Are old (70's 80's) Road bikes any good?
- Thread starter Sam Kennedy
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
raindog
er.....
That's gorgeous, especially for £50! Bloody big frame though!bigjim said:There is some good stuff out there. I got this in mint virtually unused condition for £50. Beautiful 12 speed campag equipped ride. Will run forever.
My steel rebuild cost me about 400 euros in the end, but it looks beautiful and rides like a dream - worth every penny.
swee'pea99
Legendary Member
'as usual'? Pish tush sirrah, i is not a nargumentative type. Tho' you do make it hard when you spout such tosh!
"20-30 year old components will be useless in 90% of cases"
Will they buggery!
As for downtube + friction (or SIS at best), well boo hoo! Nowt wrong with either.
I say again, choose carefully, do your homework, be patient, and you can get a £200 '80s bike that will crap on anything new at twice the price.
"20-30 year old components will be useless in 90% of cases"
Will they buggery!
As for downtube + friction (or SIS at best), well boo hoo! Nowt wrong with either.
I say again, choose carefully, do your homework, be patient, and you can get a £200 '80s bike that will crap on anything new at twice the price.
bigjim
Legendary Member
How can unused 20/30 year old components be no good? I just do not understand that reasoning. My 30yr old bike above has now done several hundred miles in all weathers It is still on original tyres and tubes and I have not even had the dreaded P. Admittedly I know it's history as it was bought new in the 80s, used about twice and then dry stored. I greased and oiled it as a precaution, but that's it. I have modern bikes as well so I am not bias, but I have had niggling problems with the more expensive bikes. I'm probably quite hard on them as I weigh 14 stone+ and 6'2" hence the big frame. I find the older steel framed bike more comfortable for all day rides and would recommend them for simplicity and reliability. If you have the money and can easily afford a new modern bike fine. The industry needs the support, but do not be put off buying the older well maintained machine if you are on a budget. A good one will serve you well. They are simple to maintain and parts are plentiful and cheap.
[quote name='swee'pea99']'as usual'? Pish tush sirrah, i is not a nargumentative type. Tho' you do make it hard when you spout such tosh!
"20-30 year old components will be useless in 90% of cases"
Will they buggery!
As for downtube + friction (or SIS at best), well boo hoo! Nowt wrong with either.
I say again, choose carefully, do your homework, be patient, and you can get a £200 '80s bike that will crap on anything new at twice the price.[/QUOTE]
Don't get so bothered Swee'pea. I know for a fact that wheel cones from the seventies have at least twice the thickness of case hardening than that crap of today.
The cones in my Pug are ORIGINAL... The hub cups are ORIGINAL. The head races are ORIGINAL. The B/B cups are ORIGINAL. The Chainrings are ORIGINAL ( got spares but never needed them ).
What you have to remember is Trek, Giant, Spesh, etc, etc; not to mention Shimano would like to sell you lots of replacements in two to three years from your first purchase.
This is where the BIG profit margins are.
"20-30 year old components will be useless in 90% of cases"
Will they buggery!
As for downtube + friction (or SIS at best), well boo hoo! Nowt wrong with either.
I say again, choose carefully, do your homework, be patient, and you can get a £200 '80s bike that will crap on anything new at twice the price.[/QUOTE]
Don't get so bothered Swee'pea. I know for a fact that wheel cones from the seventies have at least twice the thickness of case hardening than that crap of today.
The cones in my Pug are ORIGINAL... The hub cups are ORIGINAL. The head races are ORIGINAL. The B/B cups are ORIGINAL. The Chainrings are ORIGINAL ( got spares but never needed them ).
What you have to remember is Trek, Giant, Spesh, etc, etc; not to mention Shimano would like to sell you lots of replacements in two to three years from your first purchase.
This is where the BIG profit margins are.
asterix
Comrade Member
I'm just completing the rebuild of a 1987 British Eagle Touristique that I bought off ebay for £50 - will be rideable tomorrow (literally - will take pics)
Pre-rebuild I rode it a lot and it was such a pleasant machine to use I decided to give it the works even though I have 3 recently made bikes.
There is no trace of internal rust. I have replaced the DT shifters with bar-end jobs only because I was going from a 6 speed freewheel to 8 speed cassette and wanted to make things easier on very hilly rides. On the front I have given it a Schmidt dynahub so both original hubs have gone too.
I replaced the cup 'n' cone BB with a sealed unit but kept the Stronglight 80 chainset and front derailleur. The back derailleur was ok but going to indexed gears I changed it for a Shimano 105 long reach. Had to replace the original Modolo canti's when the blocks wore out for lack of replacements - maybe they are out there somewhere? - but kept the Modolo levers for which I found new rubbers for a tenner.
Pre-rebuild I rode it a lot and it was such a pleasant machine to use I decided to give it the works even though I have 3 recently made bikes.
There is no trace of internal rust. I have replaced the DT shifters with bar-end jobs only because I was going from a 6 speed freewheel to 8 speed cassette and wanted to make things easier on very hilly rides. On the front I have given it a Schmidt dynahub so both original hubs have gone too.
I replaced the cup 'n' cone BB with a sealed unit but kept the Stronglight 80 chainset and front derailleur. The back derailleur was ok but going to indexed gears I changed it for a Shimano 105 long reach. Had to replace the original Modolo canti's when the blocks wore out for lack of replacements - maybe they are out there somewhere? - but kept the Modolo levers for which I found new rubbers for a tenner.
bigjim said:
Read the post jim .
I didn't say that 20-30 year old unused components would be no good did I ?!
I said that components that are 20-30 years old with no provenance (look it up) are likely to be US .
The op is not looking for a retro bike they are asking if a 20-30 year old bike could be a reasonable alternative to a new low end bike in terms of cost saving.
try to read what is written before jumping on the bandwaggon with all the other kneejerkers .
Read the original post and try to understand what is required by the op rather than use every post as an opportunity to vent your spleen.
bigjim said:
pretty exceptional wouldn't you say ?
of course the components on your bike are likely to be serviceable but you miss the point. The bike in question has no provenance.
The majority of bikes from 30 years ago that have not been refurbished or maintained are likely to be well used abused rusty and not suitable for the op's needs, that is a fact.
4F
Active member of Helmets Are Sh*t Lobby
Peanut, I have read the OP post and he asks what are the pro's and cons of a 70' / 80's bike compared to a new bike costing £ 200 / £ 300.
Given that the OP is looking to spend up to £ 300 then I would suggest that the OP will get much more for his money on an old school bike than a £ 300 new bike.
If he said that he had £ 500 to spend then we are talking a different ball game.
Both my bikes have been purchased second hand. A 1980's dawes now converted into a fixed which cost £45 and 10 year peugeot for £200 which rides like a dream.
Given that the OP is looking to spend up to £ 300 then I would suggest that the OP will get much more for his money on an old school bike than a £ 300 new bike.
If he said that he had £ 500 to spend then we are talking a different ball game.
Both my bikes have been purchased second hand. A 1980's dawes now converted into a fixed which cost £45 and 10 year peugeot for £200 which rides like a dream.
4F said:
I agree entirely.
I am not disagreeing that an old bike can be a good bike.
I have a 1960 Carlton and a 1980 Ribble 653 myself.
I also have more than half a hundredweight of 1970'1980's and 1990's components lots of which are NOS in boxes.
I love classic bikes I have 4x classic frames still to build.
The newest bike that I have is 1980
I am not disagreeing that an old bike can be a good bike they can be simply the best in terms of ride quality and comfort in my opinion.
All I am saying is that the op should make sure that the componentry of a 30 year old bike IS up to scratch
asterix
Comrade Member
Very sensible!
Of course modern stuff e.g. STI/Ergo levers are more complex than say, simple DT so the older stuff may well be easier to fix or adjust.
Also, I find the old 6 speed blocks are quite adequate for non-competitive riding and more robust than the finer modern products.
