scantino

Hi -

Been lurking on the forum for a bit but never posted anything.

I have been riding an 80's Fuji 'Club Fuji' road bike for years and always enjoyed it. I mostly ride 2-5 miles at a time. Nothing crazy. Commuting to work, casual rides around town and to run local errands. All pavement. I live in LA. The roads are ok. Anyhow, one of my dropouts cracked on a recent ride and I think it is time for a new bike. My only complaint with the Fuji was the thin (700x25) tires. It always sounded kinda nice to have something a bit bigger so I am leaning towards building a single speed commuter.

Here are a few things I can't decide on...

1) Vintage bike or new? I prefer the look of a vintage bike but also don't want another cracked dropout.... If anybody can argue me into a new bike, Im all ears.
2) Road bike or mountain bike conversion? I'd like something light and fairly zippy but Im certainly open. Comfort is key and I need some tire clearance but do not plan on ever using fenders or having massive tires. I do have a Wald basket I'd like to attach to a rack though.
3) Any specific brands I should be looking for?

Trying to stay around $500 or less and already have some Nitto Albatross bars, Brooks sadle, pedals and all the parts of my old Fuji if I needed to use any....

Thanks for the help!

Darth Lefty 

1) This is partly budget and partly bike style. Nearly any new bike you get will have either track ends or vertical dropouts, the horizontal drops are pretty rare now. But a good SS is going to cost you several hundred dollars and a good geared bike approaching a thousand.

2) Assuming new, road bike or hybrid unless you actually intend to do Mountain Biking. Mountain bikes now have more suspension travel and less adaptability into utility bikes than they had in the past, except the subgenre of bikepacking

3) Pretty much any bike store brand is good. Their problem right now is inventory.

scantino

Anybody have any opinions on a Univega Supra Sport? Decent quality frame? Light?

I found one on CL for $180. It has 27x1.25 tires. How do those compare to the 700x25 I had on my Fuji?

Sorry I can't link to the bike, the forum wont allow me until I have more posts.

Gresp15C

For single speed, you want to look for horizontal dropouts. Light weight isn't nearly as critical, since a single speed is going to drop a lot of weight anyway. And it's hard to guess. Many those classic bike makers had their ups and downs, and a single model name went through different ranges of quality over the years. For instance a Fuji Ace is a different bike depending on whether it was made before or after Fuji's bankruptcy. It's worth linking the year of a bike to the condition that the company was in when the bike was made.

I'm not sure that I'd be in love with 27 inch wheels. 1-1/4 width is the same as 32 mm, so it would be a bit fatter than 25 mm, not a lot. Availability of 27 inch tires is dwindling, especially if you're looking for puncture resistant types.

Darth Lefty 

I mean... https://www.google.com/search?q=site...ga+Supra+Sport

Seems like it's just a decent forty year old bike boom bike. 1-1/4 is equivalent to 32mm. They're much bigger than the ones on your Fuji and you can run them softer. At that age, no telling about how good it is without a link. Could be worth it, or worse than worthless. Try it wihtout the HTTP and we will figure it out

scantino

I was just reading that about 27" tires. I would be able to upgrade to 700c wheesl eventually if I needed to though, correct? They should fit?

Didn't consider that I would need horizontal dropouts. I believe it has them. I'll need to double check that. Thanks!

scantino

Seems like it's just a decent forty year old bike boom bike. 1-1/4 is equivalent to 32mm. They're much bigger than the ones on your Fuji and you can run them softer. At that age, no telling about how good it is without a link. Could be worth it, or worse than worthless. Try it wihtout the HTTP and we will figure it out[/QUOTE]

I am having the hardest time linking to it since I am new. I'd post the photos but I can't do that either. I guess it is to prevent spam.

If you search "Very nice condition. Too big for me, will fit someone 5'11 or taller, Sun torque components, UniVega" on CL Los Angeles, it should be the only post that comes up.

Or maybe this will work.... losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/bik/d/duarte-bike/7166592437.html

fietsbob

I took an old 5 speed bike and made it into a single speed for cheap..

Darth Lefty 

I can beat that. I took an old single speed and threw it in the garbage!

fietsbob

In one up game , I haven't had to commute to a job in 2 decades..

Darth Lefty 

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sg...166592437.html

It's not as old as I expected (30+ not 40+). A bike boom dinosaur from the age of steel mountain bikes. Not a high end bike with those nutted axles but looks pretty well taken care of. It'd probably run forever if you take care of it equally well.

Do take note of the fit! this guy is right that it's a big bike. It has the seat slammed and you need to make sure it still adjusts. Same for stem.

scantino

Thanks for checking it out! What do you think a reasonable price is? I'm 6ft so assuming it fits but will have to see for sure in person.

I also ran across these today..

orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/d/santa-ana-trek-560-classic-531-steel/7153463074.html (litte over my budget but ad is pretty old...)

losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/bik/d/claremont-motobecane-grand-jubile/7169369185.html

losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/bik/d/sherman-oaks-road-bike-raleigh-reliant/7168988832.html

Def dig the look of the Univega but these are also all cool.

Darth Lefty 

Try asking over here about prices
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...th-appraisals/

scantino

also found these Motobecane's. I am assuming they are much nicer bikes than the Univega? So many different models though. Is there any standouts?

offerup.com/item/detail/924602158/ (LOVE the paint but crank looks busted?)

offerup.com/item/detail/904212009/

offerup.com/item/detail/893217666/

offerup.com/item/detail/918356415/

Darth Lefty 

No, they are not necessarily nicer. They are just more French. They can be nice or cheap just like any 70s-80s bike but they aren't compatible with anything still in production today so they sometimes send you on a quest for parts. The first one you posted was made of nice name-brand tubing, same as the Trek, and had a leather seat, both standout features. That first one in your last post is a capital-P Project

scantino

Gotcha. Is the Univega more compatable with current parts?

Kinda waffling on the Univega or this Motobecane Super Mirage offerup.com/item/detail/910785658/ which was supposedly just tuned up by a local shop.

hsuBM

If you’re going pre-1987 roadbike framesets - Treks, Raleighs, and common Japanese makes (Miyata/Univega, Panasonic, Nishiki, Shogun) are pretty good bets. Many can fit 709x32c tires. French bikes are a pain.

80s-90s MTB framesets are not drastically different reliability wise. They’re old, and you don’t know who has hammered how hard on them for how much of their lives. But they can fit far more tire width in them.

If you enjoy wrenching on bikes less than you enjoy riding, and you have no time for being stranded away from home with another broken bike frame, find a nearby Surly/All City dealer. Have them sell you on a CrossCheck frameset to put your parts on. A dealer/service relationship built on a $$$ item is way more valuable long-term than having saved a a couple of hundos grabbing something off of cl in the short term.

If you can break a dropout, you can break a wheel or a bottom bracket.

I’ve done the used frames on new wheels thing for over a decade, I’m mostly done. At least for my commuter, I’m starting with a clean slate and getting a new steel frameset. No surprise bent stays or hairline cracks that grow into shears. My vintage bikes get ridden when I’ve got enough in my spare change acct to swing an Uber.

scantino

Very, very helpful. Thank you. Def have my eye on a Crosscheck!

wayne2000

I think one of the best looking single speed is the civia venue. If I were to buy a new single speed this would be the one. https://civiacycles.com/bikes/venue