carfreefamily

The last time I rode in the Santa Fe Century, I was on my '84 Trek and stopped to offer help to someone on the side of the road. There wasn't much I could do to help - his carbon fiber frame had broken.

This time I'm riding the 50 mile version on a 1952 Raleigh Superbe Sports Tourist. All the other riders can look down on me for having an old frame AND having a three speed. I'm out there for my own enjoyment, not theirs.

79pmooney

I'm setting my 40 year old road bike as a gravel grinder for a couple of rides in the next month. Went to a bike shop to see about a brake cable hanger for the cantilevers. Couldn't help but notice all the gravel bikes and that to a bike they were blacked out bikes with matted finish, disc brakes and black sidewall tires. 1 X several million cogs. Enormous big cogs.

My bike? Bronze paint, Nervex lugged steel with (30 yo) cantilevers, old SunTour derailleurs. 3 X 7. 13-28 FW. Aluminum bars and stem. Cloth tape.

Brand new to the bike - King SS bottle cages. Simply because I don't believe the sweet SS Cuisse cages that have served for decades will hold bottles bigger than existed when they were made going down mountain logging roads. Some of this will be unsupported riding, I don't want to lose any bottles. And King cages aren't very "new" or radical. Just really good steel cages, worthy updates of the great TA cages of decades ago. (TA quietly kept making those steel cages long after they dried up in US shops because pro riders, the lowly teammates, the workers, demanded them because lost bottles in the mountains cost them way too much!) The bike will probably also see in-line brake levers. (I'm not sure the disc guys can even do that yet!)

Oh yes, also new to the bike is a brand new seatpost. Brand new but by about 80-100 years, the "oldest" seatpost you can buy. The lugged steel Nitto. Perfect match to the frame it is inserted into.

Ben

79pmooney

And on a serious note: How much bikes have changed over the past 40 years. Road bikes - nowhere near as much in real terms as mountain bikes. There is little a modern road bike can do that an older one cannot. Yes, they get there faster. Race speeds have climbed. But (except for time-trialing) not radically. I rode a race in 1977 that averaged 27.2 over 105 very hilly miles. Rider cadences have changed in part, in line with the new gear choices. But on flat ground, rider position, gear ratios, power, you name it, have changed very little in the past century.

By contrast, MTBs have gone from junkers welded together in garages in the '70s to front suspension, full suspension. Weights and tire and wheel weights have come down big time. (I raced tires and wheels on the road at weights folks would pay big money for now. But no, they were not aero. But now the fat bikes have wheels that are, in 1970s terms, unbelievably light.)

Still, a good bike is a good bike. If it fits you and has soul, what else counts unless you are being paid for the outcome?

Ben

Tusk

Any idiot can own a new bike. It takes a special idiot to own an old one.

One special idiot to another - welcome to the fold.

SurferRosa

I don't have much use for a black & white tv either.

A more appropriate analogy from my perspective would be a classic black & white film, like Sunset Boulevard, Paths of Glory, or The Last Picture Show.

restlessswind

As with any hobby or lifestyle, there are the smug prudes (aka ******bags.) Same goes for musical instruments, radio controlled toys, cars, boats, etc.
I personally have a silly addiction to the Taiwan made MTB's and hybrids of the early 90's. If I find a clean, lightly used one under $50, I buy it, give it some love, and then sell it. I usually make no money, but I enjoy the rebuild.

base2 

I'm not sure I ever got the whole people looking down on old bikes thing...There was this one time I was chastised in the frame builders forum for puting effort into a Schwinn Varsity, but in real life it brings smiles & conversations from on lookers.

What I think people hold in disdain is cheap, heavy, and low qualty bikes. Branding plays a huge role in initial impressions. Strong legs difinitively ends the discussion.

To the bike shop commenter: I just went to a bikeshop 2 days ago with my $8000 custom. I parked it in the rack and went to inquire about flat pedals. The salesman asked: "Here to buy a bike?"
I said: "Nope, just need flat pedals." and pointed to the Rodriguez.
He sized it up as a single speed and replied: "But this one has 21 gears and a motor!"
I said: "Yeah, but I've got 14 speeds, & mines not black."

I bought the pedals I wanted, opened my pack took out a pedal wrench & proceeded to remove the SPD's, grease & install the flats right there in the store while the sales guy peppered me with questions. His initial impressions & prejudices busted.

There is a lot more to the cycling world than the latest additional cog or battery pack. Welcome!

delicious

Sorry that people were being jerks about this to you.

This is completely the opposite of 100% of the interactions I've had with people while riding my older road bikes around, however. And I ride quite a bit. People are impressed, want to talk to me, think they're the "real" version of the brands they're riding, etc.

Maybe this is a MTB thing?

PilotFishBob 

I was watching 'Casablanca' on my tablet flying back from Japan - kid in the next seat wound up watching it with me, ignoring the airline fare. A good story never gets old regardless of the medium.

As for bikes, I've never had a negative comment (from cyclists - motorists are another issue...) and I usually get one or two people coming over to check out whatever it is I'm on that day. Vintage steel tends to stand out amongst the modern herd. Most amusing to me was at a Starbucks when another cyclist with a CF mount came over to marvel that I was riding a bike from 1963, a chrome Paramount. He was definitely digging it.

crandress 

Welcome to the club!

I have never had a negative comment from another rider, however I did have a shop owner I should just sell my old Campy because I could get a decent amount for it on ebay... No thank you! I would rather buy than sell and ride it (or hoard it much to my wife's dismay)! And my 92 Bridgestone MB-3 rides just fine, thanks! The only bike I own with indexed gears too.

robertorolfo

People are dumb. People spend more money on a new bike that is inferior in every way to a "vintage" bike that can be purchased used for less. Some of our frames may look "old" to others, but we know that they are simply better than most modern stuff.

KonAaron Snake 

Buying/preferring a new frame/bike isn’t dumb - it’s a different perspective. What new bikes have you bought/ridden extensively to proclaim this?

Cherry and vanilla - and none of it is “dumb”. What’s dumb is thinking there’s one approach. I see far
more judgmental non-sense from some here than I do on group rides.

ryansu

As others have said welcome. I used to worship at the altar of speed and thought the only bike worth having was a high zoot road race bike. I was in the look down crowd. Then one day I realized being a slave to cadence and making every ride a workout was NOT fun. I pared back, deliberately rode without a cyclo computer and wow -the things I noticed, and I was actually having fun on my bike again! To paraphrase @rustysprings61 does it put a smile on your face? One day I rode my local crumbing rutted roads on a steel bike instead of the aluminum bike with carbon fork I normally rode and realized I didn't have to be jack hammered on ever ride. So I went from Aluminum to Steel and then from there it was a short hop to vintage as I always liked the look of lugged frames.

The funny thing for the price of a late model used aluminum road bike - I have a whole fleet of cool vintage steel bikes to choose from, and they all make me smile.

Enjoy the ride OP.

fietsbob

They are very tall?

RobbieTunes

There were some few things in that movie I wish had been in color. Just stating some obvious....


+1 that most cyclists view the bike as equipment, not B.A.M.F. ( Bicycle: Art Meets Form)

I once rode 35 miles behind a carbon Wilier with a grease smear on his R seat stay. Finally, I had to wipe it off at a quick rest stop, and breathed easier.

I used to provide nearly unlimited free wrenching to the locals, especially the triathletes. Maintenance was not their strong suit. I couldn't stand to have a bike leave my garage dirty. After a while, I realized I was getting asked to "tune up and adjust" a normally functioning bike when it was particularly dirty....
… or with worn out wrap.
…. or with bad tires.
…. or under a rider without a helmet.
…. or without a seat bag that included a tube, a lever, a Presta adapter.

I slowly slacked off on that, then slacked off on the free repairs, and pretty much stopped wrenching "on demand." Those who appeared to "know the deal" continued to get some wrenching, and I got a lunch or a beer once in a while. The others must have found another venue, but we all continued to ride together when we could. The glue that holds the separate parts is varied and tenuous, but there.

robertorolfo

Sorry if my statement wasn't specific enough for you. I'm talking about someone spending, say, a thousand dollars on a new bike and thinking it is better than a quality vintage bike that costs less (maybe even a few hundred less). Someone thinking that new is always better than used, no matter what the price point. Someone that doesn't know what they are looking at, and so maybe they see non-aero brake levers and fewer than 10 speeds (in the rear), and think something isn't as good as a new bike. Isn't that the point of this thread?

Condescension from a place of ignorance has reached truly epidemic proportions in our modern society, and that same ignorance makes it nearly impossible to correct. My apologies if this is a touchy subject for some people.

KonAaron Snake 

I think there’s quite a bit of ignorance being displayed above actually, and I frankly doubt your direct experience/comparisons with new bikes. Rather it reads like a defensive justification of preference and/or budget.




Having been fortunate enough to buy and ride some nice new and older bikes, I feel comfortable saying that all have their advantages and place. On a group ride where I want to keep up, I want every advantage. I like riding bikes that feel responsive.




Not everyone wants to fix up a used bike, and some modern approaches can be great for many riders. Wider tire clearances, weight, discs...they all have their purpose. 11sp and long rear cages make for some great shifting combinations.




Because you chose not to spend it doesn’t make it “dumb”, and unless you’ve ridden a whole bunch of newer bikes, in different niches, you really are being so broad as to be saying nothing at all.




Old bikes can be great and so can new ones.

ryansu

Robbie Tunes (up) …...now I get it

iab

Never had someone look down on my old stuff. Most folks think of a bike as a tool, not a jewel. Vintage people on the other hand will make rules about what is allowed and what is not. So there's that.

63rickert

I get ejected from a lot of group rides. I'm not even doing those rides. They come by going 1mph faster than I am and there's a hundred of them. And as much as going directly off the back seems to be the best course, when there are a hundred bodies making a draft it pulls you along. Often there will be someone who wants to talk about the old iron. They know nothing and less than nothing but take an interest. Nice. Then someone else on ride sees dt shifters and exposed cables and freaks out. OMG toe clips. Those things kill. Only serial killers ride that stuff. And someone acting authoritative with tattoos tells me to leave.

Conversely I'll pass groups traveling 1mph slower. Usually there will be guys at front who jump on my wheel. No one ever takes a turn at front, all on my draft. Then someone sees a 5 speed freewheel and a spare tubular and you can hear the ensuing panic. It makes them afraid. My old bikes are going to explode and kill them. Sometimes they just fade, sometimes some steroid dude will ride up to me and tell me I should have warned them. Warned them of what? That the old bike has been safe for 69 years? That the rider twice their age has never gone down in a group? When they hear the bike was born before their parents were more panic ensues. And the solo ride resumes.

Two clubs of which I am technically a life member won't let me ride with them even momentarily and unintentionally. Carbon and brifters and clipless or get away from us. And current members rocking in saddle and weaving down the road in 50x11 look so dangerous to me I want out anyway.

gomango

Clear thinking Aaron. imho

I'll just leave it at that.

Loose Chain

OP, I would not worry about it. Even the C&V people look down on my selections. Guerciotti SLX (20.5) are junk, old Pinarellos (20.0 with titanium cog) are noodley, GTs (18.0) are cheap aluminum, Centurion Prestige (20.5) is just a copy of a real Italian bike and to top it I commit the sin of mixing not only groupsets but brands as well. And worse yet but an old Bridgestone MTB and a Raleigh Sport. Oh well, I am lost upon a sea of inferior machinery that at 65years old does not seem to keep me from passing jackarses less than half my age on their stupid clone CF Trek/Specialized/Cannondale, they all spit out of the same box factory somewhere. Like, does anybody build a bicycle anymore other than those three? It is only a matter of time until I can get my very own CF silly thing at Walmart.

uncle uncle

I don't know the how and what and why of what people think. I don't even think I know how I think most times. Some people just aren't going to see the monetary value of putting time/effort/$$$ into an old bicycle frame. As time goes by, and my 401k is doing fine, I think my mindset on spending money on old bikes (and their frames) has changed... I'm more willing to let some money slip thru my hands for the right parts/look/comfort.

I unfortunately had this mindset of looking at every potential bike project represented to me in the form of a downtrodden mound of neglect, and just felt compelled to want to make a usable bicycle out of it, so I (or someone) can rekindle the joy I have when riding a bicycle. Then I added up the cost versus resale value, and then almost always justified the purchase somehow. "I'll steal this crankset off of it, and then give away the rest". But, I'm lazy, and although I've given away many a bike (and parts) to the local coop, I've also kept probably more than I will ever get going again. Buying a bunch of bicycles, then never converting them into something useful, like rideable bikes, or money in my pocket, or enjoyment in the rebuild process... is just as big a waste of life too.

Soo... my words to you, and to myself, and to everyone, is that if whatever you're doing is making you happy, and it's not hurting anyone, then, you're probably doing something right. While you're at it, try to be as honest with yourself as possible, but don't allow every choice in your life to be decided by a financial spreadsheet. Try to think thru things as much as that little voice inside your head will allow. And don't sweat what others think; just know that they, in all likelihood, they aren't making any better life and money choices than you are.

turtledove

I got it powder coated and finished clear coating just a couple days ago, waiting for couple pieces to arrive in the mail, until I rebuild it. It's just a frame for now but here it is with the new transfer vinyls I ordered!

lasauge 

I'm going play devil's advocate here - yes, the many posts in this thread pointing out how silly it is that some cyclists look down on nice older bikes just because they're old are correct, and I agree that classic bikes are awesome, and indeed I do the vast majority of my riding on 'old' bikes.

HOWEVER, not all bikes are equally worthy of fixing. If I'm working in a shop and someone brings in a Walmart "full suspension" bike, or a rusted out Huffy, that bike is still going to be a mediocre ride after the tune-up. I really don't want to deal with a customer who's going to be unhappy with the service we provided after attempting to fix up something that the manufacturer intended to be discarded instead of repaired, and I'm absolutely not going to take the liability of touching something that I don't think will be safe to ride in any case. Plus, it just makes more business sense to steer a customer towards a different bike in some cases, not only because it generates more immediate income, but because shops want people to fall in love with cycling and if you don't enjoy the bike you just got tuned up then odds are that bike will just be hung up in the garage after two rides and the customer may give up on cycling altogether.

Then there are the bikes that fall into grey areas: old bikes where the shop is unsure they can find out-of-production parts, the risk of causing damage to someone's beloved old machine that cannot be replaced, and uncertainty of how many labor hours will need to be expended on a bike that might have been neglected for decades. For instance, when you wrench on old bikes at home as a hobby, it's not a big deal if you need to let a stuck seatpost soak in penetrating oil for hours or days - but a shop doesn't have that luxury and it's not a good business decision to take in repair projects that might last for weeks and prevent you from taking in other bikes that can be repaired and returned to their riders in a timely fashion. Sure, there are snobby bike shop mechanics - but there are also non-snobby mechanics who like old bikes but know that practically you have to selective about the projects you take on at any given time. I'm most definitely not a snob, but I've been in that position where I've had to discourage or refuse people from bringing in low-end bikes for service - not because I didn't think those bikes were beyond repair or not worthy of repair, but because my role in the context of a retail bike shop meant I wouldn't be looking out for the shop's interest if I took those projects on.