nlerner

I’m feeling pretty good about the fact that of the most-named brands, it’s only Raleighs that I have in the fleet. Of course, I do have a lot of Raleighs (5 currently).

RustyJames 

Not one mention of a Specialized Allez!?

I didn’t chime in on the original post since my experience is limited and frankly all bikes are nifty in their own way.

Andy_K I think your theory about components being more important than the frame has much validity. Larger companies sell Model X and the much more expensive Model Y and the only difference is the components.

Fun read. Thx AdventureManCO for putting this together.

seypat

Yes. He should be mentioned only as Lord Voltetunes.

iab

Normally, I would lament the time I would never get back by reading this thread. But then I look at the time the OP put in and I know I have more of a life than at least one soul in 7 billion. w00t!

BFisher

All that for...Trek?



What next? Is elevator music the hottest download on Spotify?

Andy_K 

I rode my Allez to work today. It's the best riding bike ever. I demand a recount!

merziac

I just finally test rode the new to me, smallish Strawberry, no Trek on the planet rides that nice, ever, period.

RustyJames 

Given the thoroughbreds in your stable, that’s quite an endorsement!

AdventureManCO 

Some other random thoughts I had about the list...

- No vintage Specialized Allez (as another poster mentioned)...very surprising! There was an Allez listed, but it was the new (2014?) Allez
- I thought there would be at least one Hetchins, but nope! They must ride terrible.
- No Confente, or Singer. There was a Herse, but I'm not sure how much it was ridden.
- PX-10 and UO/UE-8 were tied at four each, very interesting! Both were beat out by the TdF/Super Corsa framed Gitanes

Some of the highlights were the stories, or the details. The one mentioned previously about the guy who owned 750 bikes. I saw a post from Frank the Welder from back like 10 years ago. His personal choice was the UO/UE-8.

Someone help me...I seem to recall a story (maybe told by @gugie) about a famous framebuilder, whose personal ride I think was some old beat up black Raleigh? I tried to find that story but I couldn't. Chalk one more up for team R.

Andy_K 

Well, it is the one I rode today. The assessment that @Wildwood shared earlier applies. It is a great bike though, and I just rebuilt it with a mix of Shimano GRX and 5800-series 105 components.

Andy_K 

@AdventureManCO I want to explicitly express my appreciation that you took the time to do this. I'm a numbers geek, so I fully approve the motivation. I thought about doing something similar myself with the Top 5 thread that resurfaced recently, but I was too lazy. This has been a fun thread.

merziac

That was Merz, one of his personal rides is built from salvaged Raleigh warranty tubes, he was the Raleigh guy.

https://www.handbuiltbicyclenews.com...t-of-recycling

seypat

The "Man they call Nobody" with a Nago. I heard he is the fastest gun in the West, or was that someone else that looks like him?

AdventureManCO 

@merziac thank you for this, that was a fanstastic read. I'm not sure that is the story though, although it may be. If it is a different one, that may be even more praise for Raleigh than originally thought.

I think I read the story somewhere in this forum, that a forum member visited this framebuilders shop, and there were very many high end, custom bikes all around, but off in the corner, was this beat up, black Raleigh. When asked about it, it was the framebuilders personal bike, his favorite one. The reason why I think it may be a different story is that I seem to recall this was a factory Raleigh, and not a build up. I'm still going to try an search for it. I personally love the stories of these very high caliber individuals who find grace and beauty in what is mundane in the eyes of many.

EDIT: Found the post! It was Peter Weigle! link ...looks like it could be a Raleigh of some sort? With Nervex lugs, that makes it potentially what, an older Super Course, or International, or?

AdventureManCO 

Also, looks like I found a couple new threads of 'favorites'. I'm going to edit the list a little.

52telecaster

Awesome thread..... My favorite changes so often I believe I'm a bit unreliable.

Wildwood 

if DeRosa does not win for 'Race Bike' mentions - then there is a problem with the gentrifying positional needs of our C&V crowd.

Trek, Raleigh, Schwinn - indicates those are the most owned by the mainly USA nature of this Forum.



hehehe - I have only owned 3 Treks, how could I know if they ever made a good bike?

VintageRide

Interesting that over time even reasonably popular manufacturers with models that sold well are not now generally seen very often, although regional sales will impact the overall number that have survived. Case in point is the 1970 Gitane Tour De France that a local collector had for sale. It was in great condition , not something you find very often with French bikes though it had not sold for a few months, partly due to the asking price of 350.00 and dealing with this particular seller. Knowing the overall rarity I considered the amount to be somewhat of a bargain relatively speaking, especially in light of what that amount usually gets you, at least where I live.

Given the fragile nature of decals and how so many vintage bikes become quite used over the years the opportunity to own a well preserved example was a seldom seen purchase, plus it rides very nicely. It is possible I might not spot another one. I do not know the ratio but obviously many more Peugeots were sold. In fact after Gitane I would venture that Le Jeune, Jeunet, Mercier and Follis as examples sold in much smaller quantities among the French companies. Of course the factory's capacity and proper distribution played a key roll here in North America.


I should mention that many original components had been replaced with early 1970's Japanese parts, all brand new. I had a few French parts I installed to at least return the bike to a level of "Frenchness " that was acceptable if not as it was sold. I had to chuckle over a person that offered the opinion that the NOS wheel set that came with the Gitane ( Shimano low flange hubs with Araya 700C rims ) were not worth much and that similar wheels could be picked up at any bike shop. I think the chances of acquiring quality wheels with 120mm spacing and 5 speed 14 - 28T freewheel were, to say the least, uncommon in today's market. I was asking 200.00 but decided to keep them as a spare set, using tubular wheels at the moment which I do not mind at all as that is all I rode for 30 + years on an Italian road bike. I plan on purchasing a pair of Rene Herse 28mm clincher tires at some point.

AdventureManCO 

Hey thanks! I appreciate it! I like researching things and I was curious. I'm not really that worried about how inaccurate or lopsided it may be regarding how some bikes may be unrepresented. It is simply what others said were their favorite bikes, and it was fun to know.

It has also given me a renewed interest in getting my own '87 Ironman rideable, so that's what I've been doing for the past week. I also have a Gitan TdF, and it is languishing up on the rafters. I started going through it, but sort of hit a stopping point when I realized the forks were a bit bent (no frame damage), and I'm needing a good pair of sewups. AND the frame is probably a bit small for me at 54cm.

I'm also interested in trying a Peugeot UO-8...with all the good things I've heard about them, I'd be real curious about how one compares to my PX-10.

I feel a bit like that character in the Lego movie, where he just goes around liking all the things that everyone else likes...PX-10! Ironman! Vintage Treks! But it has been really fun actually, to interpret through my own senses what others have said and enjoyed.

The funny thing about this list is that the bikes I have probably enjoyed riding the most are nowhere to be found on the list. My Trek Multitrack 750 is setup with some bmx style handlebars and some larger tires, and it is such a cushy, floaty ride. It rides way better than it really should. It is fairly pedestrian, was not handcrafted by a single artisan by any stretch, and is probably my heaviest bike (I'm a bit of a weight weenie). No special or high end components. The other one is my Trek 990 mtb turned 700c commuter - it is fast, nimble, and minimalist. It is really fun to ride, and has been very flexible, and such a fun project to tinker with.

AdventureManCO 

It was a bargain. That is a gorgeous bicycle, and more my size than the TdF I actually have

AdventureManCO 

They did not. Or did they? What is a race bike? Can I race on my vintage hybrid?

This list was fun to see, and makes me want to find an old Murray or Huffy and just throw Dura Ace on it and see what happens. I'd love to show up on group rides with such a confounding bike.

USAZorro

I suspected this.

p.s. Raleigh International
p.p.s. Trek road bikes and I just do not get on well.
p.p.p.s. nlerner... 5 is not "a lot"

Wildwood 

Is this a trick question?



Hey thanks for compiling the data.
My guess is that the typical C&Ver has moved on from their Italian (race) bikes.....or added a Technomic stem. And Treks are ubiquitious on every used bike sales channel. And easier to spell than Ciocc, Guerciotti, Pegoretti, Pogliaghi, Tommasini, etc.

smd4

This is why I wasn't surprised not to see Cinelli mentioned, and why I was surprised to see that you were surprised that Confente was not mentioned. How many people out there have owned either?

AdventureManCO 

Oh Cinelli was mentioned, 5 times at that. It actually cemented for me the goal of a at least getting on a good-fitting Super Corsa / Speciale Corse (sp?) at least once in my life.

I'm not suuuuuper surprised about the Confente, but maybe just a little. I know that there are members that have one, and since so much of the the 'best ride ever' is about the feelz, there has to be at least something about riding one of the most collectible bikes in the world that would be elationary. The Alex Singer absence is moreso.

And beyond that, I think I'm more surprised that for all the praises people sing about the Miyata 1000, not one was mentioned...even once!

The Trek thing is interesting. Given the fact that they were the overwhelming choice, it was fascinating to see more than one person expect them to be missing from the list completely, even with the different Trek threads and fans. It's funny, I have 5 Treks...the most out of any single brand, and it comprises maybe a little more than 1/3 of my entire stable, but I didn't plan it like that and wouldn't say that I am a diehard Trek fan...it just sort of ended up like that. What I was surprised about was the slightly subtle contempt for the brand, which I hadn't really thought much about. But then, reading through the 'Show Your Trek' thread, near to the current end of it was a smaller side-discussion around the explosive growth of Trek, which was akin to what you might call a hostile corporate takeover of the bike industry. I get it that they are viewed as the 'microsoft' of the bike world (or at least back then), but I do think that many of the people on this forum enjoy that Treks tend to have the most affinity for their early days when they were mostly just a frambuilder and starting to gain more traction. I would say that 78-83 would be what most people gravitate to, even though I was a little bummed to find out that they were using 1-piece headtube/lug combos even back then. I wonder if they would kept erupting in popularty if people knew some of the shortcuts and costcutting they did.