Niloc

So I'm a steel is real kinda guy. Of my 3.5 bikes, 3 are steel. My main road ride is a Reynolds 531 lugged beauty built right here in Seattle by Rodriguez (now R&E cycles). It's a great ride and perfect for my uses. It was made in the 80s and has clearance for decent size tires and fenders. It's got a nicely set up Campy triple 9-speed drivetrain so it's been modernized, but tastefully. All alloy, no CF. The geometry I would say is sport or sport touring. A versatile bike good enough for whatever I might want to do on it with my 40s in decent shape self.

However, you know what the problem is. The ideal number of bicycles to own is n+1. My other bikes are a Bianchi Reparto Corse cyclocross (lugged Dedacciai Zero Uno) and an old Japanese made rigid mountain bike I have set up as my utility townie ride.

What I think I want next is another road bike, but a dedicated speed machine. My Rodriguez can fill that role, but again, n+1. I'm thinking vintage racer. Possibly Italian. Lugged steel of course. Lightweight and minimalist. I would probably only ride it on nice days on 700x23s. Double chainset. I'm might even be ok with leaving the vintage components on it, like down tube shifters and a limited range of cogs in the back. This doesn't have to be a very practical bike. I would use it for fast rides in decent weather. Maybe try the local crit. I suppose depending upon the vintage, I could see say putting a 7-speed freehub on the back instead of the 6-speed freewheel and maybe going to Ergo shifting if I really get into the bike.

So the thing is there's a bewildering array of vintage steel out there, and I want to know what I can look for so I can bide my time and grab a deal that may come along. Ok a De Rosa or Colnago I know is pretty hot ****, but so does everybody else. Throw some other names at me. I mentioned Italian but I could go for a nice high end Japanese bike from the 80s too. French I'm not as sure about, I like to do my own wrenching and I understand that stuff is weird.

Thanks cognoscenti!

Niloc

FYI I don't know where the cut-off is to be Vintage or Classic, but I could be more interested in getting into the era of ovalized tubesets whenever that started. I do want stiffness and performance over it just being old and you know so and so rode one in the Tour de France in 1974. (though that is cool!)

norskagent

merckx with campy or dura ace - done!

DiabloScott

Everybody (incl me) loves the classic Merckx, Pinarello, De Rosa, Colnago, Ciocc... but they're almost too common. Maybe you want something that will attract a lot of attention... something you don't see too often but everyone knows about.

ish

3Rensho.

Niloc

Ok see I'd never heard of Puch. Hopefully it isn't pronouced "puke".

KonAaron Snake 

Well...you have the benefit of having some nice bikes, you can afford to be patient. A few questions - will you coldset/modernize? What's the budget? What do you want most? Fast handling? Stiff? Comfy? Impress your friends?

I like the smaller name stuff...US and Italian mostly. I think many of the smaller builders are often nicer than most of the "names" most know. My favorite bigger name Italians are the older Cinellis and the more modern De Rosa. I LOVE my Picchio and I've enjoyed the older Frejus I picked up recently.

Niloc

Aren't those track or Keirin bikes?

due ruote 

Zunow

Or a totl Miyata or Panasonic would be cool.

For Italian, I've never heard anything but gushing about Tommasini. Not exactly understated paint jobs, but then neither are Zunow's.

ish

Typically, but not always. They even made MTBs.

DiabloScott

See, if you were in the club, you'd know... that's one reason it'd be cool.

Niloc

Thanks for the info, those are some new names. Are there model names too? I don't want to buy a mediocre bike from a great name. I guess I'd do more research if the bike came along, but I'm just looking for starting points.

To answer your questions, well I might do a bit of modernizing depending upon the base. I probably wouldn't coldset but might swap out an old freewheel hub for a freehub hub. Go from 6 speed to 7 speed hyperglide. Maybe put a more modern (but not new sheesh) rear derailleur on it. I have a some Dura-ace bits from the 90s lying around (Double crankset, RD) that I could use. Maybe I'd spread the rear triangle one click, like say 126 to 130mm. Budget? I'm looking for a deal, b/c I can be patient and also I need to keep the wife happy. Also I can do some wrenching myself, so if it was in less than mint condition or needed this or that replaced I can deal with that. I'm looking for fast handling and light. I don't want it to be harsh of course, but I have already have the bike for centuries and other long rides. I'm down with something less well known and therefore maybe cheaper. I.e. I don't need cachet just to impress my friends.

Niloc

Thanks. totl? do you mean team?

Bandera

There are a plethora of Classic road race machines available assuming that is what you mean by "speed machine".
Most are not your un-specified size, are located a continent or so away, might be beat to death or priced slightly less than a nice used Space Shuttle.

What precisely does the Scope of your Project demand?
There is only Quality, Time & Budget to consider. What precisely are your requirements?

-Bandera

Hudson308 

This.

See, you're gonna get as many anwers to that question as people you ask. The Reynolds 531 decal thread is a great place to window shop, but ultimately it's whatever machine speaks to YOU. Based on what you've got in the stable already, I think you knew that before you asked.

norskagent

serotta works too.

gomango

Tommasini for sure.

I have two, a Super Prestige and a Sintesi, that out handle most of the big name Italian brands you could toss out there.

Pretty reasonably priced as well.

Another one is Somec. I have a Max framed Somec on its way to build for a friend.

The fotos I have seen are inspirational to say the least.

We are putting on a 10 speed Chorus gruppo.

BTW Maybe if we are lucky forum member Thirdgenbird will grace us with a pic of his ELOS framed Tommasini.

Niloc

Well I thought I spelled it out but also see my reply to Aaron Snake above for more details. My size is about 55cm. But I'm not expecting you to find me the exact bike just give me some ideas. Although I guess someone here might have the bike for me! Budget is cheap, like I said above. I can wait and sniff around for deals. I'm not going to get into a bidding war on eBay with someone who has cleaned up a nice bike and knows exactly what they're selling. I can fix and upgrade after the purchase over time. But you need to know what you're looking for. So I don't really know, $500? (I'll spend another few hundred later but the wife doesn't notice that ;-)

due ruote 

Actually I meant top of the line, but in this case that's essentially the same thing.

Another Italian idea - Rossin.

Road Fan

I'm thinking Italian: Rossin, Ciocc, Olmo, Colnago, Cinelli, DeRosa, Pogliaghi, Mondonico, Masi, or British: Mercian, Bob Jackson, or Woodrup in a high-strength (thin wall, super light) tubing such as Columbus ELOS or better, TruTemper OX=Plat, or Reynolds 753 or better (853 or 953, but 953 is hardly vintage). There are loads of other frame brands, as well.

thinktubes 

Anything made with SLX

KonAaron Snake 

$500 is a pretty low budget for a complete Italian with decent parts, but you can get a lot of frame for that - you will need to be patient. I'd start checking resources like the CR list and Sheldon Brown - start familiarizing yourself with some of the smaller builders. Grandis is one to keep in mind...Marnati. Countless others. I like a lot of the older US custom builders - especially east coast. Redcay and Bill Boston are two favorites. You're unlikely to get a Cinelli, De Rosa or big name builder at your budget, but you can get lucky.

You own a Rodriguez, so you know what a quality frame looks like. Be patient and find one.

Homebrew01

Yup.

They make very nice road bikes also.

rccardr 

Fuso. Torelli. Bottecchia. Atala. Della Santa. Palo Alto. Dancelli.

iab

Get a red bike.

Duh.