MondoSam

Thanks! I'm very happy with the Vrerdestein tires. They're relatively inexpensive ($40 for the pair at Performance) and I haven't experienced any flats (yet). It helps that there was already some blue in the graphics on the frame; kinda ties it all together.

defrag

This is my bad weather (rain, snow) commuter bike. The frame is a Velosport Appalache circa 1980's. (slippers are not SPD compatible)

andychrist

I'm so jealous of all you commuters with gleaming vintage rides. Mine's an old rust bucket-- but heck, it came that way. Even a new paint job wouldn't "take." Don't bother to lock it up any more, would probably have to pay someone to steal it.


This 1975 Fuji was the only bike I rode for thirty years-- going to school, commuting, touring, schlepping, you name it. Then three years ago I bought a new Fuji Del Rey for getting around in the city and upgraded my old Special Road Racer for daily duty in the country with a triple crankset, megarange freewheel, thumb shifters, caliper brakes, Brooks saddle with Kalloy seat post and new wheels with Sun CR18 rims (it is getting real hard to find decent 27"s nowadays.) Only thing left original now is the frame and most of the headset. Wasn't really worth the investment but I have a sentimental attachment to this clunker. Hey, and since my LBS replaced the old broken BB with a new sealed cartridge, it doesn't even go "clunk" any more... except when I shift, of course.

You can see a slide show of my "commute" here. I'll be adding new pics as the season progresses. So if you enjoy watching, subscribe to my Hudson Valley page on Flickr, thanks!

mechanicalron

WoW Andychrist great photos! I live in the city and need to get out on the road more. I am going on a camping trip by myself on the 13th and your pictures just got me AMPED! That is so cool you have had that bike for 30 years, Ron.

noglider 

Andy, I suspect people outside our area don't know how gorgeous the Hudson Valley is. It's one of my favorite places. My father finds it to be the prettiest place in the whole country. Your pictures make it tempting to agree with him.

How long was your tour?

I went through it on bike briefly a long, long time ago. And my daughter went to summer camp for five years in Lakeville, CT, and the drive there was in the Hudson Valley. I love it.

andychrist

Thanks for your interest guys.

Actually, that "tour" is a pretty regular commute for me, from my place in Germantown, NY. All those shots were taken within about a twelve mile radius, over the course of a couple of weeks, as daylight and weather permitted. Mapped them on Flicker: that area of the Mid Hudson lies between the Catskills and the Berkshires.

I agree, the Hudson Valley is certainly one of the most beautiful places in the country. Frederick Church built Olana here after traveling the world.

When I was growing up, my family used to come from the city to Candlewood Lake in Danbury, Ct. We would take the Taconic and it sure was scenic. Bicyclists riding along side the highway always kept me spellbound.

Anyone living in the NY metro area should know: you can take your bike along with you for free on Metro North (well, with a $5 lifetime permit) during off-peak, all the way to Poughkeepsie. From there, it's only about forty miles to Olana, just be prepared to climb a couple of nice hills.



Come visit, everybody!

Nightshade

Sigh! I'm gonna need a clean drool towel here.

disco99

I ride a 25+ year old Schwinn World Cruiser that I picked up at D.I. for $2. I cleaned off the weeds, but nothing else, stripped it down a little, and started riding it. The frame is a little big on me, but for 2 bucks...... Its only a 4 mile round trip commute, but I ride every day and love it. Please excuse the duct tape on the flat bars, I put them on late last night and figured out that I ran out of bar tape. It won't last more than a day.

Sawtooth

D.I. ?? You must be from the Western US

I have also bought a few DI bikes. My 20 year old clunker was actually from Salvation Army. I paid $40 and thought I was getting ripped off but it turned out to be a great spend for me.

disco99

Yeah, I'm out in Utah. I have found a couple of decent bikes for under $10, and passe them on to some friends. But as far as a commuter that I like, I think I scored with the Schwinn. And, I put on real handgrips yesterday .

kris247

Last night I found a silver 1975 Schwinn Varsity in my neighbor's trash heap. I threw it in the back of my wife's car, took it home, aired up the tires, and rode it into work this morning. It definitely needs work - there's surface rust on the frame, the tires are dried out and cracking, the brakes are soft, the saddle is terrible, and it can only shift into four of the 12 gears. But, hey it was free.

I can't decide if I should polish the bike up and put it on Craiglist, or keep it for myself. The frame is a little big for me, but not so big that I can't ride it. It does have semi-horizontal dropouts, so maybe I'll do a fixie conversion. Ah possibilities.

Hey, Disco, long time no see. You're not spending the summer in Alaska again?

mike

With all due respects to our friend tekknoshtev, I wonder when this bike will look cool again. For the time being, Not quite yet. The orange handlebar tape does have some appeal, of course.

You know, some stuff starts to look cool in the rear mirror of time. Still, when I see this I wonder what were were thinking back then. Like neon colors and mullets, you just have to wonder if these colors and styles ever will come back.

toegnix

Holy $#@%&! I think that's the same 10-speed bike that was my first road bike ever.

I remember saving $50 and my mom and dad pitching in another $50 so I could buy it at Woolworth's at the Cerritos Mall. I was the only kid in my neighborhood with a 10-speed, happy to trade in my BMX bike, and challenge everyone to speed contests around the block.

mrbrown

My Phoenix China bike. Rusty but tough as a tank.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr-brown/3618474385/



https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr-brown/3619291814/

ModoVincere

approx 1980, Puch Pathfinder I picked up at goodwill....added the brooks, the rack, a dynamo and a B&M headlight, cleaned it up, and use it 3 or 4 times/ week.

mljoshua

I love my old bike - why move up when this one works??

LordBass

Here's the latest revision of my commuter, a 1986 Bridgestone 500. Bought it from the original owner in spring 2008, used it over 1000 miles last year. Just bought myself a fancy new Jamis so this one is headed to pure commuter duty. Its crit-friendly design makes the handling a bit darty and ride on the harsh side, but over 10 relatively flat miles, it's pretty easy to ride.

The bags are new - an Axiom handlebar bag (from eBay) and a Carradice SQR Slim (from jolly old Blighty).

Gave it an overhaul in May, which made it happier. [New cables & housing, bar tape, tires, chain, NOS 7-speed freewheel, lots 'o cleaning & lube, used handlebar, used 105 brake levers, stem & stem adapter from my garage].

Planet Bike Cascadia fenders are in its very near future.

politicalgeek

How about 30 years old? Finally got around to getting the Schwinn built up as a better commuting bike. New trekking bars, Brooks saddle, added the rack from an old bike (the one I traded for the Schwinn), got new brake cables on the other day and a new speedometer today. I just need to add some fenders, get the front dynamo hub laced up and probably tweak the gearing a bit.



Better view of the bars:

Rollfast

Seeing as how I already ride 30-60 year old bikes anyway and I DON'T have a job, what would they look like if I actually DID?

Since Tempest is painted and coming back tonight, that's a good question!

Sixty Fiver

I rode a 69 year old clunker in to the shop today.

oldpedalpusher

I love my 20 year old "clunker"...



...and have ridden it since it was new. It was the cheapest model Fisher you could buy at the time, and was made in Taiwan... but it's a nice sturdy basic bicycle and has carried me thousands of happy miles.


Greg

supercycle62

There was a neighborhood garage sale yesterday and I picked up this older 6 speed...for lack of a better word "hybrid" urban city style bike for $30. It's a Leader LE 60700 and the sticker says "Made in Canada". It came already outfitted with steel fenders and rear rack. It's got 26" tires with steel rims and a Shimano gearing system. All it it needed was air in the tires as the lady who owned it said it had been tuned up last year and then just sat in her basement all winter. The funny part is that while walking the bike to the closest garage to fill up the tires I saw an old bicycle pump at another yard sale for $5. I bought that, pumped up the tires and rode the 2 blocks home. I adjusted the seat and it works perfectly. It has the old style friction shifter on the right hand side that works great getting to all 6 gears. The brakes also work nicely as the cables where all pretty new and well adjusted. Sure...it's heavy with old steel frame and rims but...it's sooo comfortable to ride with a more upright riding postion. Before I got this I had been riding an old Norco Bush Pilot MTB and it has a more aggressive sitting position.

Looks like it's my new commuter!

Sorry for the crappy picture but my camera's sensor is dying.

closetbiker

I just had my 25 to 30 year old frame rebuilt and went with a IGH.

WhysGuy

I think this thing is 30 years old. My uncle got it for a wedding present and it has been hanging in his garage for the last 20 years. I have become attached to it.

Tigerprawn

Just discovered this thread and love it!

Let's see... My bike was produced in 1983, so that makes it a 26 year old