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Contentment, or purposefully riding beater bike in place of a better/nicer one...

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Contentment, or purposefully riding beater bike in place of a better/nicer one...

Old 02-15-19, 12:19 PM
  #26  
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I fell in love with « low end » bikes when I got my early 70s Peugeot AO-8. With good wheels, the ride is almost as nice as my custom bikes. I quickly expanded my collection with other low end Peugeots and Motobécanes. The French, at least, knew how to make inexpensive bikes that were fun to ride.
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Old 02-15-19, 12:47 PM
  #27  
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I'm not sure mine counts - it's not a low end frame, but it has the visible marks from a lifetime of use. It's a favorite rider of mine built by Bernard Carre. The paint shows plenty of beausage. Even though I've collected some very nice French components, it's currently kludged together with a mismatched kit of all sorts of parts - Suntour, Shimano, etc. I just love the way it rides.

Around here, hardly anyone looks twice at a bike made out of steel, and especially not a bright pink one with scratches and some name they've never heard of. Hardly anyone takes it seriously, but I manage to keep up with the group and feel comfortable doing so.

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Old 02-15-19, 01:04 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by AdventureManCO
This is a topic that has been coming to mind lately. Does anyone here choose to ride an average, mediocre, basic, utilitarian, non-exotic, cheap, lower end bike when they could ride a nice/better one, especially if one owns nicer bikes? I know we have the threads on the the nice bikes, the grail bikes, the custom made bikes, etc. I've seen the threads about the ultra-nice exotic collections of 70s-80s road bikes. No disrespect to any of them. But here we are talking about a conscious choice to select something of a lower-tier, and not just as a winter bike. This is a discussion about loving those beat up, scratched, dented, rusty, lower-end dogs that don't get much attention.

Ever since I've been bitten by the C&V bug, I've wanted to work my way up to the nicest possible bicycle (I'm sure many of us do), but for me, the side effect is that contentment is never really found with the here and now. It's always looking ahead. I'm trying to change that and appreciate what I've got. I don't have anything super high end and wouldn't say no to it if it came my way, but I'm trying to get back to just simply enjoying the basic ones I do have.

Does anyone here find their contentment in a beater bike? Also, does anyone here have any tips or thoughts about how they've found contentment in the face of endless grail-bike searching? Or maybe that is the point of the hobby?

Interested to hear all sides and thoughts on this one.
i notice that many of us classic and vintage type riders do the same type of thing with our bikes and bike parts that I have done in the past with woodworking hand tools (from when I have been on a woodworking kick). You get kind of good at hand picking “users” and occasionally then come across a pristine example that you deem “collectible” so it gets held in reserve so as to preserve its value. Sort of like a squirrel burying walnuts for future use. The squirrel might remember where his stash of underground walnuts is, or maybe not.

Those who who make the distinction that a bike is ready to ride when it is sorted and individualized for that rider deserve to take deep pride in that “rider” of a bike.

I wasted quite a few a few years on too big of frames, then had some revelations when able to take a modestly priced 10 year old road bike then trick it out for my needs. My Saint Tropez would fit that description. I’m quite certain that it is a practical clone of a Centurion “Iron Man” but mine is red faded to pink out back with pearlescent white paint up front and cheesy “La Mirage” cursive top tube decals that are dated but unique.

Just knowing the standards and dimensions of a user bike is empowering. So knowing that mine takes a 27.2 seatpost, a 26.4 fork crown threaded headset, and English threaded bottom bracket and a 126mm space rear hub - these stats somehow demystify the steed.



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Old 02-15-19, 01:29 PM
  #29  
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I don't do "grail bike". So far I've never paid more than €100 for a frameset or €300 for a complete bike, and I've often been pleasantly surprised by what I got. Call it ignorance, call it cheapness, but I'm not paying € 2,000 just to be the 34th Colnago rider at l'Eroica.

Not if I can be the only one riding a rare hand-built Harry Hartman, like the one I bought for €70:



Or a Martens-built Visser Vainqueur I found for €150:



And those are high end machines, built with Reynolds 531. But even lower level high ten bikes have proven to be really nice rides. This €75 Mercier is only slightly heavier than the bikes above, and provided a really smooth ride:



And this €85 high ten Mann-Libertas served me very well last year at the Retroronde and Eroica Britannia:



Yes, all these bikes needed (or still need, like the Hartman) some work and yes, I did upgrade parts like saddles (I like Brooks) and drive train parts (hills!) to make them work for me, but I don't think I've ever spent more than €400 on any bike.
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Old 02-15-19, 02:19 PM
  #30  
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If you take the majority of older vintage steel 'called racer - or lightweights' and even if they're not actually light in weight and by changing to a considered decent wheelset / tire combo, they are pretty much the same.

Now don't all gang up on me, I only stated as the majority.

Pedaling that thought onto modern era, it still holds. There's some very budgeted Taiwan hydroformed aluminum frames with Singaporean Shimano lower end that can rock with the higher zoot.

The irony is these hydroformed budget light weight ally bikes are often less costly than what others want for their cockroach beastly vintage Schwinn Varsity.
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Old 02-15-19, 02:58 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by crank_addict
If you take the majority of older vintage steel 'called racer - or lightweights' and even if they're not actually light in weight and by changing to a considered decent wheelset / tire combo, they are pretty much the same.

Now don't all gang up on me, I only stated as the majority.

Pedaling that thought onto modern era, it still holds. There's some very budgeted Taiwan hydroformed aluminum frames with Singaporean Shimano lower end that can rock with the higher zoot.

The irony is these hydroformed budget light weight ally bikes are often less costly than what others want for their cockroach beastly vintage Schwinn Varsity.
More or less agree with this. I know people used to say buy the best frame you can afford, but as long as the frames are even sort of similar, tires really seem to make the biggest difference. I regret the years I spent thinking tires are just consumables and buying the cheapest durable ones.
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Old 02-15-19, 02:59 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by RobbieTunes
I don't like bikes, just come here to look at the pictures. I don't like people, either, but they still let me post. I need something to do to keep from mowing down innocent civilians, so I tinker a bit, ride a bit. When I'm not macing the kids on my lawn or kicking stray dogs, I like C&V. I like steel because if the top tube is bigger than my...
Your next word may be your last, kid.....

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Old 02-15-19, 03:50 PM
  #33  
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I enjoy and ride my bikes (only 3) and ride them all

I ride and commute on by "best" bike (de rosa) as life is to short to not ride a good bike when you can. It is a rider, I got used and it had been ridden, it bears it's cable rubs and dings with honor

I can see having a super nice bike I would not ride in the rain....but it would get ridden (dream is 2 Kirk customs...one a all round "Montana road bike" with braze ons for fenders and racks and totally high end road)

bottom line what works for you is good as long as you ride
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Old 02-15-19, 03:57 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Hudson308
HA!!! GET OFF MY WAVE!!! @DQRider had chided me for always riding my (Mississippi built) LeTour Luxe, when I have a stable of "nicer" examples. When my first LeTour frame broke (see avatar), I found a nearly identical frame and transferred most of the parts to it. I call it my "Mule".

"Chided", he says! I never chide. Lambasted, perhaps. Mildly rebuked? Sure. But always in a friendly manner.

No, I totally get what you are on about here. Sometimes it's just easier to choose the bike that's nearest the door. Which would be the last one you rode. Probably.

I have to force myself to commute on a different bike every weekday, just to keep the variety and fascination going.

Sometimes muscle memory plays tricks on me and I end up trying to shift the last bike I rode while riding the next one. If that makes any sense.

I only have one bike that might be considered "foo-foo", and I rarely ride it. All my other builds are based on 2nd and 3rd-tier chrome-moly frames and eclectic components.

Here is one that will probably be a frequent rider:



Got this one off the `Bay in December, cheap, and still haven't taken it out of the box. Plans are to set it up as a 1x7 cruiser with a chainguard and copper-coated fenders, and some other stuff out of the parts bin.

This will be my budget bike, set up for commuting and errands - well, call it my "nearest the door bike", right?

But my other bikes are too nice not to ride regularly. Besides, that way I keep up on the maintenance.

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Old 02-15-19, 04:08 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by DQRider
Sometimes muscle memory plays tricks on me and I end up trying to shift the last bike I rode while riding the next one. If that makes any sense.
All the time! I'll hit, say, the trigger under the bar, and there's nothing there. Why not? Because today's ride has thumbies, dummy.....
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Old 02-15-19, 04:09 PM
  #36  
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I have some really nice classic bikes and enjoy them to the max - when the weather’s kind and I have the time to savor their qualities. But these two sit by the door and see the most mileage around town:



Early 60’s Mongilardi - formerly 3 speed, now a 5 speed


1982 Univega Viva Sport mixte
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Old 02-15-19, 05:02 PM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by Honusms
I have some really nice classic bikes and enjoy them to the max - when the weather’s kind and I have the time to savor their qualities. But these two sit by the door and see the most mileage around town:



Early 60’s Mongilardi - formerly 3 speed, now a 5 speed
What a gorgeous bicycle. Even the dropouts are elegant.
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Old 02-15-19, 06:00 PM
  #38  
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Old 02-15-19, 10:44 PM
  #39  
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I don't exactly consider my beloved '86 Schwinn Peloton a beater bike, but I relish the Schwinn's lack of street-cred. Some folks consider it quaint and assume their 2018 new-as-now carbon technomarvel will automatically coast away from the old steel sled.
What people forget is that if they are able to hold this 23+ pound bike's wheel, their triumph is diminished.
And of course when they fall back, my triumph is magnified because my little donkey just trounced their overpriced thoroughbred.

I even love that the Schwinn name has been dragged into the Walmart mud lately, and these younger riders assume I'm a harmless geezer on a Huffy at stoplights.

I know it's petty and childish, but it's one of the things I dearly love about cycling and can seldom resist humiliating elitists.

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Old 02-15-19, 11:10 PM
  #40  
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Gotta love C. & V.

Full of first world problems, as usual.

Every bike I own becomes a beater eventually, till I fix them up and make them new again.

Rinse and repeat.

That said, the bike that gets left out in the elements and spends most of its life locked to a pole, looks like a real piece of garbage, (hobo approved) and yet, 4 years later I still have it, no theft attempts that I'm aware of, part of its charm I guess.
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Old 02-16-19, 07:39 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by calamarichris
I don't exactly consider my beloved '86 Schwinn Peloton a beater bike, but I relish the Schwinn's lack of street-cred. Some folks consider it quaint and assume their 2018 new-as-now carbon technomarvel will automatically coast away from the old steel sled.
What people forget is that if they are able to hold this 23+ pound bike's wheel, their triumph is diminished.
And of course when they fall back, my triumph is magnified because my little donkey just trounced their overpriced thoroughbred.

I even love that the Schwinn name has been dragged into the Walmart mud lately, and these younger riders assume I'm a harmless geezer on a Huffy at stoplights.

I know it's petty and childish, but it's one of the things I dearly love about cycling and can seldom resist humiliating elitists.

And when I can't keep up with them, I can always blame the heavy steel bike. If I got a new bike, my only excuse would be that I'm old and out of shape.
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Old 02-16-19, 08:51 AM
  #42  
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I Agee with the person who said it is vanity. Most people who ride have no idea what our super high end bikes are. I rode my 1987 Team 7/11 bike at quite a few large bike events and no one new what it was. I did notice a few guy pointing at me and saying “ look at the old guy riding the Huffy”. I don’t ride in nasty weather so I can ride anything I want. Sold off my colectsble bikes and now ride my light weight everyday Cannondale most of the time.
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Old 02-16-19, 10:14 AM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by sdn40
I think you may be blurring the lines between being a bike collector and being a bike rider.
Being a collector gives you the thrill of the chase, the satisfaction of the find, the enjoyment of the build and the pride of ownership.
Being a bike rider is the enjoyment of riding a bike which entails the obvious many things and less about the name of the decals
If that makes any sense
I found myself being more of a collector than a rider. You miss the sheer joy of being on a bike when all you care about is what you’re riding not where you’re riding.
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Old 02-16-19, 10:58 AM
  #44  
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Yes I like the feeling of a bike I don't have to worship and look up to. A bike that is grateful for me, not expecting me to be grateful for its impressiveness. I don't like prima donnas, in women, or other people, young or old, or in bikes. Humility seems to make a better companion than arrogance.

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Old 02-16-19, 11:14 AM
  #45  
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For me, riding is sheer leisure and entertainment and hobby. I don't commute much anymore (if I lived closer to work I probably would), I don't race and I don't do group rides or anything... I just like riding, I like playing with bikes and parts, I don't like talking to people when I ride- best if I can turn the ringer off on my phone. The concept of the ride across America is a dream-

My interests and my discretionary fundage dictate where I spend my money and time. Playing with the stuff is about as much fun as riding- I enjoy getting dorky about the parts, or this or that... I realistically know that fluorine coated link pins have zero bearing on me, and honestly- for my skill and strength and experience and health... a few pounds either way really don't matter. What does matter is if I'm happy with it. The stuff I like is pretty and cool to me- if someone else enjoys it, then that's cool. If there's something that I'm not happy- or content about on my bike- I can always change it.
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Old 02-16-19, 11:23 AM
  #46  
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To be honest, I'd consider most of the bike pics posted here as much nicer than the "beater" designation I was looking for in this thread. I don't have one I'd consider in that category, but there was a bike that I used to see in the morning when I was commuting by bike and train that definitely meets my definition:



At first glance it looks like a POS class bike, but look closely. Lugged magnalloy frame with forged dropouts, not top shelf, but definitely not cheap department store grade hi ten steel. Mismatched wheels, but alloy - I saw them go on and off the train many times, definitely straight and true. Mismatched brakes and derailleurs, but quality, and new looking Koolstop pads, adjusted perfectly. Cabling cut to proper length, and well routed. The saddle and handlebar adjustment looks to me that the frame is properly sized for the rider, and a nice old alloy rack carries the commuters swag well. The saddle is rough, but functional. There's a plastic bag stuffed underneath, possibly to cover the leather clad saddle when parked outside? All those decals and tape either cover war wounds, rust, or perhaps just to make the bike look trashier and less valuable.

This ride is a perfect example of bike as transportation first. The person that put this together out of a hodgepodge of parts knew what they were doing, function over form, caring not a wit for aesthetics. To me, this makes it a beautiful bike.
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Old 02-16-19, 11:28 AM
  #47  
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Originally Posted by Honusms


Early 60’s Mongilardi - formerly 3 speed, now a 5 speed

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Old 02-16-19, 12:10 PM
  #48  
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There's piles of near giveaway old bikes that just need a new idea or mild makeover.

Funny how many people simply offer their bikes often called 'old' 'beater' even 'dangerous'.
Its in their head.

A tire may be flat, has a few scratches. Old dirt and dust, few spider webs and eggs under a saddle. Chain dry and rusty looking. Brake cable disconnected at caliper and they don't know how to reattach. Hanging upside down in their garage like its gasping for someone to save.

No matter how many times I mention, all it takes is a little cleanup, lube and or basic maintenance, most Americans are too lazy and rather spend for a new shining bike. I have them in my family too.

And they call me nutz for riding some old bike. Lol
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Old 02-16-19, 12:35 PM
  #49  
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Some considered junk or old beater by previous owners. None are premium models or high end frame tubing. But with a makeover and creativity in what I want out of them, I greatly enjoy each and ridden with regularity.



98 C'dale 700c hybrid with Headshock. Converted to road drop bars, dual control levers, 42 width Continental Speeds





'66 Schwinn Racer fixed gear 700c and 1958 JC Higgins -Steyr of Austria on 28\" (700c) hoops, 3 x 3 x 2
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Old 02-16-19, 01:40 PM
  #50  
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I have a twist on this - I prefer to ride higher-end (or unique) C&V in beater condition, avoiding the nice mint stuff and the low-end stuff in beater condition. #ShabbyBikeSnob

There's a lot of beautiful stuff here, but that mixte on the train really puts the practical commuter bike in perspective. About the only thing that would make it better would be one of those integrated rear wheel locks.

-Kurt
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