Six Reasons Why Vintage Road Bikes Are Better Than Modern Road Bikes
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 13 июн 2024
- Yeah, you're all about your modern, ultralight, plastic bike aren't you? Well, listen up, bub. There are plenty of things about vintage road bikes that are simply "better" than your modern superbike.
Music:
FynestLyk - Noir Et Blanc Vie 
Хобби
I bought my 1973 Holdsworth new in 73. It cost 125 us. It has been my only bicycle since. Twice rebuilt, never had a issue that I could not fix myself. The frame is Reynolds 531, a mag- moly tubing. It doesn't rust but oxidises. The BB was without paint for over 30 years. I toured in all weather. 2 more years and we'll be together for 50 years. Wish me luck.
Good luck, Kurt, but I don't think you'll need it! Sounds like you've got a great bike there. I'm a big fan of the 531. I've got a 1963 Frejus built with 531 and I know what you mean when you say it oxidizes but doesn't rust. It gets a really nice patina. May you have many more years on your Holdsworth!
@@bikestrikesrazors Thanks for the good wishes. The reason these old gems are so rare is that we rode the paint right off of them. Boys are hard on there bikes. The only decal on that bike was the Reynolds, all other graphics were painted by hand. Long gone.
Wow, this is the comment new bicycle manufactures definitely dont want people to know.
but well, business is business, and they always had to find ways to make the market consume more
I used to ride in a group with a guy that had a Holdsworth I don't suppose you're from Bloomington Illinois.
@@allwinds3786 north east Ohio solo touring
You are exactly right on how beautiful an older lugged steel frame can be.
Thanks for watching, Mark!
Great video! Got in trouble from my mom in 1972 for spending so much money on a new Gitane ($130). Twenty years ago, I put new rims (Araya) and tires on it. Hadn't really rode it since then. Took the wheels in last month to have them trued and bearings done ($65)....and splurged on new handle bar tape. My 50 year old bike is running better than new, and I'm loving every minute of it! As a Senior, I'm feeling like a kid again!
See! You made the right decision all those years ago, Frank! This is why I never listen to my mother. :)
Hi Tom. I guess the wheels had gone out of true standing around since 1972. :)
@@bikestrikesrazors now i get it- sorry
Such a great thing! I'm happy for you.
@franksodonis470 I would take an old school steel frame bicycle any day. Modern bicycles suck!
Well done! I have had a “top of the line” carbon 11 speed wonder bike. It was nice but I sold it after a few months and back to my 1987 Eddy Merckx - SLX super butted steel “Cadillac.” Dura Ace 7700 components. It has well over 100,000 miles on it and still looks great, works great, and handles like it’s on rails. It will go as fast as this 62 year old engine can pedal it!
Wow, an '87 Merckx! Sweet bike! Yep, I can see how it would be difficult to give that up for a modern bike. :)
Right, I bought a 1951 Fausto Coppi designed ‘Maino’ w/Campangolo non-indexed gears…for 100€!!! It’s in descent shape and I intend to polish it and bring it back to ‘like new’ condition. I also live here in N.E. Italy 🇮🇹 as an expat-my wife is an Italian who is also a singer~ Love these roads too!!!
Me too..I have a 1970's Legnano. I bought it for second hand and I still have it now. Previous owner used it for tour d'Australia according to him. Morden rider@young rider does not know that my bike is a legend bike
LOL.....I had a1985 Eddy Merckx Professional. Bought it new with Dura Ace 7400 ( 8 speed). Put around 100k on it like you before I sold it. Never one issue with the frameset. Went to lightweight carbon and went through 4 frames in 8 years. All the top names. No accidents, falling over, or over torquing on fasteners. Just normal use like I did on the Merckx. Currently riding Titanium for 5 years with no issues. Do the math. BTW, I'll be 62 early next year also.
I’m 64 and have worked my way “up” to a current TCR that I’ve had for a bit over a year. I just found a ‘87 Schwinn Prologue made by Panasonic for $75. It’s a bit tatty but all original. Rides like a dream and was surprised by the silence of its neglected 600 drivetrain.Lots of possibilities for a restore
Thinking tricolor 8 spd. and as light a wheel I can find.
3 decades ago I bought a lugged Japanese-made steel machine with Ultegra groupset for $500, brand new. That was as costly a bike as I could justify at the time...and now, about 50,000 miles later, I'm still riding it. And it still has the original groupset, except that I changed to clipless pedals and have replaced drivetrain components (such as cassette and chain) due to normal wear. Best $500 I've ever spent in my life. The fit and ride quality are so good that even now, with cost being no object whatsoever, I would never trade it for a new carbon-fiber "wonder bike". No one else has ever worked on the bike, nor does anyone need to...I own every tool I will ever need to maintain it. It is maintained in pristine condition, and performs exactly as it did when brand new.
Incidentally, I ride 2x7 gearing, with 12-28 cassette, and I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I can't imagine why so many people are lusting for 12 speeds on the rear, only to end up with thinner drivetrain components that wear out more rapidly and are more temperamental to adjust. I have 2 wheelsets (one original/1990, and the other an aero set from around 2015), and I can swap them without touching any adjustments. My drivetrain is always quiet, shifts very crisply, and I don't have to ratchet through 4 sprockets just to adjust to a moderate change in road gradient.
I learned my lesson the hard way with super light and thin chain rings that wore out FAST! That's something I didn't address in the video; modern bikes make a lot of noise. The old steel bikes can be dead silent except for the sound of the cassette whirring.
It must be a Fuji they are so closely built like the bikes in the UK andFrance rip off the label and you can’t tell Fuji was the oldest bike builder at one time 1896 in Japan building all the frames for the others
@@sheddski2942The Japanese bike manufactures were doing some amazing stuff in the 80's. My friend had an "SR" which he dearly loved.
Great old bikes, but I love my Tarmac with 30,000 miles on it. Still in great shape and rides so much better than my old Campy bikes.
@@flyoverstateresident2890 My SWorks Tarmac SL4 is still a road eating beast 8 years in, but I wish I still owned my '87 DeRosa SLX with Campy Chorus.
Modern bikes have owners....
Vintage and classic bikes have custodians....
I like that!
These bikes were made, like cars of that era, with a soul, there is a record on my Look, a titanium, I'm glad to see you guys!
Hey, Oleg! Your Look 585 is built like my Calfee Tetra Pro. They're both carbon fiber, but they're built using carbon lugs, so I think they're the best of old and new. :)
@@bikestrikesrazors That's so Joe...
In the 1970s and 80s lightweight steel bikes reached their apotheosis. Components were simple, interchangeable, owner serviceable and long-lasting. The only consumables were bearings, chains, sprockets, cables, pads and tyres, which were inexpensive and could be bought at any bike shop. Then manufacturers rapidly changed componentry standards and created life limited framesets, making bikes disposable and their accountants happy. My five steel bikes run as well as they ever did.
I agree completely, Borderlands! .
The funny thing is that steel bike frames are in no way obsolete. The advancements in AHS and SHSS Steels for the auto industry is that steel bikes can be made at UCI minimum weights and can be manufactured with modern automated processes like hydroforming.
The main reason that you don’t see mass produced steel bikes on the scale of the past is that though capital cost for manufacturing a steel bike are lower than CF the skilled labor costs are far higher. So in the long run when the capital cost of manufacturing is amortized CF bikes are less costly to produce and since the don’t have the durability that steel bikes have you have planned obsolescence built into CF bikes which forces you to replace them after about three years of hard riding as the epoxy binders degrade.
So much of what consumers are told about high end road bikes is just marketing hype.
It is impossible to keep what is great about a steel Schwinn in operation. You have to create/modify your own BB inner bearing cups, the stamped washers available as rebuilds simply blow out if you stand up and pedal hard. Replacing the BB ruins the entire point of having a steel Schwinn. That cast opc can't be beaten, it's the correct feel for a cruiser or knock-around bike. I will have to make my own inner races the next time I have to change it out which is about every 200 miles. It's a shame, that old tech was perfect for what I use the bike for, it felt better and was better in every way. At least my v-brake levers are heavy enough to not flex like an old iron Schwinn.
@@TheFogLakeshore you've got eBay- you can find just about anything for a post-war schwinn on there. if you have to replace an old HEAVY ashtabula crank/BB on your schwinn with a newer, retro, cotterless aluminum crank set you are performing a serious upgrade to your bike. schwinn definitely did not make their own brake levers on anything post-war. could you be referring to calipers? i see very few advantages to owning or riding an old schwinn unless its a paramount.
Respect steel as you describe but don’t miss 23mm tires, toe clips or down tube shifters. Not sure what Trek did with epoxy in the 1996 Trek 5200. Replaced the fork for safety but the frame is like a tank, light but keeps going. 🚂 I had a Centurion Comp TA back in the day. It was heavier.
Was in the biz 1984 - 2000. Witnessed the big bang from the commercial MTB, and the demise of the drop bar road bike. The birth of index shifting, and everything in between.
My parts drawers are replete with 7 and 8 speed components, and my rigs are all steel, including my 1986 Moots. 👍😄
That Moots sounds like a beautiful bike! One of the comments I keep getting about my Serotta is that Moots has better welds. :)
funny how you see many drop-bar bikes ridden on mountain highways. i have a roadie and a colorado mountain bike- depending on my terrain (and sometimes mood).
Finally, someone who says the truth and sets the record straight! Great video.
Thanks, Amboro! Modern bikes do have some advantages, but to me, the advantages of vintage bikes far surpass the advantages of the modern.
Yes! Thank you very much! I have a 1981 Daccordi and a 1984 Benotto! I love them! Don’t get me wrong I do have a 2016 Kestrel! But I love my classics! Thank you for this video! 👍🚴🏼♂️💪🙏
Bikes are better now than they have ever been
Bikes are better now than they have ever been
@@johnlewsey4458 False. "Better" is completely subjective.
That video reminded me of something only semi related. A few years back I had an old dryer with a problem beyond my capabilities to fix. I had a discussion with the repair person on whether I should have replaced the unit. He told me not to - as the newer appliances are not built as well. A few months back I repaired my refrigerator after a lightning storm seemed to zap a relay. My fridge is a simple model. The man at the parts place discussed more complex models. He told me that even 5 years after the initial sale that parts will not be available. Yet I remember my parents running an old fridge from the depression era until maybe a decade ago. (It outlived them) So in watching the video about the quality, ease of use and longevity of the older bikes, I saw it fitting the pattern of modern manufacturing and planned obsolescence. Thanks for the video.
I think you’re correct, Daniel, in that quality of manufacturing has declined across the board on almost everything. Unfortunately, it looks like companies are more concerned these days with profit than pride in their products and, like you said, we can’t ignore the planned obsolescence motive. A shame we live in a time when the majority of companies care more about keeping share holders happy than producing a quality product.
@@bikestrikesrazors Thanks for responding and agreeing. Just examples of Reaganomics in action, I guess. Have a good one.
So right about the value in the 80's machinery. I bought my teenager a Vitus with full first-gen Dura-Ace for $300 and he loves it. Only change we made on it was to switch out the crumbling hoods with some better-feeling modern Shimano levers that hides the cabling for an even better look.
That early DA stuff will go forever, but hoods never last. :)
how does 'cabling' not look good? i have really old shimano red-dots that pre-date my bike (1979) by a few years- and i love them. feather-weight, and they utilize built-up clamps, studs, and locknuts (not cheap slotted clamps/screws like weinmann and dia-compe) and i can hang on them as if they were monkey bars. i had to make a plexi scraper to get the sun-baked weinmann hood grips off of them and picked up a new pair of 'cane creek' hood grips- i don't care for routing cables underneath bar tape. first dura-ace stuff was in the mid-70's. i ran a toy store bike shop then and we used to upgrade ten-speed bikes for mom & dad with early 600 and dura-ace parts. of course we laced our own upgraded wheels, too.
@@bikestrikesrazors the newer polyurethane hoods do.
@Jeff Hook I think you did pretty well to race juniors on a Vitus, in the 80's I envied the kids who had one. I was lucky to race the mid-80s on a first-gen Specialized Allez with Vittoria sewups but had before that a (much crappier than Vitus) Peugeot with stem shifters and that did not fare very well. I remember another company that could have been a manufacturing precursor to the Vitus called ALAN (ALuminum ANodized?) in the 70's that started this trend. Loved the look of those as well.
@@tommurphy4307 Besides being more aesthetically pleasing (IMO) routing the cabling under the tape helps with aero and practically speaking, provides more hand positioning as one can now rest the palms directly over the hoods without the cable housings obstructing. It can also lessen the risk of items getting caught up from items being passed from teammates at speed and when I need to service the bike by inverting it on the ground, there's no worry about crushing the cabling since it rests nicely as the hoods (sans cables) and the seat that forms a stable tripod from which to make adjustments.
I have a mint condition early 80’s Tomassini Sintisi that I bought new. Last week I took it off the wall and have been cleaning, lubing and getting it ready to ride. Such a work of art and the ride is so vibrant it’s amazing
Nice! I think the 80's was a high-water mark for the high-end frames like your Tomassini. That bike has the coolest lugs!
Unless you race, the latest and greatest is just spending more money. Now if you have free spending money then by all means go for it! But at the end of the day, it just doesn’t matter
Cheers
Absolutely, Tom! Thanks very much for watching!
Very right, Tom. It doesn't matter. Even as an old racer I had favourites which were the best. A Coble (Ojai, CA) steel custom, fully lugged and filed, for instance.
I'd rather spend the money on tools to do repairs
Latest is the WORST not greatest ....made in America was great NOT made by ChiCommunists who are RUINING the world !!!!!!!!!
The trouble here in the UK is these are now expensive to buy. I wonder how many of us can think back and say I really wish I hadn't sold that bike. Great video. Thanks
They seemed to have dried up a bit this side of the pond as well. I'm lucky in that I couldn't really afford a nice bike "back in the day", so I didn't have a nice bike to sell. :) Around here, if you're persistent, you can still turn up a deal.
@@bikestrikesrazors I,m a fan of American Pickers & I just wish I could find the bikes & parts they find.
@@2wheelsrbest327 I'm a Picker! I'm in California and it's what I do for a living. I've found lots of neat stuff over the years, but at least in this part of the country, old, nice bikes and parts are rare.
@@bikestrikesrazors Thank you that's interesting to read. Here in the UK our local refuge collection point have mountains of old bikes but sadly none of any value. Good hunting. 🤞
@@2wheelsrbest327 And to you!
I love your article. I just retired and decided to rehab my 40-year-old Raleigh Super Grand Prix road bike used in countless Triathlons. The frame size alone is not available these days, and as you pointed out, other than a bit of rust, it is as good as it's ever been. I think I paid a little over $500.00 for it back in 1980 and spent about $400.00 to rehab some parts off another Raleigh I had but hadn't ridden as much. It rides wonderfully well for a 66-year-old and is like being with an old friend when I ride.
Sounds like a great bike, Michael, and it's great that you've kept it, and kept it going all these years! These vintage bikes will outlast us all. :)
philips and somebody else had 26" frames- is that what you have?
Dude, I agree 100%. I ride my 1981 schwinn traveler . Bought it new in 81 and is all original except for the tires. I love my bike , 10 speed and just a pleasure to ride. I tought my self how to tune it up , from chain to gears. I should add I am 68 years old. I took care of the bike from when it was new. Goes to show how long things can last. Happy riding !
1981 was a great year for bikes! Glad to hear the Traveler is still going strong!
Just bought red traveler 20 bucks 100 complete lucky find
Need new tires
A good steel bike will still be on the road long after the latest wundercarbon bike is a wallhanger decoration in a hipster coffee bar.😀
LOL! Hipster coffee bars need decorations, too, Phillip. :)
1988 peugeot with 501, and a 1984 fuji sagres with 414,
I've fell in love with restoring vintage bicycles
Very nice! Thanks for watching!
You had me at "are my derailleur batteries charged"! I had a suburban-kid Puch 10-speed that, 10 years on, my parents, as a holiday present, paid our local bike shop to upgrade. Guy was a friend as well as a businessperson reallly hooked us up with full Campy set-up. Dave removed all the old components. I had the frame sandblasted and repainted it myself (with many many light coats of a beautiful cordovan auto paint with clear finish on top). Dave installed all the new components. Damn this thing was beautiful. Rode it all over trails and roads in New York, Scotland, Boston, Philly, and Seattle before it gave its life saving me in a crash. RIP. Thanks for the video!
Sounds like a great bike! I've lost a bike like that as well. The new tech is crazy. SRAM has derailleurs that require software updates. Can't wrap my head around that.
$40 horse; $100 saddle
@@bikestrikesrazors SERIOUSLY? GTFOOH! I'll take my old Suntour ARX groupset and downtube shifters any day of the week, TYVM.
Bought my Raleigh International in 1976 for $520. This, when I was driving an old Ford F100 I paid $100 for. Still riding it today, although a few of the components have changed. Changed from sew-ups to clinchers but still use original Campy hubs. Lifetime warranty on the Reynolds 531 frame! I'm 67 years old now so it will probably be part of my estate when I die.
Those Raleigh Internationals are beautiful bikes! What happened to the Ford? My 2003 Ford E-350 is at 650,000 miles, but I'm guessing it may not last too much longer. My vintage bikes, however, will certainly outlive me! :)
@@bikestrikesrazors Rusted away. Darn northeast salt. It was a 1957. Ran like a top.
I also ride a international. Sent it to Cycle art back in the 80`s for a face lift. Fine ride along with the Jack Taylor criteria bike I have.
@@bikestrikesrazors how can you afford to feed that E-350??
I still have my early 1970's era Peugeot.. It had been wrecked before I bought it for $15 in 1974 when I was 15 years old!! A good friend helped me fix it up and we rode them everywhere back in the day!! The bike went everywhere with me back when I was in the Navy and I have a lifetime of memories with it!! My old friend passed away a number of years ago, and he's always on my mind whenever I ride the old Peugeot. I have several lighter bikes now, but the old Peugeot is my hands down sentimental favorite bike to ride!!
Over the years I've acquired several other old Peugeot's.... They just seem to follow me home.. plus an old Schwinn Paramount I picked up at a yard sale for $25!! They're all waiting for me to get around to bringing them back to life.....
I almost wish I HADN'T seen this video!!! I was planning to sell off all the vintage bikes next Spring, keeping only my original Peugeot.... But after watching this video, I want to keep and ride them ALL!!! :)
LOL! Sorry about that, Bill! :) Hang on to that Peugeot! Relationships like that don't come around every day!
@@bikestrikesrazors I'm so glad that I kept it over the last 47 years, and that I still ride it!! I plan to tear it down and overhaul it this Winter. I've thought about repainting it, but I kind of like the old scratches and scrapes on it!! My wife recently asked me if I thought I had too many bikes.... I didn't understand the question!! :)
@@billspach4893 Some people don't seem to understand- It's simply not possible to have too many bikes. :)
Nice video! I am 55 now and started cycling in 1983, my first bike was a simple Peugot featuring Simplex derailleurs + Weinmann brakes. It was heavy, the brakes were terrible, but I loved it. From time to time I bought/built a new bike: Raleigh with Shimano 600, Gios compact with DA 7400, some Principias (danish aluminum frames) with DA 7700 an DA 7800. The last years I use my Ridley Damocles (put more than 100.000 km in it, no issues) and a BMC tmr 01...and boy, these are so much better in many aspects. The old steelbikes are nice to look at, and it´s fun to use them once in a while...but for some serious cycling (long trips, riding cols in the alps and so on) I prefer my modern bikes. They just work better. But the good thing about cycling is: you can have so much fun on any bike, may it be old or new, cheap or expensive! It´s cycling what matters, feeling the sun and the wind, breathing fresh air, feeling your body work... enjoy your ride!
I like your philosophy, Ulrich! No matter which bike I'm riding, new or old (and I have both), after a couple of miles I forget about the bike and I'm just "cycling". Enjoy your ride as well!
Truths
well put, sir
I bought a Centurion Super LaMans new in ‘82. Everything still works as new. She turns 40 next year. Thanks for your video!!!
Thanks for watching, Quanah! I've got two 1986 Centurion posters hanging in my office!
Fun video discussion, thank you! I was a pro racer in the 80's, racing on custom built to my specification steel frame/fork bikes Campagnolo Super Record, Suntour Superb Pro, Cinelli, Mavic/DT14g, Continental tubular, Modolo equipped. I am 64yo now, been riding 10,000+ miles a year for 54 years, don't use cars,....instead ride, walk, or paddle to all my destinations. 54 years of serious riding, first mountain bike rider in 1982, pro racer, touring, commuting.
1) Yes, todays bikes are ugly colors, but paint with clearcoat and smooth finish of any material is better than vintage. Now they are using matt finishes which is the ultimate in ugly. If I am paying 6000+ for a bike "I" get to choose whatever color I want! Obviously my custom steel bike was to my color spec also. I also raced on 3Rensho, ugliest bike I ever owned because of horrible paint finish. Todays finishes even on the cheap bikes I ride today are 10x better than vintage. I did buy a lugged Ciocc frame back in the 80's with red paint and chrome fork tips, seat and chain stays, to me this was the most beautiful road bike ever made, too bad the frame/fork was unusable due to its horrible alignment and build. I ride $400 bikes today that are more beautiful than the custom racing bikes I used in the 80's. The finish is just perfect, clear coat adds depth, and they are flaw free. No lugs on Aluminum, but the welds are also perfect (machine welds).
2) My bikes were hand crafted one at a time, store bought were not taken seriously, small manufacturers may have been hand building but they were hurried and not good racing bikes.
3) Not durable, I ride over 10,000 miles a year on my bikes, steel and aluminum have a lifespan, and why I always warn true cyclists to buy new. At about 25,000 miles I will break a frame, metal that flexes, fatigues, and there isn't anyway to delay it except with exceptional brazing and double butted extra heavy (thick walled) tubes. Fixing a broken frame is dangerous for two reasons: 1) finding a good frame brazing expert 2) the first break is a warning that the rest of the bike is weak and will fail soon. Just as one broken spoke indicates the end of life to a wheel. It is not safe to ride a bike for more than 25,000 miles, or after the first break. Carbon and titanium life...I don't know, never owned one, never will.
4) You bet! Racing bikes before indexing (1986) and carbon were far superior, and parts were standard and very easy to find. The ride of a well made steel road racing bike is fantastic, though this is almost entirely due to the steel fork and curved rake. Downtube shifting was faster and simpler for any skilled cyclist, indexing is insane and gets worse every year. Batteries? you got to be kidding, and indexing for 2x front is just stupid. I ride aluminum main frame with steel forks or suspension forks today, the bottom bracket flex in steel was never solved, sprinting, hard acceleration and out of saddle climbing with steel is aggravating, having so much flex the chain rubs on the front derailleur, steel is not fun for very strong cyclists.
5) Absolute stupid prices you are correct. I don't race, so I ride $400 Bikes Direct bikes today. I ride converted mountain bikes on the road today for strength and dependability, weight of a bike when not racing is not important. I modify these cheap bikes with..... flat bars with bar ends and aero-bars for the ultimate in hand and body positions, custom high strength wheels with Schwabe marathon+ tires 26x2 for the ultimate road tire, then add SPD's and close ratio cassette, and I'm done, under $1000.00 for the most dependable road bike I have ever ridden. Comfort comes from forks with lockout option, fat 2 inch high profile tires that roll fast, never flat, and never pinch a tube and flex and roll faster over non-perfect pavement. AND a bottom bracket with near zero flex!
6) Parts, you bet, much better standards in vintage, headsets, bottom brackets, shifters, number of cogs, quill stems, handlebar diameter, brakes, seat post, chains....nearly everything a standard!! When you bought a chain, or shifters, or crankset, or freewheel....never had to specify number of gears!!! all standard, all interchangeable between manufactures. Plus we could build our own gear ratios on freewheels, I was using a custom made 13-14-15-16-17-18 six speed freewheel, could not buy this but could build it....cassettes don't have a freehub or bearings or a pawl, but cost more that a freewheel....how? $100 - $200 for a cassette?? Carbon racing bikes that are 2x (TWO TIMES!!) the cost of a Honda Motocross motorcycle??? RIP OFF!!! $3000.00 for wheels, beyond RIP OFF!!!
NOTE: In 1986 my racing mechanic put the first Shimano Dura-Ace index shifting on my race bike, it dropped chains off the front, and skipped gears on the rear under torque. It never functioned. Same for 2000 year Ultegra, never worked. These probably function today. but index shifting was the absolute worse thing to happen to bikes. Now with shortages, I see people not riding, can't get an 11 speed chain. Stupid. Here is the perfect gearing for 99% of all riders over all terrain: 22-32-42 chainrings and 11-12-13-14-16-19-23-28 cogs. A simple cheap 8 speed drivetrain that can go high into mountains and also flats with high speeds, 42x11 gear is as high as our racing gears!! (52x13 was our high) We don't need 1x's the next stupidity. And who on this earth can ride a 52x11 gear on the flats with proper technique and at least a cadence of 90??? answer= just a handful of cyclists on this planet.
Thanks very much for relaying the hard-earned wisdom, Wilderness!
Wow, I have never seen this much of useful knowledge in a single comment, not even an article. Thanks a lot for sharing! You gave me a couple of ideas on how to improve the way I ride bicycles.
you can still build and adjust your own freewheel- just start with a suntour new winner freewheel. you can get whatever you need for cogs and spacers at a good bike shop that recycles stuuf. the bodies, cones, washers and locknuts can be a little harder to find, but you won't need to have a shim board.
I am a younger rider, and it's great to hear your perspective. I assume you mean that we do not need 1x for road riding, and I would agree, but I think it makes a lot of sense for a dedicated mountain bike.
Also, now that you point it out, I have to agree that indexed shifting for front derailluers makes no sense. I don't have enough experience with non indexed shifting for the rear to say that I would prefer the easier/less frequent maintenence to the ease of setting cable tension and forgetting about it.
Also, like you said for flats, 52x11 makes no sense. That's because it's not for flats, so personally I feel that It works well especially where I live with hardly any elevation change.
As far as price is concerned, I believe we need to first consider that inflation makes a dollar from today worth a third of a dollar from 1982, so if you spent 1000 on your mtb then, it would be a little over 3000 today. As for the bikes priced at over $8,000, (my approximation of 2 times a budget honda motocross) you aren't paying for just the materials and labor. You pay for the extensive stress testing, numerous prototypes and simulations, and even wind tunnels used to maximize their performance to make the marginal gains that over a long race inevitably shave a minute off your time. Is that a ridiculous amount of money? Of course it is and I will probably never spend more than 2500 dollars on a bike(not including part swaps), but if you are a pro at the level where every Watt counts, then it makes sense. If you aren't that, then there is another bike out there for you, but I don't think it's that shocking.
I have to agree with most your points. Back then I loved a 54-16 for a lot of the racing. ON the old touring bike (custom Bob Jackson) I used a TA 46-42-28 with 13-32 with Campy Rally in the rear. I now use a Shimano 22-32-42 in the front as you mentioned. Yes 1by's are a gimmick in my mind. I cant' and won't push big gears any more, but can still spin when needed. I had BJ make sure the rear triangle was stiff enough not to flex, as I had that problem on an old Raleigh Pro.
I was fortunate enough to recieve a 1980s Bridgestone Radac 530. Beautiful piece of art even though it has some issues because it has been unused for a long time, but it still rides fine and goes real fast. Fortunately there are parts available online and in physical stores as well so fixing it would be a breeze. Happy to have something that has a history and will be talked and I will always take pride in my bike♥
Those vintage Bridgestones are beautiful bikes! Enjoy it!
@@bikestrikesrazors Hi from England ! Your right older bikes are better ! I have a few modern Carbon bikes but they feel " HOLLOW " ???? Strange ride and feel weird to me , a very hollow feeling I do not get from Alloy or even a 100 year old framed bikes they have a great feel to them and not a weird hollow feel ????
Hey, Curtis! Hello from California. :) Yep, the lighter they make the modern carbon bikes, the more "hollow" they feel. It's nice to feel a little something substantial under your legs while riding. I ride a 1920's bike and it does have a very nice feel to it!@@curtisducati
My ‘74 Paramount is as lovely as the day the ladies finished brazing the frame. Handles well, very forgiving. It can commute during the week, and on the weekend the fenders are removed, and the wheels changed-out and it’s ready for a club ride or an ABLA, or a LAW race. Ahhh… the good old days.
Those vintage Paramounts are beautiful bikes, Maxwell! Enjoy it!
The San Rensho was late to the game but I saw one and it’s amazing angles and I drooled back in the 80’s
I have a 1993 Schwinn Paramount with original components. Lots of miles on it so I a few years back I replaced them with used Dura Ace 7800 and 32 Spoke DT Swiss Wheel set. I use it as my commuter/touring bike.
I also have a modern 2011 Raleigh International Frame set constructed of Reynolds 853 steel with handcrafted chrome plated lugs and a chrome plated dual crown fork. I equipped it with Campy Athena with and polished aluminum cockpit components and topped it off with a Brooks B-17 saddle and Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheel set.
Almost every time I ride either bike someone compliments them.
Since I no longer race the advantages of a CF bike are very minimal and the disadvantages, including price, are substantial.
The really weird thing about CF road bikes I learned from an Industry insider is that they sell more CF bikes if they charge crazy prices for them than if the charge moderate prices.
Those are some beautiful bikes you have there, Mott! Thanks for watching!
My 1979 Fugi Grand Tourer I bought new 44 yrs ago. Is still an amazing bike. Rides great and still looks new.
Sounds like a cool bike, Horizon! Nothing like a vintage touring bike! :)
I still have my Raleigh Carleton i bought used in 1985! I recently replaced a few parts and was very pleased to see how easy they were to find. Thanks for this video.
Good on you for taking care of that bike all these years, Doug! Enjoy it!
@@bikestrikesrazors Thanks! My son (same size as me...) was given a beautiful Motobecane Grand Record this week which he has no interest in- so now I have new project- which is what had me searching vintage road bikes on youtube. Thanks again for your channel!
Steel is real! Quality never goes out of style.........Thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching, London!
Steel is real, real heavy that is!
Every point well made and much needed in contemporary thinking. Love toe-clips too. Yay!
Great minds think alike, Stan! :)
Except when you’re a in crash and you’re stuck in them. That where modern cleats help you out.
My 1967 Raleigh Grand Prix went into semi-retirement in 1987 when I bought my Raleigh Rocky III Mountain bike. This bike just recently received a “ Tune up” new brake pads & cables, gear cables, new chain & foam hand grips … & Tires with tubes. LOL Rides like a dream. Maybe I’ll do a restoration on the 1967 ???
I'll bet the '67 will ride like a dream, too, Brian!
I bought a basic Bianchi Trofeo back in the mid 1990s. I’ve put thousands of miles on it since, and with basic periodic tuneups, the old steel bike still runs just fine. I have a more recent carbon fiber Pinarello Gan as well which I ride every day. I really enjoy the faster rides on the newer bike, but I roll the old one out once in a while for a leisurely ride as well. Old bikes are great. Long live old bikes.
Thanks for the input! Those are two beautiful bikes you have there!
I'm more of a runner than a cyclist but I can appreciate the beauty. Plus I'm old so of course everything was better back in the day.
Funny how that happens when you get older! :)
Good points here. The most important is you can get a GREAT used bike at the same or less cost as a just “okay” new one. The point on craftsmanship is also very true. There is nothing wrong with the function of friction shifters. I greatly prefer disc brakes on mountain bikes. I have never had a mountain bike with rim brakes or a road bike, so I can’t comment on those situations.
I bought my Motobecane 12 speed, full Campy, Reynolds 521, in ‘72 and it remains, safe in my garage, a thing of beauty in yellow, black & gold.
You can't get a better bike than that, William! Enjoy it and thanks for watching!
One of my five rides is a Ron Kitching frame cs 1972 with all Campy parts except for the crankset, which I couldn't afford 45 years ago. When I rebuilt the bike as a hybrid/ city bike 5 years ago I installed a city bar, my Brooks B17 which I never liked on my Surly LHT, but also the original Universal Super 68 short drop calipers that were the pros' choice before Campy introduced their game changing side pull in the early 70s. Having lots of parts around from the era when I was racing (late '70s) usually makes repair straightforward.
Here is my 50+ years experience distilled to an aphorism: a vintage bike is a simple, precision machine, that anybody can understand. A modern bike is a complicated, precision machine that only specialists can understand.
A concise and correct conclusion, Phil!
Great video and I agree with you on every point. I have a 46 year old Paramount that I bought for $140 back in 2012 and I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Great bike and rides like a dream. I just love it and will never sell it. I did have to get new tires, tubes, and brake pads. Also I had the spokes replaced with stainless steel units. The bike shop owner had a hard time finding spokes that would fit the wide flange hubs, but eventually he found some in Oregon. He also trued the wheels, it has Araya wheels. It has a nice double-butted lugged frame in 4120 Chromoly steel. Anyway this bike is so nice and still looks nearly new with original paint and decals.
You have a beautiful bike there, Trevor! Enjoy it! Thanks for watching!
upmarket spokes are getting harder to find. i guess people return ordered spokes more often than any other bike part. when i finally found some dtswiss spokes for my roadie- they made sure to tell me they weren't returnable. i said 'understood'- i've laced many, many wheels and definitely won't be returning them. BTW, i found the spokes at 'the colorado cyclist'- good folks who offered to help me determine what i needed.
How much rhis bike in 2023
All very cool and beautiful. I had Peugeot PX10 with fancy lugs. It was wonderful. I generally am put off by the “latest” thing in, well, I guess everything. However, I don’t miss friction shifters. Indexing could be considered “tried and true.” Moving the lever, hearing that snap and feeling your cadence change is always a satisfying tactile sensation.
Hey, Mark! Those PX10's were/are beautiful bikes. Every time I attend Eroica, California, there are a few riders on black and white PX10's sporting the original Peugeot checkered jerseys. Cool stuff. The best shifting bike I ever rode had indexed downtube shifters. Better than downtube friction shifting and better than indexed "brifter" shifting. Shockingly crisp! :)
@@bikestrikesrazors I have a vintage touring bike with friction bar end shifters. Indexed shifting is OK but friction is easier to maintain maintenance wise.
@@spywriter007 Very true!
Ironically, the precision required for indexed shifting made friction shifts much easier. If anything breaks just de-click the derailleur and be on your way. Try that with integrated shifters.
i had a fuji with the early SLS? shifters. with a turn of a screw it could be changed from friction to index. i found myself preferring the friction-shift mode
I still ride my 1980s Raleigh steel bike, I changed pedals for cleats though works great. I agree carbon bikes still use a chain and sprockets. Great video, thanks for making it.
Thanks for watching. Most of the folks I know that ride vintage bikes are using clipless pedals with cleats like you are. I’m one of the few nuts still using toe clips and slit cleats. :)
I’m 68 years old and raced on steal frames in the 70’s. These days I use a Carbon frame in my older years to stay competitive on fast group rides. When ever I go back to riding a double butted steal frame, it’s like riding on a cloud. Just a wonderful feeling, my carbon frame just beats me up, it’s so much stiffer. As for components, Shimano Ultegra shifters and caliper brakes are superior to 80’s Campagnolo components. Anyway I learned to work on bikes in the old days. I’m my own mechanic on my newer one. There are plenty of parts for either bike, new or old. Old is not necessary better, it comes down to what you want to ride. Every bike has a purpose. Overall, bike riding is fun. On a huffy, a full vintage, or Carbon race bike. Get out and ride. 😊
Thanks very much for your insights, Andre! Yep, I have a carbon bike also and I love the effectiveness of the newer brakes. I really love having different types of bikes to ride (steel, carbon, vintage, newer) and I can see the benefits to all of them. :)
What a well done video. And correct on every count. I love my 1981 Miyata 1000, I've upgraded the components and gave it a new paint job and it's good to go for a long time.
Thanks, Johnny! These beautiful vintage bikes will outlast us all, and do it in style!
@@bikestrikesrazors FOR REAL!
I completely agree. I've had my 1989 Paramount OS (built in Waterford) since I bought it new with a custom blue smoke paint job, and outfitted it with mix of Suntour Superbe Pro, Mavic, and Specialized components. I'll never sell it.
Beautiful bike, Don! I actually found a period Wheaties/Schwinn jersey that I wear all the time. Now I just have to find the Paramount to match it! :)
That red bike with the yellow highlights looks fantastic! I used to ride a vintage Raleigh bike with the shifters on the down tube…you yet used to it. Stiffen the trunk and drop the hand. You can also fine tune the position of the derailleur too!
Yep, that Olmo is a stunner. :) Just did a 60 miler today with downtube shifters. No issues to report! :)
Thank you for a great video. I'm in the middle of performing a major cleanup of my 1983 Fuji Opus 3. I was remarking to my wife about the simplicity, quality and ease of maintenance of the Suntour groupset. Especially compared to the over engineered hydraulic disk brake system on my newest bike. I bought the Fuji new in 1982 and still take it out for ride every year. Don't think I'll take it on any long distance tours but its nice ride down memory lane a few time a year. Thanks again and all the best, Steve
Thanks, Steve! Don’t discount that Fuji for long tours- I rode a century not too long ago on a 1986 3Rensho and I felt just as good afterwards as I would’ve if I would’ve been riding one of my more modern bikes.
@@bikestrikesrazors Even though I would love to take my Fuji on a long tour. It's truly a race bike with 20mm sew ups, a 13x22 cassette with a 42x53 crank (very old school). The bike is in great condition except for a few scratches. Replacement tires are hard to come by these days. You inspired me to spend hours this week completely cleaning the drive train back to showroom condition. Waiting for perfect weather to take her out of a spin. It still has the original SunTour chain which only recently is showing signs of needing replacement. It makes me wonder what the bicycle industry is doing to us since I only get about 1500 miles on new chains these days. Take care, Steve
@@steveretiredandcycling Yep, that authentic gearing makes things tough if you live in any kind of hilly area. I put a 28T on the back of most of my vintage bikes so I can handle the hills around here. :)
suntour made some great stuff- even their entry-level steel suntour 'honor' was a great-shifting derailleur...
I can't yet afford expensive Vintage European bikes, but my bike stable does take advantage of the mid-level Japanese & Taiwanese offerings from the mid 80s and early 90s. My Schwinn 86 Prelude (w/Columbus tubing) has to be my favorite bike of all time. I switched it from 27" rims to 700c and it has shimanos Tricolor Groupo! I wish big companies like Shimano and Columbus re-released older groupsets for those of us reusing these classic bikes!
Those sound like some nice bikes, Cajala! There should be enough new old stock parts to keep these bikes going for decades to come. Thanks for watching!
schwinn preludes were aluminum- columbus tubes were drawn from chromoly steel. sorry to burst your bubble.
I was in the bike business from the fall of '72 to the early 1980s and agree 100%. To me, the main artistic attraction of bicycles is the fact that the entire structure and all mechanical components are exposed to view, and the classic builders like Colnago, Masi, Frejus, Holdsworth, Jack Taylor and others took full advantage of this fact. Comparing classic machines to modern CF CAD designed bikes is like comparing steam locomotives to diesels. EDIT: Life in Black and White is the perfect music for this video.
Great minds think alike! :) Wow, the 70's to early eighties was a great time to be working in a bike shop. Some beautiful stuff must have come through there!
My 2001 DeVinci is superior to this old junk and cost 300 bucks. So way more comfort and better components than the vintage garbage
@@joerenner8334 My sweet, little, Swiss oma always said: "Be nice or be quiet." Clearly advice you never received as a child.
The Yellow Jersey, in Madison, Wisconsin, had an 56cm Albert Eisentrout with a white pearlescent paint and a Campy Super Record gruppo in 1984. I had just bought my Bianchi Specialissima when the Trout arrived. To this day, I wish I would've waited a month before I made my purchase. 😂
@@keithhunter3910 the guy is entitled to his opinion
Thank YOU! for this great video about vintage, just bought last October 1, 2022 the Japan surplus bike vintage Bridgestone Roadman i love the old school😊
Those vintage Bridgestones are beautiful bikes, Edgar! Thanks for watching!
In 1977, my mother got a red Schwinn Caliente for her 13th birthday. She rode it to school and around town for a few years, and it was put away in the early 80s. I found it buried in the attic last summer, and after a cleaning, tune-up and some new rubber it runs like a dream.
Yes its heavy and the stock rim brakes aren't anything to write home about, but it shifts like butter, rides smooth and just feels like it was made with care. It is by far my favorite bike for a casual ride around town, and I can't wait till it warms up out here so I can get back on it again!
Hi Brandon! Glad to hear the Caliente is being ridden again! Those bikes were made to last!
I still have my red Suteki Japanese racing bike that I bought at Sears. I think I paid somewhere between $400 and $500 for it at the time. It may not be as well known as a Fuji but I bet it rides at least just as good with its super smooth Shimano shifters. I take great care of it and its still near mint condition. I started riding it again this past summer and I am looking forward to warmer weather again.
Good on you for taking care of that cool bike, Joe! Spring will be here before we know it, and we'll be enjoying nice rides in nice weather!
I miss my 1961 Rotrax. When I got bar-end shifters, changing gear was almost as easy as with modern shifters. I only had 2x5 gears, whereas now I have 2x11, but I only use 7 of them. That old steel bike felt like it was a part of my body.
Those Rotrax bikes were/are beautiful, Richard! I’d love to turn one up someday. :)
@Paul Whitcomb They're like hens' teeth, this side of the pond.
I've just built a new road bike; the CF frame and parts were all sourced from AliExpress, (except the cassette), and it's a 1x. The cassette is 14 to 32, which is quite workable on a 50T chainring. It's a pleasure to ride. But I'm gonna get a narrow/wide 52T chainring and a chain retainer to (hopefully) stop from dropping the chain. The gear range will be 44" to 100, which should be fine for me.
Great video! I still have and ride my 1974 Takara racer and it performs like a champ. Looks great, performs great.
Thanks for watching, Jack! It's it amazing how a bike from 1974 can still excel? If it was made well and a great bike in 1974. nothing has changed!
Hello I really enjoyed your video. I have a Bertoni road bike built with Columbus SLX steel tubing, Campagnolo dropouts, and a mix of Shimano Ultegra and Campagnolo components with dual control brake shift levers. The bottom bracket is a sealed bearing Philwood that spins so smoothly. My cassette is a 9 speed and I don't feel the need for any more cassette cogs. I used to race competitively as a cat. 3 rider but then in 1994 I got sick and have not returned to competitive cycling. OCD really screwed up my life! Anyway thank you for your video, I really appreciate it.
Thanks very much for watching, Anthony! That sounds like a beautiful bike!
Great presentation. The only point to add is geometry. A vintage raked fork displaces much of the road shock (can't say that about a strait carbon fork). The longer vintage chain stays allows for the rider to float between the wheels. The current geometries are more like riding a unicycle with handlebars.
I like updating vintage bikes with hollow-tech cranksets, freehubs, and V-brakes. Plus the tires now are greatly improved.
All possible on a vintage steel frame. You won't get me to buy or ride disc brakes or carbon anything.
I still like friction shifters better than indexing any day. It makes me feels more apart of the bike.
I'm right there with ya, Steve!
trying to envision a uni with handlebars- too funny!
yea nothing more comfortable then hoping you dont lose all your teeth trying to shift a down tube shifter. Performance geometry!
This is why I love my '92 Bridgestone RB-1 and MB-2. I bought them new and have never thought about getting a newer bike.
Hi Maggie! I had an RB-2 for a while! Great bikes!
don't you wish it was like that with CARS?
Your title is perfect! I have an ALLEZ that rides like a dream. I just bought an old ELANCE, and even though it's chromoly not Detroit steel, she's a beaut with her rusty aluminum group set. I spent my last two nights cleaning her up with AWESOME and some rust-removing specialty items. It's time-consuming work that in and of itself is the reward. I live in a 1 bdrm, and now I have 4 bikes...and I want to get more, but OLD SCHOOL !!!!!! Great video, and thank you for making it! OLD BIKES MATTER!!!!! ;) Lastly, at exactly 1:12, I paused your video--that's a great shot with the shoes, bike, and you!!!! BUT THOSE SOCKS???!!! lol, you even went old school on the socks!!!!
Hi KR and thanks for watching! I know a few folks that live in small spaces that have lots of bikes. :) I think as long as they're not in the kitchen or your bed, you're OK. :) Funny you mention the socks. I went on a vintage ride and one of the riders was taking photos of all the riders (white) socks to show his wife. He had to show her how he needed white socks for a "vintage" ride. I guess she didn't believe him. :)
@@bikestrikesrazors I saw a Facebook post with someone who had just washed their road bike, AND had it on the foot of their bed, 😂. Great stories!!! Thank you again and best wishes always ❤️ ride on!😎👊
Those classic 70s-80s european racers will never go out of Style.
In 1985 I spent $1650 for a De Rosa with the best Campagnolo Record component group. At the time, it was hard to spend more on a steel frame bike. I still ride it among other bikes I have. Longer wheelbase and it's steel....steel is pretty sweet.
Gotta love De Rosa's, James! I'd love to add one to my (meager) collection some day!
And those were '85 dollars...today 1650 buy decent aluminium bicycle but nowhere top of the line. Practical yes, but not beautiful.
I agree 100% with you... I not long ago set out a goal to ride 50 miles in a day, I rode 16 on my beach cruiser before it broke down, so I walked down the street to find a 1970's era Gitane Grand Sport Deluxe for sale for 60 dollars, plus it was a California bike so basically 0 rust... I ended up riding the last 34 miles on it without even touching a thing, it needs some TLC but either way I am keeping it forever.
Great story! Those 70's Gitane bikes were some of the first "real" race bike that came over to the U.S. during the bike boom.
Just ridden a 100 mile sportive with over 12000 ft of climbing on my 1987 Columbus SLX Puch, bought new as my first serious race bike in 1987 as a 17 YO. All the talk at the finish line was of the vintage bike that passed them.
Bravo! It's good to remind those on modern bikes that the "oldies" are still excellent riders!
Another great vid , I liked the one about the campy components, I had the same post type campy derailier on my 1st road bike it worked pretty good , at some point it failed and I replaced the front and rear with the 1st shimano derailiers that came out can't remember the groupo name bit it was such a huge upgrade , the bike was a touring bike that I trying to make a race bike .
I've never found the maker with lots of researching , it was from a manufacturer named Almacco the model was called Spinn . I was 17 and never looked back , really enjoy your videos and narreration skills , keep them coming
Thanks very much, Jason! Yeah, I think Shimano really snuck up on Campagnolo due to improved functionality with lots of components. It's that "build a better mousetrap" thing. I just searched for Almacco Spinn also and can't find a thing. Strange how some manufacturers vanish into the past. Well, I go to a lot of swap meets and now I have that name in my head, so I'll let you know if I see one. :)
@@bikestrikesrazors it really was a sweet bike , I had no idea what I had , everyone else around me was riding a scwinn Varsity so I thought I was fast , the bike was 24 pounds before I put race wheels on it , went away from the 27 x 1/4 to 700 c wheels
I started running into guys with Jerseys and shoes and rode with them that bike was my catalyst as I was non athletic prior to riding , . I gota say man you got class , you always answer comments, and in a positive manner, your videos are informative and interesting.
@@jasonnealey8325 I completely agree with your opinion.
@@jasonnealey8325 Thanks again, Jason. Hey, answering comments is the least I can do if someone takes the time to watch a video and comment themselves. Besides, it's cool to have a little community going here. :) That bike must have been high quality to weigh that little back then. Back in those days, I could only dream of riding a Schwinn Varsity and I tried picking one up at a local flea market lately just to see what it weighed. Thing must have weighed fifty pounds! :)
I bought a 20 year old racing bike last year during lockdown. I tried modern bikes with a similar fit out but they just didn't compare. That ultegra 6000 series is just so much better than the plastic replacements on bikes now. I thought it was a steel bike because the welds were so beautiful but it is a well made aluminum beauty.
Sounds like a beautiful bike, Amanda! Yep, a well designed aluminum bike can ride just as well and look just as beautiful as steel! Glad you found a keeper!
ultegra is the intellectual property of shimano, LTD japan, and is a family of components- not a bicycle- take another look at it.
steel welds are usually ugly, aluminum uses tig which has to look good to even get done
In 1975 I bought a Motobecane Grand Record, Reynolds 531 silver with black and gold pin striping and had a
Campy Record groupset with pedals and bars put on it a few years later. Large frame so it's a bit flexy but
that makes it comfortable. Going to be fifty years old in a couple of years. Cost $350 for the bike and just
under $1000 for the Campy upgrade. It's been used as just a road bike. It has a Blackburn rack on it to carry
shoes and beer.
I had the chance to buy a 70's Motobecane a few years back. It was a beautiful bike (but not a Grand Record) but the frame was way too big for me. Still think about that bike!
i find blackburn accessories to be overrated and overpriced. back in the day they had little competition.
I just picked up one ‘grande record’ for free from my neighbour ‘cleaning up the basement’. Full campagnolo/shimano/ cinelli running gear . Tires were flat, that’s all. But I need new rubber, sort of deteriorated.
7:49 a line drawn up through the head tube intersects his ear. This results in a thing called "magic" and the bike becomes perfectly stable and riding a 1" line very simple.
I agree 100%.. I’m really curious about those shoes pedals into Clips you have. I have been looking for a nice set up like that.
Hey, KST! Those are vintage Dettos with single slot plastic cleats. They'll work with any vintage pedal with a toe clip & strap. In the old days, they would snug down the leather strap so there was no way your foot would come out without loosening the strap. I'm not that brave, but they still work well enough without pulling the strap tight.
Really nice I am going to research those. I am not able to use clipless pedals because of my wacky feet. I can’t find shoes. I’ve been really in love with these antique petals that I see on track bikes. Thanks for the info!
Still been riding my 2000 steel 853 Lemond Buenos Aires...
just in 2007 I stripped it to the frame...and put a new carbon Easton EC90 fork and Dura Ace components... a titanium Colnago seat post...with a new seat...a carbon handle bar...a carbon stem ..
left the original wheels Rolf Vector
I love it.... Lemond frame is great 👍
Yep, those Lemond Buenos Aires are great bikes! Enjoy it! Watch the hubs on the Rolf Vector wheels- I had a hub crack on my while riding. Trek honored the warrantee on the wheel even though I had purchased it ten years earlier.
@@bikestrikesrazorsthose Rolf Vector wheels are still working good but I am planning to buy a carbon wheelset in springtime...Compy Bora 35
my one of the choices
Its extremely helpful to buy a vintage ENGLISH bicycle, since the english / UK standards ALL became the ISO standards : 27.2 seatposts, ISO headsets, ISO bottom brackets, ISO freewheels, it's why I collect Raleigh/Carlton bikes, to a great extent ... The only thing that is NOT fully compatible is the modorn Shimano SIS (1984+) derailleur hanger, they are FARTHER from the rear axle than traditional campagnolo derailleur hangers. This means that if you mount a modern Shimano Indexing derailleur on a vintage campagnolo (or Huret or Simplex or Suntour) derailleur hanger, you may encounter cases where the jockey wheels hit the freewheel in the lowest gear.
Thanks for the information, D! I didn't know that about the SIS stuff.
27.2 is a seatpost standard, however the reaming process after allowing for slight distortion from brazing heat, could vary slightly. A good custom builder would supply an exact seat post without pinching or stretching the seat clamp, and lots of post sizes were available.
Great input! Those bikes are beautiful as well! Just subscribed
Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!
@@bikestrikesrazors My pleasure! Definitely a fan of this channel!
I had a Gitane, built on Reynolds 531 tubing with chrome touches. Sold it to a friend who totaled it in a major crash that destroyed EVERYTHING, from the handlebars to both wheel rims. But like something from out of space, the frame remained unscathed.
Upon very close inspection, the fork showed the slightest sign of a bend, not even a 1/4 inch if that. I bought it back and rebuilt it, and took it on tour across Europe, covering about 2000 miles, through the French Alps and all kinds of terrain. I would never trust a new, carbon composite frame, no matter what the price.
Vintage 531 is time (and crash) tested. And looks beautiful, double-butted tubing, breathtaking craftsmanship. Nice video!
Hard to beat 531! I have a 1972 Allegro in 531 and absolutely love the ride! Thanks for watching!
I have a 1986 steel Nishiki and a 2021 carbon Orbea (both used), I love both for the purposes they serve and I have literally never had any of the problems with modern bikes you speak of. Both have their strengths and limitations. The best bike out there is the bike you're on and the bike you love. I have both because I love both, both are a joy to service and both have a place in my day to day use.
Its easy enough to make a video shooting holes in investment one over the other, regardless of which you're partial to.
Hi Aram,
Yes, for the sake of the video, I was pointing out the advantages of vintage bikes, mainly because they are dismissed by so many. I have a few "modern" bikes and enjoy riding them often!
@@bikestrikesrazors both are great! those dismissing the vintage must be some loaded weight weenies! lol cheers.
Hi Aram, I still have my Nishiki Prestige I purchased in the 80s. Love it. I rode it in the Eroica California, a bike tour exclusively for vintage steel frame bikes.
well said
one year on Orbea?? Thats not much time to discuss its longevity is it?
Great video. Like others here, I also rode a Gitane back in the 1970s. Regrettably, long since gone. While I like the points made in the video, riders should not overlook that some carbon bikes are now also "vintage." A few days ago I picked up a 1995 Trek OCLV 5000 (the only year this model was painted green, as far as I know) for about $200. The previous owner had taken great care of it. This bike rides great and is a blast. Very simple components, relatively speaking. For my purposes, this purchase was money well spent over high-priced "modern" bikes. My next purchase will be a vintage steel bike. Everyone, please enjoy your riding, whatever your preferences.
I still have my circa 1990’s OCLV and it’s one of the best riding bikes I’ve ever ridden, Alejandro! Trek did something right with those!
I second that.
I wish I still had my 1977 Ferdi Kessels TDF Road race bike frame #32. All Campy & Cinelli it rode like a dream
That sounds like a fantastic bike, Miles! I wonder where it is now...Thanks for watching!
I splurged and had new wheels built for my then $400 1984 Bertin track bike.
I did have it geared down a sprocket size, my knees are older. And replaced the broken funky French pedals. I had the funky French chain ring replaced with Campi in the 90s.
And it still rolls
Sounds like a cool bike, David! Enjoy it!
I got a Bertin and it's magical!!literally it just pulls forward without me pedaling!!wicked fast 44mph when it help peddle also!!the original owner died and I think his spirit is inside it now!!!
That Frejus is beautiful! you make a lot of very good points, I am still riding my 1987 BH Campagnolo (bought new by me), built in Spain, modest Columbus Aelle frame but given a very decent paint job, and equipped with a Triomphe groupset, sure shes developed some minor Patina over the years and have changed minor parts here and there, but she still looks well -- "sexy" shes still all Vintage Campagnolo with some Zues here & there, we have done lots of miles and grown old together , touch wood never dropped her, and you can always refurb / overhaul , whatever ,vintage Campanolo one last time.
Thanks for watching, jezztech! I always tell people I'll change the components on my bikes when they wear out. So far, I've just had to replace chains, cassettes and a few chainrings! I think the mid to late 80's was a golden age for bikes.
campy stuff never impressed me- i had a campy seat clamp bolt on one of my nissan lightweight bikes just so i could say it had campy stuff on it. now- nothing campy- who cares?
@@tommurphy4307 no one s asking you to care.
As an old guy age 69 I wish I still had in my possession the bikes I owned in the 60’s-80’s instead of discarding them for either a pittance or just tossed them aside. Also I miss the great cars( didn’t know it at the time) like the old classy Pontiacs , Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Chevys that my dad traded in for a few hundred bucks when he bought a new car. The ‘65 Bonneville convertible, Olds 442, fishtail Buick Riviera. Man would I love to own those now!
Hey, Mark! I know just how you feel. It’s hard to believe that design has gone so backwards. Everything from bicycles to automobiles (which now all look the same) to motorcycles (Oh man, those beautiful old motorcycles) to architecture. It seems that beauty has taken a back seat to efficiency. Makes for a rather boring world. :)
Oh, as I understand you....
@@bikestrikesrazors Joe, 100%
@@bikestrikesrazors Now the price is determined by the nameplate...
i just wish i still had my '72 datsun 510
I bought a Bob Jackson Supreme back in 1983 kitted out with Campagnolo Record /Super Record.It was a delight to ride and I commuted on it as often as possible when I lived and worked in London. Imoved on to a 2005 Kuota Kharma carbon frame that is more or less of classic dimensions. All the parts are Campy Chorus/Centaur and it's a great ride. That's about as far as I would go away from the conventional road bike, no electronic shifting, no fugly disc brakes, no fat tyres and butt ugly frames. When my carbon frame gives up I'll migrate the parts over to a steel frame. I also ride a Makino steel keirin adapted for road use and a GT Zaskar titanium MTB. All the bikes I'll ever need.
Those are some beautiful bikes you have there, Kieron! There's a local shop here that still has a few new Bob Jackson frames hanging in the window. I'm tempted! It's a shame they went out of business after all these years.
Great video! I own a 70's road bike and dont ever plan on getting rid of her. If it would not be much trouble, could anyone tell me which bottle cage is at the 0:30 mark? My frame doesnt have bottle cage mounts and that is exaclty what i have been looking for,
Hey, Lucas! It's called the Elite Eroica water bottle cage and comes as a single or double cage. I'll attach a link in my next response as sometimes RUclips blocks posts with links.
Here's a link:
www.google.com/search?q=elite+eroica+single+mount+bottle+cage&source=hp&ei=95kqY8bTBJvfkPIPmsOM-AY&iflsig=AJiK0e8AAAAAYyqoB0RrtyfidzlN-ToXa4ExKFzWcrow&oq=Eroica+elite+bott&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYATIGCAAQHhAWMgYIABAeEBYyBQgAEIYDOhEILhCABBCxAxCDARDHARDRAzoLCAAQgAQQsQMQgwE6CwguELEDEIMBENQCOggILhCxAxCDAToICC4QgAQQsQM6CAgAELEDEIMBOgQIABADOgUILhCABDoICAAQgAQQsQM6CwguEIAEELEDEIMBOgUIABCABDoLCC4QgAQQsQMQ1AI6CwguEIAEEMcBEK8BOggIABAeEA8QFlAAWI4yYKRBaABwAHgAgAGQAYgB4Q2SAQQ3LjEwmAEAoAEB&sclient=gws-wiz
2:23 wow that’s a bad ass classic Jersey! CINZANO cycling team! Whew! Awesome 👍
Thanks, Pat! I've had that jersey for almost twenty years now, but it looks like Vintage Velos is still selling it (although they're out of stock right now):
www.vintagevelos.com/en/team-wool-jerseys/11-2808-cinzano-wool-jersey.html
I have both a Colnago Super and a Trek 5500 OCLV 120 and both are beautiful bikes with great handling. The Trek is made of carbon, but it looks really beautiful with its very unusual shape and a mix of 9-speed DA 7700 with 7400 brakes at only 7.3 kg, it is also incredibly fast.
Nice Colnago! I always wanted one but still haven't scratched that itch. :) My all time favorite bike was an OCLV. It was a rebranded Lemond with the same great 9 speed DA you have. That thing was a rocket on the hills! I'd still have it but a car "left hooked" me. The bike took a hard hit and I faired only a little better :)
@@bikestrikesrazors sorry to hear that- hope you have completely recovered
I bought a ten speed in 1978. Rode the daylights out of it. Let it go for years, then took it to a bike shop where he got it rolling for $100! That was 7 years ago and I put thousands of miles on it since then
Those bikes were built to last, DV! Keep it going, and thanks for watching!
One of the biggest gripes i have with modern disposable carbon bikes - and aircraft come to that - is that not only will these things have a shorter lifespan than a traditional steel, ally or titanium frame, but they cannot be recycled at end of life and at best will be incinerated.
Wow, what goes around comes back! Starting to hear fond remembrances of friction down tube shifters and lugged steel frames. I got into cycle in mid life crisis 40 years ago. The best could be had for around $1500. In '83 or '84, Gita started importing DeRosa, one frame model, the Professional, to address the booming criterium market in the US. It was the last bike Eddy Merckx rode and copied with his own brand, so, yeah, good enough for me! It's Columbus SL, SLX seat tube on mine, chromed flat fork crown, chromed right chain stay and dropouts, steep angles, 74-75 degrees.
Riding it is Italian opera. It does everything you ask faithfully, so well, I've crashed it several times, fortunately at slow speeds under 10 mph! I think they call it over steer, or in Italian operas, "flighty." It was geared 53-42, 13-21, meant to ride hard. The harder you rode the more solid it felt. I'll never forget how stabile it was descending Mt. Wilson, CA, at 48 mph, despite the steep head angle. Its full Campy Super Record, maintainable with simple tools in a home work stand. Sprayed some lube inside the frame tubes when overhauling the threaded cup and cone BB, and no rust over 70.000 miles. Threaded BBs are coming back after press fits too often came loose.
There's nothing stronger than a copper brazed investment cast steel lug, so in a crash steel bends along the tubes away from the joints. Most of the time, a steel frame builder can bend chromium molybdenum tubing back into shape. Crashed the commuter once, bent the fork, and dimpled the top tube and down tube. The frame builder bent it all back into proper geometry and I'm still depending on it 30 years later. The tubing is extremely dense and amazingly strong. Has anyone tried to bend a CRMO tube? You'll see how strong! Reynolds 531 used manganese molybdenum. Manganese was touted to be more "resilient" and more comfortable for long distance "touring" bikes.
I've worked in 4 bikes shops in the last 30 years and had many opportunities to snag the latest tech, but declined every time. What I had was better in every way riding in the real world. It was "overbuilt," worked superbly well, and lasted forever. Have been riding the commuter bike with investment cast lugs, Columbus SLX seat and down tube, SP chain stays, SP being a little stouter than SL, and SL seat stays. I put fenders and rack on it, ridden it at least 75,000 miles over 35 years, and the Campy Record chromed steel headset and BB and "butter knife" Campy down tube shifters might last another 75,000 miles.
Re-spoked aluminum rims a couple of times onto the tried and true Campy cup and cone hubs on both bikes and wheels are good for another 40,000 miles. Well tensioned 36 spoke wheels climb like bandits, survive the occasional spill and stay true forever. DT stainless steel spokes are still available but haven't had to replace any of them.
Italian shoe maker Marresi makes an old fashioned leather shoe that fits neatly into toe clips and doesn't rub the right chain stay, but on the commuter I can ride on errands with narrow walking shoes. Slotted cleats now available with Look drillings, are simple to clean up: just take a key and scrape the dirt out of the slot. When Look introduced their clipless system, racers balked at how it took away the feeling of being firmly connected to the cranks, especially sprinting. So makers stiffened up the shoes and put velcro straps around the uppers, but they still felt "soft," so makers then widened the platform back to the width of the old gossamer "rat trap" cages. Some Keirin racers still use toe clips and straps. Toe straps don't come loose. The shoes don't have to be especially stiff because the feet push down on the expansive pedal cage centered over the axle. The clip and strap hold the foot on the pedal when unweighting the upstroke.
So if you ride outside of highly competitive club rides or racing, steel is real. The old stuff works great. Simplicity has its rewards. To me, that's what cycling is all about. Finally, these latest tech gravel bikes weigh a pound or two more than the old 22 and 24 pound steel bikes above, and clearance for 28 mm tires is where its at on paved roads.
Keep it up, man! Fascinating subject! Disk brakes, anyone? Electronic shifting on 12 cog clusters and one chain ring? Gimme a break.
I agree completely with everything you said, Paul! I suspect that most of what passes for innovations in the cycling world are just ways to try and convince riders to dump their old bikes and buy a new one. It works for the bike shops and manufacturers, but when you step back from it, it just looks silly, and even worse, if riders are actually giving up objectively better bikes to buy the next new thing, it's actually kind of tragic. Man, I always wanted a vintage DeRosa! Some day! :)
@@bikestrikesrazors You're so right about bike marketing! Great steel bikes don't wear out like cars. Good ones last forever. Steel still maintains market share through all the aluminum and carbon transformations. DeRosa didn't catch on all that well in the '80s in the US. I never saw them on group rides or crits around DC, TX, or LA. Riders would half wheel on their Colnago, Ciocc, Pinarello, Bianchi, and they'd always ask, "DeRosa? Wuzzat?" They looked down on naming a bike after a flower, the only thing I figured. As the years passed, club riders would mock, "Steel is real!" The Ford mechanic, a tall, lanky guy who always rode up front, sure enough bought a Masi. Geometries vary, but I'd guess you're riding a superb example of the art of Italian frame builders. Thanks for the history!
@@paulmcknight4137 DeRosa had/has such huge palmares in the European racing community but I'm guessing there just wasn't that much of an effort on their part to export/market to America back in the day. I have a 1981 Olmo that constantly gets the comment "What's an Olmo"? They only imported to the American market for a few years then gave up on it, so very few folks in these parts know what an Olmo is.
@@bikestrikesrazors Olmo was up there with the best! I guess in the early '80s, most small "boutique" Italian builders hadn't tapped into the American market yet. Bianchi was a big deal with the snobs before Colnago took the mantle, deservedly so, I might add! Knew a guy who rode an Olmo. He was deeply in love! There just aren't all that many bikes that inspire such love! Tommasini used to appear frequently. Masi is another brand that grabbed a US following. From under the bleachers at Vigorelli race track to LA, California! Don't know how long it lasted, a few years anyway. A friend inherited a Masi from his dad. It's a beaut. 3Rensho I read originally built bikes for famous keirin racers, the toughest riders in the sport. They had legendary handling heard tell. The one pictured is a beaut! Appreciate the pictures! Nice stuff.
@@paulmcknight4137 Thanks, Paul! Here in the Sacramento suburbs in the early 1980's you never saw anything close to a nice bike in the local shops. I distinctly remember when a local bike shop got in a single lower line Bianchi, but it was still Celeste and had a Campy drive train. They placed it up on top of a counter like it was on an alter and everyone would stand around and "ooh" and "aww". No one around these parts ever would've bought it, but it sure was inspiring to look at. :)
I have a mid 80s Bridgestone racing bike and let me tell you…I LOVE IT. The only other bike that compared was my trek 1000
Those ‘80’s Bridgestones are beautiful bikes, Dan! Thanks for watching and enjoy that bike!
@@bikestrikesrazors yes sir! Thx 4 the reminder these older bikes are FANTASTIC
Bridgestone Were triathlon bikes in the early 80's great geometry!!
One other pro for the friction team I don't hear too many people bring up, is ease of groupset replacing and mixing and matching. Since friction doesn't care about cable pull ratio's or having perfect alignment you can upgrade components or swap brands without much trouble other than just putting on the new parts. You don't even need to undo your cockpit depending on location of shifters.
Even the argument against downtube/stem shifters can be fixed with Gevenalle "Frifter" Friction Brifters. Brake levers that let you relocate your DT shifters to the hoods. While I can't say how they ride, they do offer the same simplicity and reliability of friction without removing your hands.
Good point, Thumbly! I just went through a compatibility nightmare trying to change the rear mech on a modern bike. Yeesh!
@@bikestrikesrazors Yep, fell in love when I got bored and threw a Shimano 10-spd 11-36t cassette on an 8sp freehub, and managed to use the original 7 speed rear derailleur with it. All it took was a thumbshifter or a Microshift Sram 11 speed bar end in friction mode
@@ShortGuac well ya gotta remember the cog-spacing drops to 4mm with the 10-11 speed cassettes. the width of a 10-speed cassette is 36mm and the width on the 7 speed freewheels is 30mm- so not that much of a difference. sometimes you can get away with the old shifter- only way to know for sure is to try it.
Great video!!! I purchased my first vintage Velo Sport in the late 70s. Last weekend, I rode it in Niagara Falls to Niagara on the Lake and did 78 kms that included a ride from St Catherines to Niagara. In 2020, I had a tuneup with a new free wheel, new handle bar tape. In July 2021, I had a flat on my front wheel and due to the pandemic there were NO 27 x 1 1/8 tires available. I had to buy Panaracer Pasela 27 x 1 1/4. The problem I am having is taking off the front wheel so that I can lock it with the back wheel with a Kryptonite U lock. I have emailed Continental to ask if they have any 27 x 1 1/8 tires and no reply yet. Only one bike shop in Toronto has the tire. Yesterday, I had to buy a Kryptonite cable so that I can lock up the front wheel as that will prevent pulling and pushing the wheel back into the fork. Do you know where I can buy a Continental Ultra Sport tires 27 x 1 1/8?
Hi and thanks for watching! It's great to hear about nice bikes still getting used. It looks like the Vermont Bicycle shop has those tires. They're at Vermontbicycleshop dot com.
My Dad had a Nishiki International when He was 20. We still have it and I'm going to get it up and running again.
Nishiki made some great bikes! Glad to hear your dad's bike will be put back in service!
@Bikes, Trikes & Razors! The Japanese in general make really great stuff. ESPECIALLY vintage stuff.
That Frejus must be over 50 years old but it still looks great. That will never happen with carbon fiber.
I'll agree completely, David. More than likely, in fifty years, most carbon fiber bikes will be in a garbage can. Now I just made myself sad. :( Who knows, maybe some will survive. :)
One thing we have lost is those beautiful steel forks. With disc brakes the fork has to be beefy because of the torque exerted across the length of the fork leg. This is the secret of the steel ride feel; it's not compliance in the frame, it's the fork. On the flip side, tires were impractically narrow because in the days before power meters people thought that was actually faster. So what you really want is a vintage *touring* bike, which unlike its racing sibling is completely suitable for its original purpose today and has clearance for 35mm tires.
Hi Matthew. I remember in the late 90's when everyone had to ditch their steel forks for carbon forks on their steel road bikes!
@@bikestrikesrazors Well, not everyone, but certainly people who just had to have the latest thing. The problem with the latest thing is often you're turning from a mature technology to one that is in its infancy. Remember how harsh those early aluminum bike frames were?
These days a designer can make a great frame out of any of the common materials -- steel, aluminum, carbon, titanium, they each have their merits. Steel is a good choice for custom builders and smaller scale manufacturers, but aluminum makes more sense for huge operations like Giant, and carbon makes sense if you're building a bike to win a Grand Tour.
One thing that steel clearly wins on is durability. If a steel frame is not abused or allowed to rust, it's pretty close to immortal. Today you can have a hobby of restoring and riding vintage 80s bikes. But in the 2060s the supply of 2020s bikes isn't going to be anything like our supply of 1980s bikes. Aside from the odd aluminium or carbon bike that survived because it never got much use, most of what will be left will be steel bikes from boutique-y brands like Ritchey.
@@bikestrikesrazors The idiots did. Others did not.
22-23mm/25mm tires are just fine. You need not go wider. With carbon, you lose more than just the classic steel fork. With good steel that is properly designed - balanced, brazed, you HAVE compliance throughout the ENTIRE frame. A great and still superior set of 32x3x-2.0/1.8 with brass nipples wheels make it right. Today's carbon bikes have no aesthetic, ride like crap and are no faster.
@@grumpynerd Pretty close to immortal is right! I just finished squaring away a steel bike from 1915 and while it's a heavy beast, it's still perfectly ridable!
Have owned nothing but vintage steel bikes since the early 1970's bike boom, went from a Peugeot U08 to a Raleigh Super Course then a Sabatini Record ( full Campy Nuovo Record ) which I rode from 1978 until 2013 when I sold it to a collector and started trying some modern steel touring bikes including a Rivendell Bleriot and Romulus - which I should have kept come to think of it. Tried a U.K. market Raleigh touring model that replaced the International in the early '80's, quite nice actually. . Ended up with a Rawland Stag rando 650b frame in 2014 that I built up which prompted me to purchase a 1981 Fuji S12S and convert it to a traditional front bag mounted 650b rando bike as well, rides so nicely and handles great to the point where it seems the bike was designed for it.
Recently bought a collector's white Gitane Tour De France which is always a pleasure to ride, even with 25mm tubulars. The bike is as close to new as one could hope to find and glad I made the decision to buy it, a rare gem.It needed a thorough cleaning detailing and regreased bearings but worth the effort. Beyond that I also ride a 1983 Kuwahara Cascade, very good quality early mountain bike. Bottom line is I find the vintage steel frames more comfortable, many modern frames are built of oversized tubing and tend to be stiffer. Understandable for heavier riders, touring etc. but then thinner gauge tubing such as Reynolds and Tange as two examples withstood a lot of abuse with no issues.
One thing is certain, I have no desire to own a modern carbon framed bike. I do have Campagnolo 10 speed ergo shifters on the Rawland but contemplating bar ends at some point, the drivetrain is Shimano mountain 9 speed with an early Shimano long cage derailleur and TA Cyclotourist triple crank set, had to use a Shimano Deer Head front derailleur due to crank arm / chain ring clearance. Looks better just the same. At least any number of modern production steel frames from such companies as Surly, Rivendell and Velo Orange have colourful paint in comparison to the overwhelming number of bland carbon bikes.
Those are some cool bikes you have there, Neymar, but I don't know how you brought yourself to sell that Sabatini after having it for all those years. :) The build on that Rawland sounds interesting- Nice to be able to pick and choose what works best. I just found an early Specialized that has one of those Shimano Deer Head rear derailleurs. First time I've ever seen one in person!
It's like when I had my '68 Mustang GT convertible where I live. Ferrari, Lamborghinis, McLarens are almost everywhere; but I got more smiles, more thumbs up, more compliments and more photos than just about any Ferrari owner.
My dad had a '66 Mustang he bought in 1970. Love those Mustangs! :)
This maybe works for special collector's items, but my ordinary old steel bike is no work of art. The frame might be from 1984, but it's rusted, the paint is chipped and was probably ugly even when new. The components are from all over, the saddle is new from China, the derailleurs are 1989 Tourney. I don't care about components being era-appropriate, or company-specific. If it works, or especially if it's cheaper, modern tech isn't inherently worse.
The bike rides very well, and despite having put no thought into weight when building it, it's "only" 12 kg. It's a good bike. Great for around the city and showing off for vintage street cred. But on long tours? I'll take my carbon frame and Shimano 105 any day.
For what it's worth though, I completely agree with your closing thoughts. The 1984 frame I mentioned was literally thrown away by the previous owner. I pulled it out of the bin and many components, dollars and, man-hours later, I built myself perhaps one of the slickest city bikes out there. One that I wouldn't be afraid of taking on a gran fondo -- Just, I'd prefer to take my carbon frame while I have the choice ;)
It's true, not every old bike is a beauty. :) I go back and forth between my carbon frames and steel, and while one of my carbon bikes is slightly lighter than all the others, I don't really notice a performance and comfort difference on long rides with the similar aged steel. I do start feeling the drag of all the extra weight once I get back to 1960's bikes. Thanks for watching and commenting, Jari!
I paid 600 for my Bianchi with Campagnolo Victory components back in the early 80s, but I ended up bolting on upgrades for years afterwards. I made the mistake of leaving it behind at an ex GF's house and she got rid of it. Man, I still wish I had that bike.
That bike's still out there somewhere, Robert! Maybe you'll find it again someday! I found a nice Serotta at a flea market. Woman selling it said she had just gotten divorced and it belonged to her husband so she just wanted to get rid of it. Poor guy. :)
women absolutely adore throwing away our treasures. chalk it up to their unending jealousies!!! I feel your pain but encourage you to get dirty fixing up another wonderful Bianchi! 👍
You are definitely not alone. A riding buddy of mine had the exact same thing happen to his expensive road machine.
I have a custom hand built road bike, a trek MTB, and a Peugeot touring bike, all from the 80s. Remarkably, many of the components, such as the bottom bracket, hubs, rims, cassettes (all indexed 7 speed), stems, chain sets, seat posts, head sets, front mechs, rear mechs, chains, inner and outer cables, ferrules, rims, brake blocks, cantilevers, and all bearings, are interchangeable between these three bikes, even though those bikes were built for entirely different purposes.
Needless to say, I decided to stock up with a few spare parts, which I think was a sensible strategy, and, apart from tires and tubes, I haven't actually needed to visit a bike shop for the last thirty years.
The bike industry does everything it can to force people into buying replacement bikes as frequently as possible, but here's the point - my decision to "stick" with 80s bikes, has probably saved me at least 100,000 pounds real terms over the last 35 years.
I have no doubt, Neil! There are so many parts floating around for the older bikes, we should be good for our lifetime. :) I just tried to put a 10-speed compact crank on my 90's steel bike (with an 8-speed group) to make it a little easier on the hills and I'm running into issues. Should've just stuck with the older stuff! :)
I own a Puch from the same era and a 64 F250 to haul with. My son went on a 50 mile ride with his employees and most could not finish with their carbon bikes. He finished with a smile using my chromoly classic.
Excellent! It's amazing that these bikes are still going strong after so many years.
I got an old schwinn Le Tour off of Craigslist a couple years ago because it looked like the varsity I rode to school. Seems like every time I take it for a ride someone tries to buy it.
Those old Schwinns are getting rarer all the time! Maybe the collectors are finally realizing that. They’re dang cool bikes!
i have a 57cm up for grabs if you need a spare.
Modern bicycles are too expensive. Would love to have one, but content with my completely restored Dave Scott centurion. Great perspectives, Thanks
I have a friend that loves those Dave Scott Centurions above all others! I'm still looking for a "modern" bike that feels as good as some of my older ones. :)
@@bikestrikesrazors I ride this road bike 7 or 10miles a day. New paint,decals,bottom bracket with ceramic bearings.
@@davidbraxton1725 Excellent! Happy riding!
That's true but salaries are much higher too.
Love my "Miami Vice"
I have been riding since the early 50s. I have owned about 100 bikes. I will admit to owning two "carbon" bikes.
I have a Giant CADEX III in near mint original condition. A mountain bike with alloy "lugs". I keep it as a collectible souvenir. I ride it on rare occasions.
I also have a near mint 1991 Specialized ( evil empire) Allez Epic, top of the line, carbon bike with alloy lugs. . It, too, is a reminder of how wonderful steel bikes are. I do use it on occasion replete with toe clips and downshifters.
As to current rides I still have my 1981 MIYATA AERO Pro bought new. Mostly original with a smattering of Suntour Superbe, Shjimano and CAmpy. Custom paint and it can barely take 23s.. I often use it with Conti 20s which are less than 23. . 40 years of fantastic riding.
Along with that I have my 1982 SOMEC, also bought new from Amber Cycles sales (Florida) Had it shipped to Napa CA where I rode it many many miles during the 80s up on Mt Veeder (my home was there) highway 12, Silverado Trail, Lake Berryessa (sp).. hundreds of miles around Monterey Peninsula and Big Sur and for the last 22 years lots if mile sin So Oregon. There is no other bike like this one. Worn, but original, white pearl paint over a chromed, pantographed frame, pin striped in blue. All Campy; now removing my highly customized vintage Suntour Bar Ends and re-installing the pantographed down tube shifters. It sports toe clips and , industrial quality, brake and derailleur cables. I can get 25s on this bike. Much like my 1963 MGB gets looks at old car meets while Porsches and the like are ignored, The SOMEC gets ogled as a rolling bit of art. 3 cheers for Colombus Tubing and archaic Campy derailleurs
and those out of favor hand crafted chrome lugs.
Modern rides include a custom, bought new, 2010 Rivendell HUNQAPILLAR go anywhere, ride any surface behemoth; mint with its elephant gray paint and kidney bean trim and Old English white hand pinstriping. 52 MM SCHWALBE tires completes the mechanics of a most formidable steed. Perfect for any type of riding but favors the unknown challenge of distance and terrain. A modern relic.
The other bike we have is my wife's RIVENDELL CHEVIOT... look it up.. another no finer, all purpose, last forever, joy to ride, jewel.
I wonder how long it will take for the riding public to wise up to the fragility and temporary phenomenon of the two wheeled carbon imprint. Answer, when the next gimmick hits the market.
One other personal observation made over many years.. it seems that those who ride steel framed , lugged bikes are more respectful of automobile drivers, pedestrians, other cyclists, and rules of the road. They also use their bikes and have purpose other than become exhibitionists with yet another vehicle by which they display their "power" and wealth in order to establish their superiority in the social pecking order.
JMNSHO.
Great post, Jeff! It's a bit sad to see future riders "conned" away from truly beautiful, eternally functional bikes in aide of simply increasing profits for bike sellers (note I didn't say bike manufacturers, because the bike companies no longer manufacture their own bikes). Those SOMECs are amazing bikes! I had a chance to pick up a beautiful example a few years back and I'm still kicking myself for not grabbing it when I had the chance!
I'm trying to figure a way to upgrade my aluminum 2007 Specialized Tricross from STI to downtube shifters, buying an old clamp on shifter doesn't work, tubes are too fat now. The STI shifters are really poor for shifting while wearing gloves or mittens and the break levers are too far away from the bar for my smaller hands to reach.
Hmm...you could try bar end shifters like the Microshift levers and fit some vintage brake levers.
www.modernbike.com/product-2126209539?gclid=CjwKCAjw2vOLBhBPEiwAjEeK9swopyK-3vPQi-fu-VBipHhbJuUVoNy7FKkxcqqsqrMc6g38aRp0-RoC2uIQAvD_BwE