repechage

there was a long while where the only guy who sold a Medici for a strong amount was Ray Dobbins.
prices are all over the map, asking prices. Transaction prices... on Craigslist sub $400 seem to sell, $1,000 or more? Sit.
ebay cannot be trusted any longer for pricing history unfortunately.

Campagnerdo 

Top model Italvegas. It seems like in the last X number of years, they have been able to garner more respect. They were Campagnolo donors for decades.

montclairbobbyb 

+1 on the shiny Rosses... I have a beautiful Mt Whitney awaiting build-up... Mostly original, will be a BOBish build with chrome fenders and a nice Brooks saddle.

BikeWonder

+1 for Kuwahara. Their 80s bikes are awesome. The rebranded Apollo bikes by Kuwahara have a soft spot in my heart. My favourite bike for general riding is a Apollo Prestige XL. I'm not sure what kind of tubing it has, but it's extremely light and numble. Great, great bikes.

pcons713

+1 for Kuwahara. Fantastic bikes not so highly valued in the US, but in Germany they've got total cult status to the point where they might even be overvalued. And awesome retro paint too! This is an early 90s X Pacer with cyclocross geometry that I upgraded with modern bars and shifters.

Lemond1985

I very much agree. I have built up quite a few top quality steel frames from Peugeot, Lemond, Battaglin, 80's Schwinns with Tenax, Univegas, Miyatas, and several more, but something about my riding style causes them to flex much more under heavy load than I would like, really noticeably robbing me of power when I need it the most, especially during sprints and big ring climbing.

The only steel bike I own whose flex I currently consider acceptable is my 1991 Paramount PDG Series 5 (my 70's Raleigh Competition gets honorable mention). It's heavier than my other steel bikes, but it's nearly as stiff as my aluminum Cannondale, and my CF race bike. It has an excellent "no hands" ride. It just feels the most solid and stable of all my steel frames. I always feel most like a professional when riding that frame.

My recollection is that when these PDG's were designed, Cannondales were all the rage among amateur racers, and Schwinn wanted a fast stiff steel frame that could compete with them, so they used the new Tange OS tubing. They succeeded, but the writing was already on the wall WRT to steel racing frames being replaced by aluminum and CF. As far as steel frames go, these are pretty much the pinnacle of mass-produced, stiff, race quality steel frame technology. IMO.

kross57

Univega and Nishiki both sold well-made bikes that are less well known, less desirable and cheaper than many vintage makers. A good one is a bargain. Also Centurion.

WT160

80s Schwinns came to mind for me, too. Also Sears bikes made in Austria by Puch.

big chainring 

I dont know, is an 80's bike vintage? Early 70's "boom" era gaspipe french bikes.... Mercier, Gitane, Peugeot, etc. Probably my favorite is the Gitane Grand Sport Deluxe. Just a great ride and some of the best colors and graphics.

top506

AL Schwinns, Tenex Schwinns, Ironman, Vitus 979, Ross Signature, upper tier Univegas and Nishikis, top end French, all are either out in the barn or have passed through at one time or another.

Top

JaccoW

Basically any brand from different countries that are unknown/less known in different markets. Koga-Miyata, Batavus, Eroba, Van Tuyl, Phoenix and Magneet to name a few Dutch market models. Most of these have made some really nice bikes with butted tubing, though sometimes with tubing designed by themselves so people gloss over them because they are mostly focused on Reynolds 531.

Kessels (maker of Main d'Or, Eddy Merckx and Alcyon) from the Belgian market.

BFisher

How different are many of the suggestions so far, really? I get that certain brands have been looked at as lesser than others, and maybe the point is that they were every bit as good, in other words equal. So in essence, the most underrated vintage bike is the vintage 10 or 12 speed roadie? Truthfully, aside from geometry (sometimes) and wheel/tire choice, there is very little difference between many of the suggestions. Take the stickers off and paint them all black. Most folks couldn't tell you which is which.

I would suggest that the most underrated vintage bike is the internal geared hub three speed. It is much more practical for the vast majority of riders. It is better in urban situations than derailer equipped bikes. It is built to last a long time, requires little maintenance, uses a straight chainline, can be geared low or high. Tommy Godwin rode a thirty pound three speed over 76,000 miles in 1939 and could average well over 20mph on one. Who says a three speed can't be competitive? Tell me again how your 23-ish pound stock Ironman is too heavy and needs upgrades.

Don't get me wrong; I love my derailer-equipped bikes. But no one can ever convince me that there was any logical reason why the three speed took a back seat to Schwinn Varsities and Peugeot UO-8s. It was all fad, a boom that quickly went bust.

prairiepedaler

On your yellow bike, the inside of the fork blades has a braze-on mount. Is this for an accessory of some type? Usually they're on the outside and more middle placed for a rack mount.

Kabuki12

As previously stated, Windsor Profesional , I know it is kind of a Cinelli rip-off , but a fine riding bike. I have a 1973 and love it. There is one on Craigslist for $100 (frame and fork) . It has the Campagnolo bottom bracket and headset as well as top tube clips and shifter cable guide. It is a58.5cm frame which is pretty popular size and in good solid shape. It has been there for weeks , not sure if it is still there , but last I checked it was. Joe

1973 Windsor Pro

due ruote 

A Raul Mesa (Colombian builder) I had briefly. Columbus SL, Cinelli bb, lots of braze-ons, excellent chrome. The brazing wasn’t beautiful, but was competent. Bike was a total rocket. Frame went cheap on EBay.

noglider 

I love mid-range bikes such as the models with fancy tubes in the main tubes but cheap stays and forks. They're a bit heavy but ride great. Motobécane, Peugeot, and Raleigh made these as did many other brands.

mechanicmatt

Miele's and Miyata's.

noglider 

Of course a guy named Mechanic Matt would say that, mmm?

mechanicmatt

Most likely! Also Mongooses for ATB's and Hybrids.

icemilkcoffee 

Jamis: they been building steel bikes this whole time and nobody ever gave them any credit for that. A lot of their bikes are made from 853 and 631 tubing too.

madpogue 

Why wouldn't a bike going on 40 years old be vintage? When this section of the forums started in 2003, they were talking about '70s and '80s bikes, not '50s and '60s.

Those are for the Schwinn-specific retainer clips for the front wheel. When most of the rest of the industry introduced "lawyer tabs" on the fork tips to prevent the front wheel from coming off if the quick-release opened, Schwinn took a different tack, with clips on the axle that snapped into those braze-ons.

Or Motobecanes and Merciers (maybe).

RobbieTunes

NO bike is under-rated at Budget Bike Center.

mechanicmatt

I came back to this to say that Mongoose Hybrids from the 90's (Dynametric and Crossways) are so criminally underated. Geometry is awesome for the current trend of swept back bars and the frames are really pretty lightweight 4130 Tange Cr Steel. And if you find them they are cheap.

tricky 

Novaras. Always well spec'ed and good tubing.

Performance and Nashbar steel road bikes. I recently found out from this board that some of the Performance frames were built by BMZ in Italy and look great.

kwhiner

Those were for the safety clips that were on the hubs. When rebuilding I used 600 hubs that didn't have the clips.