GeneO 

LOL. Yeah. Nice bike in any case.

rossiny

Lately I've been buying vintage bikes and working on them ride them fir a ,, time then I'll sell ... it's got me back into cycling, anything that keeps you in cycling is a good thing in my opinion.. some of these Carbon Fiber bikes look awesome and sometimes I feel like I'd like to jump on one of them and see how fast they go,, but then again I know it's all about the rider. I have owned many bikes all vintage steel , Italian Columbus when younger . sold off .
Now I like Schwinn Japan made touring bikes and like the awesome Raleigh , like the Super course, or Grant Sport, trying to score one of those . I had one and gave it away ,, now I want a minty one but I am kinda cheap . I also have vintage steel vintage mountain bikes .. Will I ever buy a carbon racer ? Who knows but keep riding , commuting, trail riding , etc. I think cars are destroying us. Why ,,?? The millions of cars that need to be produced to keep that business profitable is mind boggling ,, so how long can we go on like this ?? That is the big question young lads ....and lassies ??

rsbob 

I am happy that the poster above enjoys restoring and riding his vintage bikes. Restoration is very cool all by itself. However, one man’s pleasure might be another’s pain and vice versa, but neither is wrong.

I have ridden my steel vintage Italian racing bikes (early 80and mid 90s) back to back with my carbon Italian endurance bike. The weight difference is four pounds but the difference in comfort over the distance and responsiveness, ease of climbing is night and day. I enjoy the feel of the steel rides, but technology has definitely moved on as evidenced by being able to easily ride at 20 MPH at 65 whereas in my 30s I was doing the same with significantly more muscle mass and strength. Not that speed is the ultimate arbiter of what makes a bike but being able to do any speed in comfort afforded by endurance geometry is really something. I still ride my steel bikes for sentimental reasons, but when I do it’s with a touch of sadness like watching a one vibrant fun loving dog heading toward his sunset. You love him but it’s mixed with sadness.


Team Celeste- Vintage vs new

Sojodave

I'm 59 and this has been my ride. I'm building up a Specialized Roubaix, but I'm having a problem getting parts because of Covid. FYI, this was before I changed the seatpost...

Trakhak

I raced during the mid-1960s on a Reynolds 531 Helyett track bike and then in the early 1980s on a Bianchi Specialissima road bike, but now I ride nothing but semi-modern aluminum bikes, including a 2005 Motobecane Le Champion road bike and a 2008 Felt S22 time trial bike. Still have 531 and 853 bikes in the basement, but they've just been collecting dust for the last 20 years. I've tried a couple of carbon bikes, but I love my aluminum bikes.

Those are some gorgeous bikes that have been posted in this thread, by the way.

Eric F 

I enjoyed the project of restoring a 77 Nishiki ONP, and like to ride it on occasion...


...but I prefer to ride the most recent addition to my stable - 18 Storck F.3 Platinum...



The old steel bike is a very nice and comfy ride, and it happily scoots along, but the brutal efficiency and precision of a modern machine is undeniable.

Barrettscv 

Time for an update;

2016 Raleigh Roker gravel bike, 2017 Canyon Endurace, 2018 Ridley Helium SLX

rossiny

maybe you weren't as tough as you thought when you were younger , and you tougher now😁.
I still don't have any carbon bike . I only have vintage steel . I been thinking of maybe titanium, but just can't talk myself into trying carbon. Are they really that much better at holding speed, how bout comfort. I am always switching vintage bikes I restore or modify and thought Italian steel bikes were the best. Then I started the hobby and got a Raleigh Super Course about 1973 and was amazed at how well it road comfort and the handling also from the curved forks they have. I don't think the old dogs are on the way out , especially when you put modern wheels or drive train on them .

ultrarider7

I turned 69 in November and my two go-to bikes are the Bianchi Infinito and the Cannondale (not very) Quick. Modern bikes really make the ride better in my opinion.

Road Fan

I'm 67 and started riding lightweight and middle-weight road bikes in the late 1960s. With several hiatus's I've been at it since then. It's perfectly fine to ride what, when, and where you like. There's nothing wrong with old school at all. Keep up with the bearing lubrication and you can still be riding that same bike in another 25 years, all things being equal. I don't have state of the art strength or pedaling ability and I never have. I still like '80s Treks and other '80s bikes including lightweight Italian racing road bikes, though I've never raced. But in my experience better bikes that fit me feel better to ride, and I have a few post-2000 steel bikes with super-light frames. One is less than 20#.

I suspect the bikes you tested were not fit well for you, for one thing. If I set my handlebars more than maybe an inch below the saddle, I'm uncomfortable and nothing works, and I don't reach and control the brakes well. Modern brakes give you more deceleration for less hand pressure and are usually set up for very fast response, with the pads close to the rim. I don't believe they are ultimately stronger if you have strong hands, because the physics is not different. But for normal brake use it takes less hand force. Modern road bikes set the bar height by cutting the steer tube to the desired height, and for some reason most shops set it as low as possible. I would have to speak up before they kill again.

But getting on a very modern multi-$K bike takes some acclimation, maybe self-training is a better term, to use them smoothly. Clipless pedals are another issue for me. I never moved away from light metal pedals with toe clips and straps, so I would have to bring my own pedals. I think my old Weinmanns, Dia Compes and Campagnolo side-pull calipers are still just fine, but I developed the right hand strength and acclimation starting in the late 1960s when starting high school - these have low mechanical advantage. Brakes now have higher mechanical advantage and hence are more sensitive and responsive. If the younger crowd thinks this better, fine, but I can still ride high-advantage and low-advantage brakes.

And there is also some technique: for any bike I prevent the sense of going over the bars by modulating the brakes, braking from the hooks, shifting my body weight rearward while braking, and setting up my bars at my normal kind of high position.

mercator

I was 50+ when I got this one. I think it still counts as modern.

Costa del Sol

Inusuit

I'm 76. My road bike is a 2013 Specialized Tarmac Elite purchases summer of 2020. Had been in storage since new. I live in a rural area with lots of gravel roads. For those, I ride either my 1989 Specialized Rock Combo or my 1985 Diamondback Ascent.