SirMike1983 

That must be its higher speed brother-- I think Milano Parco is the name of the one I see. This series of bicycles is really great looking, though I haven't ridden one. But if I needed a multipurpose, modern, transportation bike one of these would be it. In fact, I would prefer one of these to the vintage 10 speed I have. I don't care for road bikes.

It's all about what you're building and that you're making a quality build-- quality is timeless. I would enjoy a modern Pashley every bit as much as a vintage Raleigh.

Mr23779

The Parco has the 8-speed internal gear hub, I believe, and the Citta has the conventional 8-speed setup (rear derailleur) with rear rack. I've removed all the fenders, chainguard, rack, and ride naked.

Saw the Milano line last year at a local bike shop. My wife made fun of the color but I immediately bought it after taking a test ride. Made a few changes to it and it has new pedals...but other than that...

Love that bike. The twist-shift is crisp and has functioned flawlessly. Matter of fact, I put knobby tires on it and beat the snot out of it on my local trails for several months. Hasn't failed me yet.

Here it is with knobby tires:


Just recently put the street tires back on the Citta after getting my new Scott Spark:

Little Darwin

Part of what I enjoy about C&V bikes is that you don't need a lot of money to enjoy them. I would personally never buy a $2000 vintage Paramount.

If I were to buy a $2,000 bike, it would be a modern bike. In fact my most expensive bike is a vintage bike with a modern drive train, which cost a total of about $1,000, a price I would have been unwilling to pay for a bike with a vintage drive train.

I don't care for the looks of modern bikes, and I think it is largely due to the excessive advertising, but that aspect is really no different than a bike with a fully pantographed components that some people drool over.

If I could have only one bike, it would be one that I already own. A vintage touring frame with modern components.

Mansram01

Great thread. As for me, I enjoy bikes period. I really do like the modern bikes for all of the technical innovations as previously mentioned. Modern bikes are lighter, have better gearing and definitely give you an edge when it comes to racing. Mind you that my idea of racing is passing the guy in front of me!

I also enjoy vintage bicycles because they are quite the pleasure to look at and ride. The feel of steel between your legs is still more pleasurable than carbon fiber. Both offer excellent rides but I do feel more at home on steel. The older bikes also seem to have more personality than their modern counterparts. More lines, more curves, more persona although less aerodynamic.

Although I enjoy and own both CF and steel vintage, I do find more to talk about when it comes my "steel" rides. As Tejano mentioned earlier, I ride my bikes based on function first and artistic appreciation second. I used to ride my vintage bikes just because they were nice collectibles and fun to work on but I have raised the stakes and I expect my Masi Nuova Strada to perform everything I can do with my CF ride albeit slightly slower...

Fibber

Gee, somebody better get on the horn to those folks up in Redmond, OR that are betting the company by building the B-787 entirely out of composites. I think they expect them to still be flying for at least 25 years. Seriously, these types of materials can work. My bigger concern is the bonding of composites to conventional metals - that's where the trouble begins. Ask the good folks at Airbus about tail separation.

I'd consider a full carbon bike. I'd be more hesitant about buying a hybrid with the triangle of one material, stays of another.

TejanoTrackie 

Well, I've got a hybrid MONOC Quattro Pro road frame with aluminum main tubes and carbon stays. It has about 10K riding and racing miles on it over a 5 year period, and has been through 2 serious wrecks. So far no problems with connections between carbon and aluminum. OTOH, a friend of mine broke his Teschner all carbon track frame in the chainstay at the bottom bracket joint. So, I'd say there still are issues to be ironed out with carbon bicycle frames. I have yet to buy one, and maybe never will, until I feel they have matured to the same level as aluminum, which also had issues when it was first used.

harrier

I bought a Bianchi Milano for my wife, and she loves it. She has even gone Mt. Biking on it as well as 25+ mile rides! I bought her a Ti bike afterwards with much better components (used) and she just likes to ride her Milano.

caloso

My mom has a Bianchi Milano. She's quite short at 5'0" and it was one of the few "adult" bikes that fit her comfortably. She takes it for rides on the bike path with the kids. I tried hard to sell her on the celeste and red, but she opted for black and gold. Also a very nice color scheme.

corkscrew

Not saying Carbon isn't improving with time, just that I don't want it on any of my bikes. At least on other frames made out of other materials, one can see a crack. For the racers and those with much more $ than I, more power to them.

I hear you on the bonded frames though - scary stuff. I have a Raleigh Technium 440 sitting out back waiting to be restored. Glad its to small for me to ride.

roccobike

Engineering studies have shown that carbon fiber bikes, ridden regularly will self destruct or the frames will become otherwise disabled within 10 years.
It is not known if those CF bikes that continue to perform after 10 years are uninformed or just plain stubborn.

jeffieh

I love modern bikes. Whenever I see one I'm really tempted to lift it off the ground with my little finger. It's unreal. Don't like riding bikes that are too light though. Learned my lesson with an early 90s Vitus 979. The lightest bike by far in my collection. And the ugliest ride.
OK, maybe it's not scientific. But it works for me in terms of rationalising all those lightweight steel bikes in the garage.
Jeff

tradtimbo

really? or are you joking? I can't tell, but if those studies really do exist, let me know where I can read them. I'm just a curious engineer.

KRhodes

For two years I was commuting only about 11 miles every day to work, and for the past nine months I've been commuting 20 miles daily. During the former time, I was also doing a 15 mile climb two or three times a week.... it's something like 3,000 or 3500 ft of climbing. Sometimes I extended that ride to a 50 mile loop with even more climbing.... finally I wound up doing my first century ride with over 5,000 ft of climbing. I did all of this on a 73-ish Pugeot, which weighs in at 29 or 30lbs. I weighed in at a mere 104 to 110.

I was doing the same rides that roadies glorify and make a big deal out of, and I always judged them pretty harshly.... assuming that they didn't have to work at all on their fancy-pants CF bicycles. "***** bikes" is the term that came to mind. Having never sat on a lightweight bike, I couldn't fathom anything other than my Pugeot. Note, I have never done any competitive riding. Not something I'm interested in.

Anyway....kicking and screaming last week, I upgraded to a Specialized Dolce Sport Triple. My heavens. I am so glad I did.... Pedaling harder actually results in a lot more speed, whereas this was hardly true on the Pug. I cut 35% of my commute time because this bike is so much lighter/faster. Only downsides so far are that it's worth stealing (and therefore cannot be unattended unlocked....or locked), and going through gravel and dirt are not as feasible.

Blah blah blah. I will still hang onto that Pugeot for ice and snow this winter, as that added weight will keep me from going horizontal :-)

RFC

They are seeking affirmation. It's a Sunday sort of thing.

iab

Yup. I like both vintage and modern. Big woop.

KRhodes

Right, that's exactly it. Couldn't be anything else. :-)

mickey85

I like new and old bikes. Given a choice, aesthetically, I will choose lugged steel (new OR old) any day over carbon fiber or aluminum. Bonus points in steel's favor if the CF or AL has a sloping top tube. That said, I wouldn't turn down being given a new aluminum road bike.

Barrettscv 

I have a pair of vintage bike and a pair of modern bikes. Modern bikes have merit, and I like a stiff titanium frame and brifters for group rides. I also like modern pedals, external bearing BB & Cranksets, 20 speeds & 30 speeds. My made-by-Lynskey road bike is a fast bike and responsive ride. My Soma Double Cross is highly versatile as a Century-ride bike, commuter, and can handle smooth single-track and gravel roads.






But my vintage bikes are more fun, and I really like the ride and handling of these Reynolds 531 steel bikes.





IMO, a rider should use any bike that promotes usage. It's all about fun & fitness;

unterhausen

a lot of people on BF ride modern bikes, so attacking them as a class is a little to close to trolling for my taste. This is a year-old thread, I'm locking it.