames of Reynolds 531. The super course has 531 main triangle tubes but the other tubes were just hi-carbon steel. Perhaps that was made on a production line near all the other raleighs
That's a lovely bike, frame very similar to my 30 years old bike I've just put back on the road. Only mine was on the lower end of the spectrum, 300 Exage components and definitely no Reynolds steel 😊 I've kept it 2x7, added Tourney brifters, it shifts fine for the price. Also changed cassette for one with more range, compact cranks, I'm planning new wheels for more comfort. I have spray painted it myself back in 2000 and now developed a bit of obsession, every day I'm thinking what colour scheme I'll have it painted when I get around to it, this time by professionals though 😊
Thanks for watching and sharing about your bike! Sounds great. Hope you pick a colour soon 😂
Great detailed video on your vintage bike. True road cyclists and connoisseurs of vintage bikes understand. I own a Wordperfect, Gilco design, Colnago Masterlight from 1989 with original 7400 Dura Ace STI groupset. I love my bike. Priceless to me.
Thank you for watching and sounds like you have a lovely bike. Your words resonate with us as owning a vintage bike is really a life long affair 😀
I have an 84 Schwinn super sport built in Osaka Japan. It has an eclectic mix of components. Mavic wheels with Record hubs, Sugino cranks, Dia Compe levers and calipers, Campy record top part of headset and Tange falcon bottom part of headset, Sun tour downtube shifters and front derailleur/Shimano rear derailleur, 3t stem and drop bars, Selle saddle and post. It’s the way I bought it/stole it for $120 bucks. Everything on it works great and other than minor adjustments haven’t changed anything in 25 years…😎
Sounds great and if it works why change it! Happy cycling!
I wish I had kept my Columbus SLX steel 1985 Scapin. It was a beautiful bike with chrome lugs, sky blue chrome color, Suntour Superbe Pro components throughout and Look clipless pedals.
Sounds like a lovely bike!
Love the video, reminds me of the good old days, I worked at Overburys Cycles in Bristol, often visited Argos for spare parts, once I was repainting a alpine stars mtb, I spotted a few bmx frames and the frame builder/painter from Argos explained they had been made for another bike shop that sold bmxs.. so I had to purchase one with a lovely paint job included.. great times & memories of Bristol
Hi Barry, thanks for sharing your stories! Sounds like you worked in the glory days of frame manufacturing in Bristol!
Lovely bike, very personalised 👍 I still have my 87 gazelle 531 and 88 raleigh 501,stll get used. 👍 🚴♀️🏴
Thanks for watching and commenting! Glad they are still in use and loved!
What a beautiful bicycle, and what a fantastic paint job! Enjoy
Thank you and thanks for watching 👍
That bike is great. I’ve always used Argos to restore my ever growing collection of vintage road bikes, the service is great but it’s also worth going in just to look at the restored frames hanging up……maybe just me!😂
Thank you so much and thanks for watching! Great to hear - they are amazing and no, it’s not just you! 😂
Still have my Detto and gitane bikes I bought in the early 80s also have the two mountian bikes I bought in 1996 all still working.
Great to hear 👍
old bikes are fun!
Couldn’t agree more!
I have a 1986 Gazelle Champion Mondial and have fitted a mix of 105 and Ultegra with Mavic Ksyriums. Bars and Seatpost are Carbon with an SLR Saddle. Best Bike I have ever owned absolutely love it .
Sounds like an interesting project - happy to find that you share the love of vintage bikes! Happy cycling
I have a 1987 raleigh ritmo its in a fantastic condition I restored it myself bought it for 115 quid and comes with 1987 shimano 105sc it shifts beautifully
Sounds lovely! What a gem
The name for these types of bikes (70's - 90's steel frames + modern components) is Neo-Retro.
GMTA (Great Minds Think Alike). I did about the same thing you’ve done here.
I replaced the worn out components of my 1992 Schwinn Paramount with a lightly used set of Dura-Ace 7800 and some DT Swiss Wheels similar to yours and had my local bike mechanic (who is widely recognized as the best bike mechanic and wheel builder in my State. He spread the stays a little so he could install the 10 gear cassette, hand built my DT Swiss Wheels and installed the Dura-Ace components. Now I have one of the coolest commuter bikes around.
Since your across the pond you may not be familiar with the Schwinn Paramount but prior to when the Schwinn Family sold the company in 94 you could not buy a better steel framed road bike in the U.S. and very few that were as good. They were right up there with the best steel bikes made in England, Italy and Japan.
I get more compliments for this bike than I ever did with my Trek Madone.
Actually they still make these steel bikes . The son of the Schwinn company CEO bought their Paramount Design Group in Waterford, Wisconsin where they built the Schwinn Paramount and renamed it Waterford Bikes. Google them as I think you will be impressed with the quality of their custom built steel bikes.
Hi, thanks so much for watching and commenting. Really interesting to hear you’ve done similar. Just googled them - they look amazing 😎 Happy Cycling!
Cold setting a steel frame isn't hard. Many people who do it themselves forget that the rear dropout need to be realigned with a tool that only professional shops have.
Nice video. Had my 90's Colnago Master frame repaired (new chainstays) and resprayed by Argos Cycles this summer.
Thank you and thanks for watching! We love Argos, great to hear.
Flash back to the past being from Bristol! Location Totterdown? Behind Fowlers i remember. They were well out of my price range at the time. I had totally forgot about Argos bikes! I ride a Steel Condor these days. Amazing to see this video, thanks loads! Marc.
They are down near the Feeder now (Argos). Love the Condor frames. Happy cycling!
Great video Paul!
Thank you! And thanks for watching!
Great vidéo, very interesting.
Thank you 🙏
I agree with you about steel bikes I had a gazelle AA special 531 in blue loved that bike I wish I’d kept it 😢
Thanks for watching!
Beautiful, Love that paint job! I have an 85 Trek 560 as my only working bike, still has all the original Suntour parts. American bikes from the 80's are really underated. Also have an early 90s Colnago super frameset.....No problem putting modern parts on old frames but HATE four arm cranks tho...an abomination on a classic frame! ...✌️
Thanks for watching! The Colnago sounds cool 😎
Supernice
Thank you 👍
Thank you for this video. I have a modern Acciaio (which means steel), made by Condor in London. It is a super bike, with a 105 gpset. Unfortunately, being almost 70, I can no longer comfortably mount and dismount the bike, so I have purchased a step through bike (Italia, also made by Condor), so that I can get and off safely. I am very unsupple now. The Italia is an Aluminium frame, so is a bit more ploddish, but then, so am I. I intend to keep on cycling as long as possible.
Hi, thanks for watching and commenting. Sounds like you made a really good decision to buy a step through bike. My grandad was still cycling into his early 90's and he said it was because he just kept cycling!
Condor, now you're talking! ❤
Great video. A video on assembling a modern ultegra groupset on a 90s frame would be nice.
Great suggestion!
Lovely. I was actually drooling a bit. I have the same disease. Though I'm sure you deal with a bit more exotic stock. Been repairing, riding and restoring old steel roadbikes for about 15 yrs now. Why I had to comment was you seem to enjoy mixing eras. I had a customer bring me an early 70s Kuwahara Apollo onto which he planned to mount all modern 105 bits. There were challenges I'm sure you'd be familiar with. The keystone to the project was a bolt on cable stop. I know I had to do a little "cold-forming" too.
Thank you for watching! Extremely perspective of you - I do like the traditional restorations but as these frames are so well built they are a great platform for modernisation and since modernising my bike I’ve done thousands of miles and love it! Whereas if I’d stuck to vintage parts I wouldn’t have the same experience.
Beautiful bike btw.
Thanks 😊
Lovely bike
Thanks for watching and thank you!
Two of my three old race bikes are steel. The oldest is a 1995 Bianchi racing department TSX UL (in celeste, of course), and then a 2002, made in a small custom shop, with a slightly oversized top and down tubes (1-1/8") True Temper OX Platinum tubeset. I raced that one until 2017. Back in the 80's, I raced on one of those horrendously stiff, boneshaking Cannondale's with 126mm spacing.
There is no way to cold set aluminum, so it was quite a job to insert a 130mm wheel into that ultra stiff rear triangle.
Thanks for sharing. Sounds like great bike and you are still happy with them!
I HAVE A GOOD OLD STEEL BIKE A CANADIAN BIKE guru I had to put wider bars now I sit up straight It came with Tagra I just switched to a 11 42 it came with 11. 28 and 46 34 front ring Love steel bikes and they’re not for sale.
Great to hear!
Just a reminder to editor: check the audiolevels of the intro/outro/music in general compared to overall level of the audio. Anyhow, nice bike with reasonable stuff bolted to it!
Thanks for watching. Quite new to editing so good tips cheers 👍
Beautiful bike. The bottlecages though are a mismatch I think. This bike so deserves some classic steel looking cages.
Thanks for watching and commenting. I certainly see your point about the bottle cages. These cages were not actually purchased for this bike but they are great cages when paired with the correct bottles and they have red on them so they matched the bike! More retro looking ones would look better though.
Those steel frames looked perfect. The top tube was completely horizontal. The Modern aluminum frames have a slanted top tube that give them a homemade look.
Some modern steel frames also have a slightly slanted top tube, in order to use a 20mm taller head tube. (So that you don't need an extra 20mm of spacers under your stem.)
@@billkallas1762 as a general rule you have a sloping top tube for endurance road bikes, women’s road bikes and gravel bikes. Performance road bikes still have more of a horizontal top tube so it more comes down to what the bike is designed for
Very similar spec to an 90s frame I built up 2 years ago. I went 105 instead of Ultegra though. Started with Vitoria Corsa G tyres. They looked great, but I found them a bit fragile and prone to getting cuts. Switched to Conti Grand Prix's which have been much better
Hi Scott, thanks for watching. The Continental are a good robust tyre. depending on the environment Vittorias can suffer a bit but personally I get on with them really well
One complaint I have about modern steel road or gravel bikes is they don’t seem use the refined tubing of older racing bikes before everything went carbon.
Yeah agree some brands don’t use anything elegant at all however brands like Mason do use some nicer steel on their bikes 👍
Is that Red Flamboyant? I have that colour on my bike also painted by Argos Racing Cycles. 👍
It is yes. Such a beautiful colour 👍
Hi, I enjoyed my first viewing of your channel but I would take issue with you over your comparison between Campag and Shimano , suffice it to say I've been running Campag gear and hubs since the 70s and everything is still in perfect order, changers haven't lost any of their rigidity and the hubs are just so smooth running. Hope to pop in to your channel again soon.
Hi Alan; thanks for watching (and apologies for the late reply your comment got lost!). Good to know, from our experience vintage campagnolo parts are amazing with lots of longevity for the customer. But modern Shimano to campag components the quality of Shimano is much better for the price point and as a bike mechanic their products are much easier to navigate and offer customers a variety of solutions. We appreciate your view though! Thanks again for watching 👍 More vintage bike videos in the making
Carradice products are awesome
They really are! We’ve had lots of their models and love them all. Thanks for watching!
Yeah... that's how bike shops lost me -- way back in the days when there was no internet. Tried several times to price then-current modern groupsets to rebuild my vintage steel frameset without any success at all.
Could mostly do the work myself and the internet suddenly made it easy to price a rebuild before undertaking it.
Great bike ,have to agree I prefer the older bikes I have just finished/ finishing a 1989 raleigh lightweight 531c compotion, it has all 105 group set ,that is period to bike including 105 June with magic cxp21 anodized rims
Interesting bike! Hope you have many miles of happy cycling on it!
I have a Campagnolo Mirage drivetrain on my 1975 Viscount which keeps on running. Very happy about it. Are you saying that the Campag quality has gone down over the years?
I would say the quality is still good but I personally just think Shimano have a better offering than Campag.
I have a pair of H+ Sons wheels for my vintage Olmo with Delta brakes will those pads work in not taking the coating off the rims?
Ah no in our experience H+ son rims will always come off. The wheels we have on the Argos are a set of DT Swiss 1400 wheels and they have a ceramic coating on them and this surface doesn’t come off easily so they retain their colour for longer. Hope that helps
Off topic question:is argos still making steel aero forks?
Cannot find info online!
Not sure but give them a call, they are really helpful
Hi which Carradice saddlebag is it? Looks a good size but not too large been looking at buying similar set up
Hi Paul thanks for watching. Sorry for the delayed reply, this Carradice bag is a real favourite of mine. It is the Carradice Barley Saddle Bag. It has a 9l capacity. Happy Cycling!
Thank you
Hello I've got a keeper,, an old Rudge whithn linked rod breaks, either lever operates both front and rear pads , but what makes it so special is the frame is not lugged making it super light, ! The bottom rear wheel arms , are on closer inspection ,cheap rolled sheet steel to make the tube, some sort of post - pre war economy model i guess, has the V section mudguards and looks very classy, allso it's got some sort of early bakerlite , plasticated handlebars, I'll have to research it some ,,,, not on fbook or ,! So whatever, cheers Bye. 👍🕊️
Sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing and happy cycling 👍
How would we make this work with this years groupsets? Only electronic unless below 105 so sad.
Hi Piers, Shimano do Ultegra and Dura-ace electronic groupsets with a rim brake option. In theory these should work well with a vintage frame (although we haven't fitted this ourselves).
You could have built it up with a polished alloy Campagnolo groupset - CENTAUR. I'll admit its just me but Reynolds 531 screams out for Campagnolo, sorry.
Hi thanks for watching. The bike did originally have 8 speed campag on it. Whilst for aesthetics the silver centaur would look nice, the R8000 groupset is a much nicer and more functional groupset. And it was about making the bike as enjoyable to ride as poss!
I will watch more of your videos if you promise to do that thing where you hunch foreward and flare your hands out in every one.
Hahahaha it sounds like a good deal, I'll have a think!
I’m enjoying the bike so far ruclips.net/user/postUgkxMesz3KOGEmwmvyKQfLfrRSUXLFzfVHZA My only real complaints are the brakes and the pedals. I feel like a bike designed for bigger people should have much larger pedals and more heavy duty brakes. I’ve only gotten two really good rides out of it, minimal downhill action, and the brakes feel like they’re already going out. A larger person has more momentum, so I think this wasn’t thought through very well. Also, I wear size 13-14 wide shoes. My feet cramp up on these pedals that are clearly made for smaller feet. Since I’m not a pro rider (and I don’t think many are who purchase this bike) I don’t think that the straps on the pedal are necessary at all. None of this takes away from the enjoyment I get from riding, however. I’ll just head to a bike shop to improve on a few things.
Ride steel
Steel is great, but it’s not a wonder material. Given the choice between an old high quality steel bike with 23mm tires (which I have) and a modern aluminum bike with 33mm tires (which I also have), I’ll take the modern aluminum all day long. More comfort from the bigger tires (much lower pressure) AND much better grip and control.
Spot on with all his other opinions, just oversells steel a bit. Like modern Shimano, just great stuff. My modern bike has Sora and the modern Sora is just phenomenal.
Thank you for watching and your comments 👍 As well as the feel of the bike, aesthetics are super important to me personally as I find bikes can be a form of art therefore that’s why I really value steel as a material as I feel it produces a more elegant bike. Thanks again for sharing your views 👍
It’s a beautiful bike. I’m sure it’s fast and comfortable. I just have trouble calling it “vintage.” Aside from the frame, the bike is very modern.
Nonetheless, what it’s called is irrelevant. R8000 is amazing. I rode a bike with R8000 shifters and 105 derailleurs today. It’s flawless. I have the same hubs on two other bikes. Very nice. So, enjoy.
Thank you for watching Peter. I think the official terminology is neo-retro which we find a little cheesy so we call it a vintage bike but I get what you mean! And YAASSSS to the R8000.
All I ride are vintage bikes.
Excellent!
As nice as it is, 'vintage' for a '90s bike doesn't really cut it! 😆
I ride a 1978 Carlton competition,had carbon bike,prefer the Carlton.
Steels the real deal! Thanks for watching
1:41 Frame material being "softer", more "plush" or better at absorbing vibrations is a pure myth. The frame, by its double triangle design, is by nature very, very stiff, whatever it is made of. Not marginally stiffer such that you could feel the difference, more like 100x stiffer than the parts that provide actual dampening, mainly tires and seatpost.
?. Then why do my aluminum frames and steel frames feel different with the exact same components?
Some frames are actually designed to flex a little. Really dont understand your point.
@@johndef5075 Did you really use the same tires (same manufacturer same width) and same seatpost? If yes, then my guess would be that:
1/ It's simply a placebo effect because you expect them to be softer.
2/ What you feel is actually the bike being simply heavier and having more inertia.
3/ It is more comfortable because the geometry is very different. A carbon bike is is typically a race frame while a steel bike generally an endurance frame.
Most of the information comes from seatpost dampening tests. I can advice you one article from CyclingAbout called "Seatposts: Often Overlooked Yet Critical For Your Comfort (Lab Testing)". They show and compare a seatpost flex at 69N/mm versus the frame itself with a flex of more than 7000N/mm, whatever the material.
Hi, thanks for watching! In my 15 years experience as a bike mechanic working on steel, alloy and carbon on a day to day basis there is clear differences on how each material affects the stiffness of the bike. Whilst there may be other elements of the bike that affect the ride quality the frame material is the fundamental element of how the bike feels. This particular bike was made in the 90’s as a road racing bike, not an endurance bike. However it works well as an endurance bike because of the frame material. 👍
Try making a spring out of aluminum or carbon.
Well, I'm not gonna argue about opinions, feelings are subjective. If you prefer a steel bike, have a steel bike.
However, I'm just saying that every single test ever made proves that frame material doesn't matter, and that it is possible to design and engineer a bike of any stiffness with any material. The biggest database probably comes from Tour Magazin, which tested hundreds of frames for vertical and bb stiffness. For simplicity, please watch the youtube video (or blog article) from CyclingAbout called "Why it's impossible for steel frames to be more comfortable than aluminium". It is a very good summary of the topic.
If you prefer to keep your convictions and reject all science and data ever made and say "you're wrong lol", good for you. But personally, I prefer rational decisions and it would be a good thing if people were generally more aware, instead of believing every legend about materials and buying every misleading marketing claim of the bike industry.
Very nice setup! There is just something about lugged steel! I have a 1996 De Rosa '57 Replica with 8 speed Record, which I get along with very well actually, and have never really noticed any problems with the shifting as you mentioned...that gruppo just totally goes with that frame, so I would be willing to deal with some drawbacks anyway. Have done double centuries in the Colorado Rockies on my De Rosa, and we are very tight indeed. Rumor has it that Ugo himself built the Replica Series of frames back in the day.....Don't try THAT with Chinese carbon!!!
Thanks for watching and commenting. Sounds a dream - we LOVE old Skool DeRosa;s
Its a nice frame but over the years when I used 531 frames, I cracked four of them. One in particular cracked in three places, while the other three cracked on the chain stay, inc a Flying Scott. I know some of these frames go on forever but I would not touch 531. Cro Moly on the other hand I feel is bomb proof and the 2 steel frames I use today are both welded Cro Mo.
Great that you found some frames that really suit you. We’ve always enjoyed the ride quality from 531 and not had any issues.
Wot no Columbus, 🕊️
Argos painted my custom-built steel frame. And they are respraying my 2014 Giant Defy 1. 👍🚵🏼♂️
Good to hear they are amazing. 👍🙌
I do disagree about disc brakes overkill on a skinny wheel road bike and for me campag is the best 👍 with Sram second
We prefer rim brakes 🙂