Barrettscv 

Do you use your vintage bike on local group rides? Do you get a positive, neutral or negative vibe from your group?

scozim 

Haven't ridden in the group rides for awhile but all I have is vintage. The group here doesn't really say much about them.

RobbieTunes

Yes.

A couple who know me may mention the bike. Generally not.
On local group rides, almost nobody talks bikes of any kind.

At present, some insist on riding their tri-bikes in the pace line, in an aero tuck.
Several of us simply refuse to follow them, and form our own line.
No sense in risking my bike because some rider wants to ride aero.
We don't converse about it, we just adjust and keep riding.

thenomad

im the only steel rider if i groupride anymore. nobody minds, we dont talk bikes much. one guy shows sometimes on a pegoretti. occasionally someone new notices the bike is vintage but it doesnt slow me down anyway.

lasauge 

How vintage are we talking? I rarely join group rides, but when I do, I bring one of the 80's vintage bikes with brifters I own and am almost guaranteed to have the oldest ride. Reactions are generally positive, but nobody gets particularly excited about the bikes. I expect that if I brought something older it would turn more heads, but I doubt mixing a downtube shifter bike into a paceline with all the other riders on brifters would be ideal, so I have never tried it.

OldsCOOL

I would if there were more group rides. The group in town are out for pie rides and I'm not there. Yet. Depends on route and miles. If it were serious riding, the Cannondale Criterium would get the nod.

As for accolades, I get more random in-traffic comments on the Colnago and Trek.

crank_addict

90% of the time. Never a negative comment.
But Tues. drop rides are a 'see ya next week pal


edit: The other percentage of time is riding a 700c hybrid! I can hang with some on their tri's and carbon fiber bikes. LOL Its modern but rather funny when one thinks of it. I also take the same bike off-road or tackle centuries.

gugie 

+1. In Portland, vintage is quite common.

gugie 

Pace lines with aero bars should be a jailable offense. Damn near impossible to make sudden or subtle moves with them.

When they came out in the early 80's, we immediately saw an uptick of front end crashed bikes and taco'ed wheels with elephant IUD's on them.

icepick_trotsky 

I get more double takes racing Tuesday night crits with downtube friction shifters than I do on group rides.

gugie 

Pace lines with aero bars should be a jailable offense. Damn near impossible to make controlled, sudden or subtle moves with them.

When they came out in the early 80's, we immediately saw an uptick of front end crashed bikes and taco'ed wheels with elephant IUD's on them.

plonz 

Saturday shop ride is usually carbon followed by a Sunday group ride where two of us ride our classics. They get a lot of attention.

ppg677

Yes, my friends think I'm weird for "downgrading" to C&V. These are dorks who subscribe to Bicycling Magazine.

JohnDThompson 

Yes, if only because I don't own any modern or non-ferrous bikes.

dadoflam

+1 - the Sunday ride is a little less hardcore and most of our group appreciate vintage and handbuild bikes - almost all own multiple bikes of which at least one is vintage or a modern custom build steel bike.

davester

I only own vintage bikes and I ride quite a few centuries and lots of other small group rides. On centuries I typically see one or two other vintage bikes. My friends all ride carbon. They are usually a little quicker than me on the big climbs but I pass them like they're standing still on the downhills (I'm also 15 years older than most of them)..

72Paramount

The last group ride I was on, a worker from the lbs told me that the C&V ride was at the end of summer. Then they asked me if I wanted to test ride some 6,000 dollar cf bike that had eps, disc brakes and brake fluid reservoir. I declined politely and decided I like riding alone or with the wife better anyways.

Italuminium

Yes I do. I like riding in a bunch a lot more on a stable steel bike than on a finicky aluminium one.

cb400bill

For club rides, I'm usually on my modern Cannondale. But when I show up on my 85 Trek, it never fails to get a comment or two, and only positive.

jimmuller 

We do group rides very rarely, and the people we don't ride with never say anything.

I have noticed though that at stops where cyclists congregate no one ever "talks bikes". They talk about the ride, the flats they had 5 miles back, the stuff they eat and drink, what they're going to do next, but never about the bikes. I think that must be a feature of modern bikes, all techie and plastic and go-fast and pay-enough but no artistry. The bikes on the rack all look alike, usually black/white with HUGE brand names and logos spattered everywhere, though with the occasional red plastic too. Given that subject matter, one wouldn't expect them to generate much emotional interest. But I'm just guessing.

gomango

My goal is to get back to riding in the Wednesday and Saturday groups at the lbs.

My health scare this spring removed that possibility but I have been riding 5-6 days a week all summer.

When I was riding with them two years ago I rode a De Rosa Dual. That's not c or v.

I sold the Dual last winter and I am not sure what I will ride when I get just a little faster.

As my weight drops this summer, my average speed is going up.

Maybe one of my Kvales would be the ticket.

If not, there are endless other options.

Chrome Molly

Yesterday I fell into a Saturday morning paceline on my Roberts (somewhat unintentionally, but chatted up the group for the 8 miles our paths crossed). I knew some of the group on an acquaintance basis, so it was some fun party crashing. Lots of carbon, shaved legs, bib shorts, and matching kit. Then there was me, on this.

velomateo

^^^^
I hope you rang that bell at least once.
Great bike.

Cougrrcj

Well, since all of my bikes are C&V, yeah, I guess I do. My newest bike is 25 years old.

poprad

I think we all secretly wish/expect other riders to comment on our lovingly maintained old steeds. The truth is, since most riders don't really think that much about their own bikes (painfully obvious working in a shop as even high dollar road bikes come in with grunged chains and sludge-covered undersides) so commenting on other's rides is somewhat foreign.

I get the occasional double take or comment, but like most of us never the gushing compliments I'd give someone else who had the same bike. By and large the people who notice C&V are, well, C&V!