Hhallford

I have an old Dorado 1000. Probably from the mid 80s. It currently has a 3X crank and a 6 speed cassette. Shimano shifters and derailleurs. Has old Lee Chi direct pull cantilever brakes.

I ride ten to twenty miles a day solely for the exercise. All my riding thus far is on pavement.

I am considering swapping out all the components to make it more functional, because the shifting is awful. Can anyone recommend a group set that would come in somewhere in the neighborhood of $500?

Or should I just use that same cash and get a whole new bike?

Iride01 

It's all a matter of personal preference. So you'll get a lot of us telling you different things.

I don't know what your bike is. But I used to upgrade old road frames with new components. I wound up with a bike that was a little more enjoyable to ride, but still weighed about the same as before.

When I got a new bike, it was lighter than the bikes I'd been riding. It made a lot of hills disappear and I am riding more and further at a time.

Over all, I feel that I enjoy the new bike more than I ever did the other two old bikes I upgraded. Although the two old bikes are more pleasing to my eye. I like the way old steel bikes look.

dedhed

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-any-info.html

dsbrantjr

I would suggest recabling the shift system (brakes, too), clean and lube the derailleurs and reevaluate. New brake shoes. New cables and housings can often make a remarkable improvement in performance.

Mr. 66

I would clean the chain and derailleurs throughout, test out. If all is well I'd service all the bearings. Sometimes, for the brakes, just a drop of oil at the brake lever another drop on the pivots, could liven the useage.

ClydeClydeson

'Upgrading' would be a waste of money and effort. Figure out what the problem is with the shifting and fix it, then put some nice new tires and handlebar grips on and ride the poop out of it.

$500 can sometimes buy a whole lot of bike on the 2nd hand market,

mack_turtle

if you want something that rides and handles like a modern bike, you're not going to get that out of a bike that old. I'd either ride it for what it is, maybe change a few parts if that helps it to fit better and replace anything that needs to be replaced to function. it probably will ride great with a little love, but you have to adjust expectations.

otherwise—sell it. bikes like that could fetch a decent price these days.

Crankycrank

Another vote for just getting a new bike. Probably cheaper and FAR fewer headaches than trying to match new parts to an old frame that will need to have the rear dropouts spread for newer hub spacing plus a few other bits to adapt newer parts. Your Dorado is not a bad bike from the looks of it but you're not happy with it so a another good excuse for a new ride and sell the old one.

Hhallford

I ended up basically just tuning it up. Cleaned everything, tinkered with the rear derailleur till it functioned, oiled the chain.
Now it shift like it should, rides pretty well. Not the fastest thing around but definitely does what I need it to do for now.
Thanks everyone for the advice!