IknowURider

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of old steelies riding around town by all the kids , and this makes me giddy.

The LBS mechanic flips me old parts and tires that are still ok, old pedals are my favorite, when people "upgrade" to clipless. In return, I give him frames, but the last one was too small (21"). The other day though I curb-scored a Fuji Monterey, the bike looked like it had been ridden a year , the tire popped and so down in the basement it went. It took me ten minutes to strip it down.

The kid usually rides an expensive looking carbon Canondale, but decided to go steelframe for commuting, a smart choice.

You should have seen the look on his face, he was totally psyched. You'd think he'd have pick of the marketplace working in a shop, but I guess he doesn't have time

The Monterey was a basic Hi-Ten steel frame, but this one was practically mint.

"It's kinda heavy", he said.
"Don't worry about that, wait 'till you see how stable and comfortable it is", I responded.
He had been on a Schwinn World Sport, 4130 tubing, but the smaller size and slightly racier geometry made the bike "ride weird" he said. I call it "squirrely". But he built it up beautifully, nice wraps etc. This Fuji should look great.

So here you are , 21 years old reading posts on C and V, trying to figure out how to get the best value.

You see guys arguing over tensile strength in tubing, lugwork, componentry, it can get maddening.

First, let me say this: If you are 5 foot 11 to 6 foot 2, Your chances of finding a 58 CM (23") steel frame on Craigslist these days, regardless of price, are getting pretty slim. I've only been seeing tall bikes and short bikes lately. During the start of the gas crunch they were out there for $125.00

Sure, someone will immediately post here "Oh on my first day I scored this Motobecane Grand Jubilee with double butted 531 for $50.00" yeah it happens but don't hold your breath.

I suggest alternative methods. Networking, the guy who has the "My Ten Speeds" site on here (Randy is it?) has some great ideas.

1. get to know the major brands. Some will surprise you, like my Hi-Ten Panasonic that I just did an AMAZING ride on tonight. (see pic) The bike is just perfect for night combat. I got this for free on Freecycle.com. By the way, if you get an item off there, ask the homeowner if he/she has "any old ten speed PARTS" in the garage. You'd be amazed what you will turn up. This bike had very, very few miles, came out of an apartment basement.
Landscapers and contractors are always picking stuff up too. ASK!!!

2. Do not become paranoid and obsesso-compulso about tubing. Understand that a lot of the tubing buzz is leftover from vintage racing. Do you weigh 160 lbs? Do you haul ass up big giant mountains all the time? Be honest here. If not, you will be perfectly fine with "Gaspipe" (Hi Ten) tubing, despite the flaming I will receive for writing this.

Also, if you blow 200.00 on a Double butted 531 racing frame (which won't be as comfortable because of steeper angles) there's a chance the bike had been ridden hard or crashed. Money wasted if you don't have the inspection skills yet.

Just get a Hi Ten (or...okay... 4130 or Tange 900 and consider that a plus) frame and make it fit. Get rid of the Turkey (aka "suicide") levers, tilt the bars up, Move the levers up a bit, adjust the stem height, make the cockpit feel good. A good upgrade is some decent wider handlebars, I like 16" or wider, as I have wide shoulders. Nashbar.com has some Bontrager bars for 34.99 that I bet are freakin' awesome. Profile I think the model was. Putting good bars on these old midrange bikes will totally change everything.

A lot of the base models had narrow steel bars and I find them uncomfortable, but if I was starting out on a limited budget, I could adapt to them at first,

You can tell a 58 CM (23" frame) at a glance by the length of the headtube, it's usually between 5 3/4" to 6 or 7", (depends on brand) half the ads on CL never list frame size.

I think the reason they got chucked in the basement was the owners were never taught how to adjust the fit. So they got frustrated and bought a mountain bike...

3. Ditto as above for saddles, a lot of the old Vinyl saddles were actually pretty decent. You can patch a ripped saddle with vinyl and some epoxy. Could you imagine a cowboy tossing his saddle because of a tiny tear?

Your butt is just going to hurt for awhile until you get it in shape, Just accept that. Don't bother getting a 130.00 Fizik or a Brooks B-17 just yet.

4. Other than handlebars, I think most of the componentry on the vintage bikes was perfectly serviceable, if it's not rusted into oblivion. Ok, the Simplex stuff and some of the Sachs stuff was not exactly Sun Tour or Shimano, but try to get it working before running around looking for upgrades, You'll feel better just riding the bike, trust me. My first derailleur was one of those black Simplexes and it ran just fine for years until I outgrew the bike at age 13.

5. Don't Obsess about having steel wheels. If you happen to get a pair that were built well, I think they're pretty damn awesome. The Arayas on the Panasonic have a zillion miles, have hit countless potholes, and they are still true.

Ok. Yes.. someone will post here... .steel wheels don't brake well in the rain. But how much riding in the rain are you really going to do? Again, be honest. If you get caught in the rain, one alternative that will save you some bucks is to ride real slow. The next day it will be sunny again, and you will forget all about the alleged horrors of steel rims.

Sure, upgrade to some cheap singlewalled Araya alloys, but expect them to need truing more often (I do like the old Rigidas and Weinman alloys much better. Yes I know double walled Mavics are superior, etc...)

Steel Wheels also are less prone to theft.

High flanged hubs are beautiful.

Other upgrades like downtube or barcon shifters, cool pedals, maybe a decent Sugino Crankset I think should come later on as you continue to network and "stumble into them".

And there is nothing wrong with Weinmann or Dia-Compe centerpull brakes. Once properly adjusted, I think they perform fabulously. They just went out of vogue because someone wrote a magazine article in 1983 or whatever. Or someone slept with the CEO of Shimano...

For all-around tires, I love (gasp!) Cheng-Shins. I often dredge them for free. New they are only 9 bucks. Yes they are heavier. So what. Just make sure they are inflated properly.

Just talk to other riders around town, on campus, you will then be indoctrinated into the secret "Bob" society. I'll let someone else explain that.

But seriously, learn how to fit yourself to your bike. It's not that tough, and doesn't require lazer-guided computer analysis. Put all your "Mileage" on this bike, as you incrementally build your "dream" bike that you keep in the bedroom.

The point to this whole thread is to be grounded and realistic if you are trying to understand the intense world of "drop bar" cycling. There can sometimes be a lot of competition on these forums, but also a lot of really good advice and good people.

I see a lot of posts from the newbies on "what should I look for? How do I get started? There's probably a mile long sticky on that here, I forgot to check, but that's my .02.

Sometimes I weep and moan when I see studio quality pics here of a 58 CM Grand Jubilee with all Campy that some guy said he found in a barn in Nebraska, but chances are he bought it on Ebay for $600.00 (plus shipping) .

So here's a pic of my Panasonic , with better bars and no turkey levers. total cost was .00.

So just learn how to measure frames, fit yourself, and spot stuff at a distance.