"I love vintage bikes except for _______"
01-11-20, 11:46 AM
#101
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Old people who don't get it.
Young people who don't get it.
Myself, when I don't get it.
Actually, I am not even going to click on this thread.
Young people who don't get it.
Myself, when I don't get it.
Actually, I am not even going to click on this thread.
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01-12-20, 06:52 AM
#102
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01-12-20, 07:49 AM
#103
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I love my vintage bikes - except for unhooked rims! Those usually get replaced with a similar-looking box-section modern clincher rim. Polished, of course, to stay period-looking.
01-12-20, 12:00 PM
#104
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Braking power!
01-12-20, 07:14 PM
#105
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Funny, some of these peeves don't bother me a bit. I was a bike shop mechanic, so I mastered MAFAC and Weinmann brakes. They don't bother me at all. Some single-pivot side-pull brakes work just fine, though a few don't. Turkey levers are usually fine if set up properly. I DO NOT LIKE cottered cranks, and I have enough experience with them to be set in that view. Freewheels aren't my favorites, either, and I usually end up converting my bikes to cassette hubs.
I have comically wide feet, so quill pedals never made sense to me. The quill comes up into the middle of my foot. Ouch! I wish I could use them. The steel Campagnolo Nuovo Record was the most indestructible pedal ever made, and it was beautiful. Toe clips aren't so bad, but I now prefer SPDs. Only my street fixie has toe clips now.
Sure, steel rims suck, but I'm keeping them on my Rudge, as they're working fine. The chrome has come off on parts of them, and the result is that braking has become quite good.
I have comically wide feet, so quill pedals never made sense to me. The quill comes up into the middle of my foot. Ouch! I wish I could use them. The steel Campagnolo Nuovo Record was the most indestructible pedal ever made, and it was beautiful. Toe clips aren't so bad, but I now prefer SPDs. Only my street fixie has toe clips now.
Sure, steel rims suck, but I'm keeping them on my Rudge, as they're working fine. The chrome has come off on parts of them, and the result is that braking has become quite good.
01-12-20, 07:17 PM
#106
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I'm fairly new to vintage unhooked rims, but I got some recently and haven't had issue with them yet, where do they fall short of a newer hooked rim? Does the tire not always seat up symmetrically?
01-12-20, 07:27 PM
#107
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Is that true? I have narrow shoulders. I built up my McLean in 1983 with wide bars and after many years decided narrow bars would be better for me. I have narrow shoulders. Should I be hoarding these? Wide bars are a godsend to all the wide-shouldered men who hadn't been considered but not to me.
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01-12-20, 07:52 PM
#108
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Is that true? I have narrow shoulders. I built up my McLean in 1983 with wide bars and after many years decided narrow bars would be better for me. I have narrow shoulders. Should I be hoarding these? Wide bars are a godsend to all the wide-shouldered men who hadn't been considered but not to me.
Dean
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01-12-20, 08:00 PM
#109
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Maybe I shouldn't complain about my Miche Competition hubs, because I got decades of service out of them, but the internals wore out, and the axle broke. The dimensions were the same as Campy Record back in the day, but the quality was not.
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Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
01-12-20, 10:21 PM
#110
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Unhooked rims were okay with stiff wire-beaded tires that held their shape and at moderate pressures, but with more modern and less stiff wire beads - or with any of the foldable/Kevlar beads forget it - if they aren't perfectly seated concentrically, they tend to blow off the rims at even 60-80psi.
01-13-20, 06:17 AM
#111
Senior Member
Is that true? I have narrow shoulders. I built up my McLean in 1983 with wide bars and after many years decided narrow bars would be better for me. I have narrow shoulders. Should I be hoarding these? Wide bars are a godsend to all the wide-shouldered men who hadn't been considered but not to me.
Am pretty sure no one is making them currently. 40 on center is as narrow as I know of and those, I think, are more like recent than current. Current is 31.8 centers with cable grooves and possibly carbon. The sales pitch for wide bars is so strong you can go to the races and see tiny women and juniors with big wide bars. Even at top competition levels the women use 'bars for men.
Another factor is many of the old ones were never that good and sagged, drooped, eventually cracked. They self destruct. In olden days 'bars were a service item, replaced frequently.
My shoulders are normal to wide and I still like narrow bars. The wife is a small person, there are few bars that really fit her. The ones that come close are very old.
01-13-20, 08:14 AM
#112
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I happen to have a giant pile of drop bars. I used to do upright bar conversions for neighbors. I should take measurements and inventory. There are so many darned clamp diameters.
Luckily I work at a bike coop, and there are lots of handlebars there, too, but I haven't looked through them.
Luckily I work at a bike coop, and there are lots of handlebars there, too, but I haven't looked through them.
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“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
01-13-20, 10:35 AM
#113
Senior Member
I'm happy with everything vintage except:
Pedals
I tried to like clips and straps but I just couldn't do it. Any riding in a city with cars and lights meant frequent starts and stops. Spd pedals are all I ride these days.
Unsealed bearings that need frequent repacking after wet rides arent ideal either but I try not to ride in the rain these days.
Pedals
I tried to like clips and straps but I just couldn't do it. Any riding in a city with cars and lights meant frequent starts and stops. Spd pedals are all I ride these days.
Unsealed bearings that need frequent repacking after wet rides arent ideal either but I try not to ride in the rain these days.
01-13-20, 12:30 PM
#114
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I love vintage bikes expect for...
For myself, the vintage racing bikes of the late 1970's and early 1980's are beautiful. They were hand made and brazed and the builders were artists and craftsmen. These bikes had a soul. Campagnolo's beauty and chrome were almost jewelry worthy.
I have been riding and racing bikes pretty much constantly since 1975 until the present. There is not much I don't love about vintage bikes but for me the most natural and useful modification was STI type shifting on the brake levers. When I moved to clipless pedals, I reached down to undo my toe straps for a couple of years. When I moved to STI shifting, I never one reached for my down tube shifters. When I ride my 1982 restored Bianchi Campione del Mondo now, the first thing I do is try to shift the darn brake levers. :-)
I have been riding and racing bikes pretty much constantly since 1975 until the present. There is not much I don't love about vintage bikes but for me the most natural and useful modification was STI type shifting on the brake levers. When I moved to clipless pedals, I reached down to undo my toe straps for a couple of years. When I moved to STI shifting, I never one reached for my down tube shifters. When I ride my 1982 restored Bianchi Campione del Mondo now, the first thing I do is try to shift the darn brake levers. :-)
01-13-20, 01:14 PM
#116
Senior Member
Is that true? I have narrow shoulders. I built up my McLean in 1983 with wide bars and after many years decided narrow bars would be better for me. I have narrow shoulders. Should I be hoarding these? Wide bars are a godsend to all the wide-shouldered men who hadn't been considered but not to me.
Bars came in two sizes: 38 or 40.Nowadays I use 42, and they are comfortable, but I find myself trying to rotate my wrists in when dealing with headwinds, to get some of the effect of narrow bars. Aero was the main justification for narrow bars in the past. I remember big trackie sprinter types built like a tree stump riding around on 38's.
I suspect it's mostly a matter of personal preference, what's in fashion, as well as what you're used to.
01-13-20, 01:27 PM
#117
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My main ride is a "vintage bike". It's really the only road bike I've owned for 30+ years .. I guess that also makes me a "vintage rider".
About 6 months ago someone on a ride mentioned that his "brifters" were acting up. I had no idea what that referred to but kept about 3 bikes away in the pace line in case it was contagious.
About 6 months ago someone on a ride mentioned that his "brifters" were acting up. I had no idea what that referred to but kept about 3 bikes away in the pace line in case it was contagious.
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01-13-20, 01:40 PM
#118
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Seat post corrosion, quill seat posts, old hardened grease and maybe affordable matching parts.
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01-13-20, 02:09 PM
#119
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Agreeing with Phil gretz
.................................................................................................... .................................................................................................... .................................................................................................... .................................................................................................... .......................................................
agreeing with Phil gretz...the days grow short, and shorter every year..
...Julius in Ohio
agreeing with Phil gretz...the days grow short, and shorter every year..
...Julius in Ohio
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01-13-20, 02:55 PM
#123
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You have a fair point. Those were much better than downtube shifters. Very little force needed and more precision...
01-13-20, 04:08 PM
#124
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Sometimes bars are chosen for utility over comfort, like this track anecdote. Narrow bars are preferable on track bikes to reduce entanglement, shoulders being the preferred point of contact. When I commuted in city traffic, I felt safer with shorty flat bars on my urban mtn bikes, easier to swerve around people, mirrors and doors. I rode 42 or 44 on my fast bikes on group rides but I avoided 44 bars on a road bike in downtown traffic.
01-13-20, 06:14 PM
#125
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Old school head set bearings. My 1960 Western Flyer 3 speed made in England has the individual bearings.
