vintage road bikes

Howdy,

I'm looking for a vintage road bike for commuting. I'd spend $200-300.
What are the better deals? I'm not looking for a flashy one,
but I don't want a beater, either. What I do have in mind is that
it should allow me to ride in a more relaxed position (i.e., not
a race bike); it also should not be so obsolete that parts
availability becomes a problem.

Thanks for reading.

-Brian

wrote:
Howdy,

I'm looking for a vintage road bike for commuting. I'd spend
$200-300.
What are the better deals? I'm not looking for a flashy one,
but I don't want a beater, either. What I do have in mind is that
it should allow me to ride in a more relaxed position (i.e., not
a race bike); it also should not be so obsolete that parts
availability becomes a problem.

Thanks for reading.

-Brian

try a pawn shop. you should be able to get a stolen $2000 bike for your
price.

Hello,
You should be able to buy an older chrome moly frame for between
$100-200, and maybe an aluminum frame for around $300. I just sold a 1990
Trek 330 for $100.00. Check at flea markets, yard sales, auctions, etc.

Hope this helps,
Larry

wrote in message
ups.com...
Howdy,

I'm looking for a vintage road bike for commuting. I'd spend $200-300.
What are the better deals? I'm not looking for a flashy one,
but I don't want a beater, either. What I do have in mind is that
it should allow me to ride in a more relaxed position (i.e., not
a race bike); it also should not be so obsolete that parts
availability becomes a problem.

Thanks for reading.

-Brian

On Mon, 23 May 2005 13:23:47 -0700, uni75ca wrote:

Howdy,

I'm looking for a vintage road bike for commuting. I'd spend $200-300.
What are the better deals? I'm not looking for a flashy one,
but I don't want a beater, either. What I do have in mind is that
it should allow me to ride in a more relaxed position (i.e., not
a race bike); it also should not be so obsolete that parts
availability becomes a problem.

What do you mean by "vintage"? Anything old enough to wear that label
will have "obsolete" parts, like 126mm rear axles, 6-7-speed freewheels or
early cassettes, and single-pivot brakes. Such things will present parts
replacement problems.

On the other hand, with a little work you can use an old frame with any
mix of new and old parts, so parts availability is not the biggest issue
around. Good old road bikes can be had for everything from $0 in a
dumpster (if you are really lucky) to $1000+ for collectors' versions.
For the best bargains, avoid Peugeot (too desirable by collectors in
comparison to its quality, IMO) and most Italian brands. I think mid-80s
Japanese will be your best bargain. After that come obscure brands from
any country, then early US marks like Trek or Klein.

Steel has the best adaptability, since you can spread the rear dropouts to
accept a modern wheel. Aluminum is cheapest, and may be fine depending on
prior use and quality of original frame.

You don't want an old Schwinn tank for this use (if you have a boat, a
Schwinn from the 70s would come in handy as an anchor), or junk like
Murray or Huffy.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It is a scientifically proven fact that a mid life crisis can
_`\(,_ | only be cured by something racy and Italian. Bianchis and
(_)/ (_) | Colnagos are a lot cheaper than Maserattis and Ferraris. --
Glenn Davies

Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Actually I am interested in a Trek.

-Brian

David L. Johnson wrote:
On Mon, 23 May 2005 13:23:47 -0700, uni75ca wrote:

Howdy,

I'm looking for a vintage road bike for commuting. I'd spend
$200-300.
What are the better deals? I'm not looking for a flashy one,
but I don't want a beater, either. What I do have in mind is that
it should allow me to ride in a more relaxed position (i.e., not
a race bike); it also should not be so obsolete that parts
availability becomes a problem.

What do you mean by "vintage"? Anything old enough to wear that
label
will have "obsolete" parts, like 126mm rear axles, 6-7-speed
freewheels or
early cassettes, and single-pivot brakes. Such things will present
parts
replacement problems.

On the other hand, with a little work you can use an old frame with
any
mix of new and old parts, so parts availability is not the biggest
issue
around. Good old road bikes can be had for everything from $0 in a
dumpster (if you are really lucky) to $1000+ for collectors'
versions.
For the best bargains, avoid Peugeot (too desirable by collectors in
comparison to its quality, IMO) and most Italian brands. I think
mid-80s
Japanese will be your best bargain. After that come obscure brands
from
any country, then early US marks like Trek or Klein.

Steel has the best adaptability, since you can spread the rear
dropouts to
accept a modern wheel. Aluminum is cheapest, and may be fine
depending on
prior use and quality of original frame.

You don't want an old Schwinn tank for this use (if you have a boat,
a
Schwinn from the 70s would come in handy as an anchor), or junk like
Murray or Huffy.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It is a scientifically proven fact that a mid life crisis
can
_`\(,_ | only be cured by something racy and Italian. Bianchis and
(_)/ (_) | Colnagos are a lot cheaper than Maserattis and Ferraris.
--
Glenn Davies

Hello,

What were Trek's old naming schemes? Kind of confusing.

-Brian

On 23 May 2005 19:24:31 -0700, wrote:

Hello,

What were Trek's old naming schemes? Kind of confusing.

Most old Treks have no names, only model numbers. For your purposes
I'd be looking for old 520s, Trek's steel touring bike. My girlfriend
paid $325(US) for hers about four years ago.


jeverett3ATearthlinkDOTnet http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

wrote:
Howdy,

I'm looking for a vintage road bike for commuting. I'd spend
$200-300.
What are the better deals? I'm not looking for a flashy one,
but I don't want a beater, either. What I do have in mind is that
it should allow me to ride in a more relaxed position (i.e., not
a race bike); it also should not be so obsolete that parts
availability becomes a problem.



Vintage and obsolete (in some sense) go hand in hand. The best deals
are found at garage sales - you can find nice mid-80's japanese road
bikes for $20 and less. Adding $180-280 in upgrades/improvements is
more than generous if you do all the work yourself, and the resulting
bike will be set up exactly as you want it.

For example, this is a project I am currenty working on for my wife -
none of the details are final. All prices are approximate - mostly
rounded up, to give a worst case total price.

Bike: mid 80's Fuji Sagres, bought at garage sale for $2

Brake upgrades:

$15 new levers
$15 new cables and cable housing
$15 new handlebar tape (nice cork)
$20 new brake pads

Drivetrain upgrades/fixes:

$20 new 7sp freewheel - existing freewheel is rather rusted
$15 new 7sp indexed shifters
$25 new large chainring - existing one is badly corroded
$15 new chain - existing one is badly rusted

Other:
$25 new saddle
$40 new stem - to fit this bike, my wife needs more height and
extension
$40 new tires - existing ones have damaged sidewalls.

Total cost: $247. A bit much, but the stem is a killer, as is the the
amount of drivetrain stuff. Actual upgrade price should be less, do to
getting better prices than shown above on some items. The resulting
bike will be very nice, and should fit my wife perfectly. I will
probably look for a few more garage sale bikes, to more cheaply supply
some of the above parts.

Later,
Mark

wrote in
oups.com:


Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Actually I am interested in a Trek.

Hey are you in luck, you can buy a NEW Treck cuz even the new ones are
vintage.
O O ! ) (I am not real good at smilies)

wrote:
wrote:

Howdy,

I'm looking for a vintage road bike for commuting. I'd spend

$200-300.

What are the better deals? I'm not looking for a flashy one,
but I don't want a beater, either. What I do have in mind is that
it should allow me to ride in a more relaxed position (i.e., not
a race bike); it also should not be so obsolete that parts
availability becomes a problem.




Vintage and obsolete (in some sense) go hand in hand. The best deals
are found at garage sales - you can find nice mid-80's japanese road
bikes for $20 and less. Adding $180-280 in upgrades/improvements is
more than generous if you do all the work yourself, and the resulting
bike will be set up exactly as you want it.

For example, this is a project I am currenty working on for my wife -
none of the details are final. All prices are approximate - mostly
rounded up, to give a worst case total price.

Bike: mid 80's Fuji Sagres, bought at garage sale for $2

Brake upgrades:

$15 new levers
$15 new cables and cable housing
$15 new handlebar tape (nice cork)
$20 new brake pads

Drivetrain upgrades/fixes:

$20 new 7sp freewheel - existing freewheel is rather rusted
$15 new 7sp indexed shifters
$25 new large chainring - existing one is badly corroded
$15 new chain - existing one is badly rusted

Other:
$25 new saddle
$40 new stem - to fit this bike, my wife needs more height and
extension
$40 new tires - existing ones have damaged sidewalls.

Total cost: $247. A bit much, but the stem is a killer, as is the the
amount of drivetrain stuff. Actual upgrade price should be less, do to
getting better prices than shown above on some items. The resulting
bike will be very nice, and should fit my wife perfectly. I will
probably look for a few more garage sale bikes, to more cheaply supply
some of the above parts.

My experience with bikes of that vintage is that the wheels are nothing
I'd want to put any serious mileage on. It's real easy to get up to the
price of a new bike.