Originally Posted by
Bianchigirll
I agree it is kind of a personal thing not really like Big Game hnting where you have bag the big 5 or bird watching where your trying see home many you can get.
I primarily like Bianchis and the few unusual or 'rare' but I have gotten and then passed on other brands for various reasons.
There tonnes of bikes that are popular and may seem rare or sought after because they hold their value like Merckxes, De Rosa, but for me I like the less sought after or common brands, I would buy another Cornelo if it fit and nice color, I woulkd certainly buy another Hetchins if I had the money.
But some seem GAGA (not the singer) over Peugeots and Raleighs but I just don't see the appeal. Perhaps if I really rode one I would feel differently but who is to say.
My wife loves her '78 Peugeot, even though it is not high end. Though the frame is heavy, it really is a nice riding bike. We modified the bike with new wheels, removed the broken front shifter, made the back shifter indexed (which meant replacing the derailleur as well as the shifter), and changed the bars from the old narrow drops with suicide levers to a city bar with appropriate brake levers. Result is a vintage ride with a modern drivetrain. In some ways, it was easier to go all this stuff to a bike that is not a valuable collectible. The original components were not Campy by Simplex and pretty well sucked. It would be much harder to justify doing this kind of a conversion with a high end vintage bike.