On Mon, 29 Aug 2011 09:55:21 -0400, Peter Cole wrote:

On 8/28/2011 1:34 PM, John Homan wrote:
I am thinking of getting back into biking. nothing too serious, maybe
25-50 miles on country roads in the relative flatlands of Chicago's
Northern Suburbs and the rolling hills of Wisconsin. I have a 39 yr
old Gitane Interclub that is in good shape. I think it weighs 27 lbs.
Is this bike still viable for my needs or should I get something newer?

The big thing is probably the wheels. Often older wheels aren't up to
today's standards. The problem is mostly the spokes, assuming the rims
are aluminum and have hooks for tire beads. If the wheels stay true and
don't break spokes, then you're probably fine, otherwise you may want to
tune them up or replace them.

People's preferred posture on the bike can change over time. You may
want the handlebars higher, for instance. Also bars were typically much
narrower in those days, most prefer wider bars today. Rear sprocket
clusters have gone from 5-6 to 10-11 today, and freewheels have been
replaced by freehubs. Once you start down that upgrade path you may
eventually have nothing original left but the frame and fork. That's not
bad if you like the old ones, but it's probably more economical to buy a
new bike at that point. Good quality old frames and forks often have
surprisingly high resale value. Riding the bike you have for a while can
help decide what you want to buy.

My Schwinn is 23 years old and serves me just fine. It weighs 24 pounds.

The wheels are an issue. I replaced mine a few months ago.
Newer wheels will have a groove where the brake pads contact to indicate
the wear level.
My 23 year old wheels didn't have such an indicator and were dangerously
thin at the time of replacement.
It wouldn't be good to have a wheel failure during a panic stop.

TFM®