Wileyone 

What a Stupid Thread.

T-Mar

I've owned a C-Record bicycle for 30 years. I've also owned a New Dura-Ace bicycle for the same period. Then there's a Superbe Pro bicycle from the same period but which I got used, several years later. By the time that I got the C-Record bicycle, I'd been competing for almost two decades, with experience on a wide variety of frames and equipment. I also worked as a mechanic (and later as the manager) of an LBS. So, I've got plenty of actual cycling and wrenching experience, including C-Record and it's major competitors. You may not like my assessment, but it is a valid first hand opinion of C-Record relative to its direct competition.

jamesdak 

But it's so entertaining!

droppedandlost 

Were you able to get the paint off of that one? So pretty.

jamesdak 

Yep, lucked out. Good as new now!

RobbieTunes

They are kind of worth painting up cool.

homelessjoe

An old Indian pitched his TP on the side of the road and was selling pottery he made........one table with 10 dollar pots and one table for 20 dollar pots........one day a lady stopped to buy a pot and asked the Indian how come some pots are 10 dollars and some are 20 dollars.....she said ...they look exactly the same to me........he said.....some people want a 10 dollar pot and other people want a 20 dollar pot.....

homelessjoe

Im a funny kinda guy.......so whenever I see a guy riding a really expensive Italian bike I usually push him off the side of road into a ditch as I pass him.....sorta like a little joke......and Im sure it will be OK because I know he will never be able to catch me...............[humor.....yankin your chains.......grindin your gears.......kickin your kranck.....sand in your bibs{[

Road Fan

That’s almost spooky!!!!

3alarmer 

3alarmer 

.
...I own a number of Italian made bicycles, and none of them ever made me "misty eyed." I kept thinking, "Maybe if you get a Cinelli, or one of those blue Colnago things ?" But no, even with that, still not misty eyed. Now that I have glanced at this thread, I feel like my idea that I am dead inside is, yet again, confirmed.

You know what makes me misty eyed ? One of those top end Chianti's with the black rooster on the label. Or maybe a 12 year old Châteauneuf-du-Pape ...I tear up just thinking about that. *sigh*

85campione

Dude, yes, you are on to something. Italians have a magic for making masterpiece bikes, like Swiss have it for watches. Yes, you are absolutely correct. I bought a Campione Record, 1985. And my life has been changed ever since. Nothing like it.

iab

And at the same time I'm channel surfing this morning and there's Magnum PI. What a fugly car.

SurferRosa

Didn't Porsche base his 356 off Italian design? Same with Jaguar?

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Wildwood 

This thread needs more Bottecchia - old and new.

Wildwood 

Oooohhhhh!

bikingshearer 

The fact that Bartali rode for Legnano and Coppi rode for Bianchi may have had something to do with that . . . .

genejockey 

Collecting and using vintage anything is emotionally driven. Logically there's no reason to obsess over obsolete technology, flexy frames, crappy brakes, hard-to-obtain components, etc. So, if it's driven by emotion, a lot of it is nostalgia, not necessarily something you had when you were younger, but something you wanted. Car guys are nostalgic for the cars they wanted as kids, not the cars they had. They want T-birds and Mustangs, not Falcons and Comets. When most of us were younger, Italian bikes and Campy components were what everyone wanted.

SurferRosa

Sorry, but I don't find any of that to be true. All my brakes work great. I wouldn't consider any of my frames too "flexy." The late '80s 531c is actually a little bit too stiff. Period correct parts are pretty easy to come by. Have you seen the ISO thread? Sunrace currently markets really good all-chrome freewheels that I use. They're not "obsolete" at all. And the deciding factor is I can do all of the work myself with only about $100 worth of tools. Well, that, and the bikes are absolutely gorgeous and they go fast enough for me.

repechage

not nostalgia, I have bikes that I purchased in my early teens. Still provide great service.
I have bought a few sisterships of bikes I owned and sold off, a pleasure to use still and fun memories to boot.

genejockey 

Having just spent $10 a piece for the black rubber nubs that go in the pivot bolt holes on Sante brake calipers, I question this assessment.

Regarding "obsolete technology", what you need to understand about me is that I also collect and repair vintage American mechanical wrist and pocket watches. Without question, a $10 quartz watch will beat any of them for accuracy in timekeeping. But I wear mechanical watches, except when I'm riding and sweating. Similarly, for vintage bikes - my Canyon does everything my Schwinn Circuit, or my Cannondale R500 do, but better, and easier, with a wider gear range, lighter and with better brakes.

But when I want to ride the Circuit or the C'Dale, none of that matters.

diphthong

absolutely. was just thinking about some early to late 90's rhônes in chatting with a friend yesterday. maaan...andré brunel, saint-cosme, nerthe, chapoutier, guigal, santa-duc, delas, rayas....

SurferRosa

I'm sure you can find exceptions. You might also want to price a modern groupset compared to a vintage one from a donor bike.

scozim 

Yes and no - I really liked an Olmo when I was a kid but the bike I couldn't stop thinking about was the Peugeot PY10FC. And I bought back my first car 4 years ago - 65 Falcon. I agree with Surfer Rosa - parts are usually available with the vintage stuff or you can upgrade to newer components. I took a 70's bike frame into the LBS a couple of weeks ago and the two young mechanics couldn't stop looking at it. It was something different and they enjoyed it. That said - I now have a couple of Italian bikes because I wanted to see what the ride is like especially when compared to my Super Vitus rides.

genejockey 

Right, but the thread was about why so many vintage bike enthusiasts want Italian bikes. In a way, this makes it easier for those who don't limit themselves to Italian.