Originally Posted by MRT2

Ok, welcome to the world of vintage bikes. This is an area that I once dipped a toe in, and I still like the idea of vintage. But before we go on a few thoughts.

There is s saying in the world of road bikes. Cheap, light durable. Pick two. Simply put, a decent basic new road bike will run you $800 to $1,000. Maybe something a few years old in clean condition will run you half that, so maybe $400 to $500 in ready to ride condition. And, of course, the older or more beat up a bike is, the more money goes into repairs, so, say, you get a deal on a used bike five to ten years old for $250, but it is s little beat up and needs some new tires, tubes, bar tape, chain, cassette, and bottom bracket, even if you do all the work yourself, you are still talking about putting another $150 or so into parts, and that is just the consummables that you would expect to wear out over time. If you need a new set of wheels, then your budget is blown, and you might as well have bought yourself a cleaner bike to begin with.

So you have that issue, and then there is the issue of vintage. I would say if you go vintage, buy it for what it is, and don't bother trying to update it to modern unless you really know what you are doing. So that means, if you buy a bike with 5 or 6 speed freewheel, and downtube shifters, make sure you are ok with that as updating to modern shifters can get expensive pretty quick, and tricky, too, since modern wheels 8 speed or higher won't fit on a vintage frame.

That said, I did have success buying a vintage bike for my son, with a whole lot of mismatched parts, and somehow it all worked out. The bike is a complete Frankenbike. A vintage Gitane frame from the early 80s, but I recognized from the decals these bikes were very high quality back in the day. But someone updated to modern style shifters, albeit older Shimano 105 8 speed shifters. Mismatched, rims, but Ultegra hubs. Old 105 front derailleur. And an 8 speed Shimano 2300 rear derailleur. It shouldn't all work together, but somehow it does. And I bought it out of season in a complicated trade with the seller, where I traded him an old mountain bike, plus $100 cash for this bike, which has not needed so much as a tuneup in the 3 years my son has ridden it. When my son suggested upgrading parts, I told him not to, but rather just enjoy the bike for what it is, which is a fine vintage steel frame with mostly mid to late 90s drivetrain, and some mismatched wheels.