wagonfanatic

Would you mind naming a few of the different ones that you see? Forgive my ignorance, I just don't know a ton about vintage bikes. I've googled a fair amount, but imagine I could get much faster answers straight from your brain. Thanks in advance

CliffordK

Hmm...

I think the OP said $150 to $300 budget.

I think my old Colnago did come in at just a bit under $300, with full Campy Nuovo Record. But, that was a couple of years ago.

Anyway, if I had to sell all my bikes and could keep only one, it would be the old Colnago, even though it has been battered and abused for decades.

If you're wanting to do "vintage" bikes, there are two ways to do it. The first would be to pick out a specific bike and hunt it down, but it may end up being more expensive than you might expect, and may require shipping.

The second is to just keep an eye open at thrift stores, Craigslist, your local bike co-op/recycler to see what pops up. Save on bidding wars and save on shipping. Something "cool" will show up with a bit of patience, especially in larger cities.

What size are you looking for?

These caught my attention.

56cm Italvega Road Bike with Campagnolo Parts
Carbon Fiber Trek 2300 Road Bike 58cm
early 80's ROSSIN Frameset 63cm
Bianchi Classica 21" (53~54cm) Frame Project Road Bike or Fixie

As far as your wheels, you can always rebuild with any axle size you need. 126mm, 130mm, 135mm, etc.

uncle uncle

Probably a 38/46 up front paired to a 13 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 19 / 21 out back.

USAZorro

It isn't.

Check Dannoxyz's post on this thread:

Beautiful bikes though.

eschlwc

it isn't what?

thanks for the link. did he refer to vitus 172 vs 531?

horatio 

Ironman. Well within your budget requirements.

DeRosa, if cost were no object.

gomango

I've seen three Bridgestone MB1s on our local CL this year. Two of the three went for less than $300, the third was right at $300.

I can't think of a better all roader than these.

This one has knobbies, but I see most of them with slicks and a rack.

Great commuter bikes. Snappy performance.

BTW I've owned three of these myself over the years and they represent one of the best values out there.

The pictured one below isn't mine, but it can give you an idea of the versatility by Googling Bridgestone MB1.

Tons of ideas out there.

Coal Buster

Here's my Cilo sport 105: $5 garage sale:


I just saw a Centurion Ironman with the same groupset on craigslist. The giveaway of the type is Biopace chainrings and a Shimano 105 darkgrey headset. Sometimes only the headset remains from the original group. From what I've gathered, no matter the mfg., bikes with this groupset from that era have frames worth investing in for a quality budget build.

oddjob2

Many great recommendations above, but so nice, you could never let some of them out of your sight in BeanTown, not even for 5 minutes. Also many are worthy of much finer parts than available from your Accordo.

At $150 or less, you might consider the following:

1981 Schwinn Super Sport
1981 or later Schwinn Voyageur
1985-1987 Schwinn Prelude, Tempo, Super Sport
1986 Schwinn Peloton (probably unobtainium at $150)
Centurion Lemans, IronMan
Trek 520, 560, Elance 400D
Lotus Excelle
Miyata 712, 912

Keep your eye on this thread. @Rocket-Sauce always posts great finds in the Boston market.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...e-part-ii.html

OldsCOOL

Too many limitations. You would be surprised at what sits in barns waiting to be found. this is where being rural and small town rocks.

USAZorro

I don't know that there was one that directly compared, but with regard to tensile strength - high tensile steel is slightly stronger than aluminum. 4130 is stronger then High Tensile, 531 is stronger than 4130, and specially treated 531 is stronger then the original. Tubing sizes and geometry affect stiffness, and in normal riding, aluminum is safe and can feel stiffer than steel - but it is not stronger than 531.

Charles Wahl

For $150, I would stick with craigslist (local, cheaper) rather than eBay; or else keep an eye on the Classic & Vintage Sales subforum here (motivated by love of old bikes rather than unrealistic profit expectations). CL should be a fairly large market in Boston, though like SF, probably a bit overpriced too. Shipping a frame adds considerably to the cost (and of course risk) for a frame within your budget. I'd repost to the subforum with a WTB tag in the subject line. There's also the "frame doesn't fit" perennial thread in C&V forum.

You might get in touch with BF member nlerner, another Hub denizen, through whose hands pass a lot of interesting frames, though generally of a certain size -- impeccable taste. Also southpawboston, though he doesn't claim to have "way too many bikes".

Lastly, you might find help where you didn't expect it, if you will post what size frame you feel that you need.

Bike frames that, through afición or experience have tickled my fancy through the years:
* = may not meet your budget, but not far off
- = no fender/rack eyelets, which would be high on my list of "must-haves"

Motobécane: *Grand Record (R 531) or Grand Jubilé (Vitus) but you need to deal with French or Swiss BB + headset threading; not the end of the world -- lovely high-volume manufacture bikes, better IMO than Peugeot of any kind except the most expensive.
*Mondia (Swiss threading, typically, harder to deal with than French, but can use IRD cartridge BB with special Swiss cups).
Raleigh Gran Sport (aka Grand Sports), *Competition, -Gran Course, Grand Tour.
Italvega (Ben Lawee design, made in Italy, I believe).
Univega, higher-end models (also Lawee, but Asian-made, some without eyelets.
*Gazelle (Dutch), - for many models
Nishiki Prestige
Centurion, as some have said, but I've never seen one that made me pause on the street.
Trek, Schwinn have been mentioned by others; don't really excite me, in just about any model, incl. the 7-series or Paramount.
I think you can forget about an Italian mfgr in your price range.

Don't worry about the OLD on the rear wheel; for anything you're likely to find in your price range, it'll be 120, 126 or 130, and any of those can fit a 126 OLD wheel without even any changes, or a simple "cold reset" by a competent bike shop. Do pay attention to the brake reach required, especially in the rear, if you intend to reuse brakes from the previous bike. This may be measured from brake mount hole to center of axle (and from axle centerline to middle of brake track on your rims). Good idea, though not absolutely necessary, to measure the previous frame for reference, if it's still around, and see how much adjustment from that you have on existing brakes.

-Lack of eyelets is not necessarily a deal-breaker if you can stomach using vinyl- or rubber-padded "P-clips". I even have a neat little set of threaded aluminum fixtures with a rubber bushing that I used years ago to fit a rack, which went into the triangular opening of a forged rear dropout. They don't seem to be made anymore, alas. Nowadays I wouldn't buy a frame without eyelets (though I have a few of them).

Charles Wahl

@USAZorro: did you believe that the Vitus tubing being discussed was aluminum? Several French mfgrs used their steel tubesets, most notably Motobécane for the Jubilé line; here's a link to an article by Norris Locksley: *Vitus history by Norris Lockley

I think that Vitus 172 was lighter than, and perhaps not quite as strong as, R 531; prob. not far off R 531SL.

USAZorro

I thought it was aluminum. Egg on my face here. Sorry.

RidesaJapanese

I'm afraid my $3 Takara Deluxe Touring 12 speed isn't going anywhere, I hit the jackpot with this one. The smooth easy shifting of these old SunTour derailleurs makes it a joy to ride. Can you really beat a bike boom era Japanese road bike?

denny1969

If I could only have one vintage 12-speed...

I'd love to have a Campy'd out Colnago from that era, but I'd rather have a late 80s Nishiki Olympic 12 for nostalgic reasons. This was my first road bike that I bought on my own in which I put thousands of miles on as an enthusiastic college student. It ended up getting sold to another enthusiastic college student who I am sure put lots of miles on it, as well.

As for wagonfanatic's budget, this is an easy build within his constraints. If he shops well enough, parts could be upgraded from Shimano Light Action to Shimano 105 or 600.

Dennis

look171

LeMond is the best bang for the buck if you are on a budget. Personally, I buy a Rossin, 3Rensho, Motta or many of the Italian frames. I love to have my Gios back too.

wagonfanatic

I'm a 58, although I just bought a Lemond and that was a 57.

For whatever reason I'm very attracted to the vintage Raleighs...probably because my Father in law is Scottish and is always rambling on and on about the glory of English bikes! I'm not saying he's right...just that I think the old Raleighs are too.

mightymax

I am and have been more than satisfied with my 1984 vintage Schwinn World Sport. Made in Taiwan by Giant.

The Motobecane Grand Jubilee is just pretty. I have a Huffy Concours that I picked up when I worked at Toys R Us. I just have the frame sans fork and have read this is a Motobecane made bike. I would like to make this rideable at some point.
Max Bryant

nlerner

Then this Raleigh might be of interest to you (I'm not the seller, no connection, blah blah):

'72 Raleigh Grand Sport - 23 1/2"/59cm

ironwood

Specialized Sequoia.

RobbieTunes

First I read the title: Only 1 Vintage 12 speed. Easy enough, SLX Cilo with 2x6 Dura Ace, or Centurion Prestige with same.

Then I read a bit: He has a 6sp group and wheels. So, now I decide he's in the mood to build a bike with that stuff.
Then I read some more: Budget $150-$300 (entire bike) Now, I see a challenge, but a fun one.

Plenty of options, even selling off the Centurion and using the money + his budget to buy something.
I just bought a 2002 "alumicarbon" with 2x9 DA, great wheels, carbon bits for $500. They're out there.

Seems pretty simple. Figure out the swap cost, maybe $50, since the components are proven and familiar, and spend $150-$250 on a frame.
Centurion swaps well to Centurion, so I'd look for an Ironman frame first, consider the price vs. a Lemans RS or Lemans, and so on.

I figure, in the Centurion arena, you can spend $200 complete to swap everything over to an Ironman frame.
The other $100 you'll have to spend on security for defending yourself from hordes of admirers.

I'm sort of building a budget bike of that ilk.
I've got $75 into a Suntour GPX group with hubs, chain, freewheel.
I've got $35 into an NOS set of brake levers and hoods.
I've got $25 into an NOS 105 headset. I have a post, saddle, stem, and pedals.
I've got $85 into a Light Action 2x6 group, including the wheelset.
OK, so $220 is where I'm at. I'll sell the Light Action group for $30-$60, I suppose.
So, net $160-190 is where I'm planning, still needing a frame and fork and Cinelli bars.
I'm sure hoping the bike swap this weekend finds me a few things, and generates enough cash for a snack with Poguemahone and Syke.

If I was the OP, and already had the 2x6 drivetrain, bars, stem, saddle, $150-$300 well "brackets" a quality upgrade.
In fact, with his group, I can probably buy a trashed Ironman or Lemans frameset, coat it and decal it, and be done for $300.
And that's just Centurions. Like others say, there are plenty of choices.

mtnbke

Vintage Olmo.

I bought a 60cm with full pantographed Campagnolo Gran Sport. The Campy crankset, shifters, derailleurs, seat post, and chain rings engraved with the color painted in was just a visual treat. Even the other Italian components were pantographed, the stem had Olmo's signature, even the bars had Olmo engraving. I found that bike for super cheap.

I should have kept the components, or turned it into an upright cruiser since it was too small for me.

That would be my choice, a beat up old Olmo dripping with Campy. You can find them for less than $300 if you look long enough.

Here's one not too much more than that in the Denver area now:

https://denver.craigslist.org/bid/5124344726.html

I'd be shocked if you walked into that pawn shop and waved three hundred dollar bills under their cretin noses if they didn't take it.

72Paramount

I scored my Raleigh International for $125.00 from its original owner. It is an extremely compliant bicycle. Great for long rides, club rides, short rides. 531 is a must have unless you are rocking an Italian with Columbus tubing. Also internationals have a more classic geometry than most of the other quality bicycles of that era. It really helps on rough roads. Also the center pull brakes allow for larger tire clearances. The nervex professional "fancy" lugs look great as well.

rawly old

I recently found a frame, totally stripped of all but the frame, in a ditch by the
road, After stripping off most of the horriid black paint, I discovered a gold '83
Centurion Le Mans 12. I've since built in back up with what ever I could find in my
parts tub. Initially I'd thought to sell it cheap, but now, despite the zip ties &
hose clamps, I will not part with my retro rat rod. It's just too much fun.