Jay.Money

What are your thoughts on new bikes built on vintage designs? I was checking out bikes online the other day and stumble upon Raleigh's "Steel" line. The Grand Prix, Grand Sport and Record Ace look interesting to me.

Are there benefits to a new vintage bike like that? I didn't check pricing, but would be interested to see how they price out compared to a similarly sorted true vintage.

Newness is appealing to me from a reliability standpoint (but maybe that's just my wife speaking ). And I like the styling compared to new age bikes with exotic materials & designs.

Road Fan

It's an oxymoron.

sloar

For the price of the 2015 record ace, you can get a top of the line c&v bike. I would much rather have a vintage Raleigh Professional than the new Record Ace. Much more bike also.

ramzilla

Saw a display of around a dozen at a bike store in Florida recently. They're very pretty bikes. The lowest price tag I remember seeing was around $875 for a fitness style item. Makes me think my old C&V bikes are more valuable than ever.

tricky 

Raleigh wasn't using the best tubesets when I last looked. You could get something a lot more chi chi for the $ if you go vintage.. That said, I am a taller guy and can appreciate the solidness of a thicker or partially straight gauge frameset.

I am interested in Lemond's new bikes. Imho, the Washoe is a great looking vintage-inspired steel bike. The frameset starts at $2349, though. I would guess that you would pay mid $1k to mid $2k for a frame that is the equivalent in tubing quality to something vintage you can buy complete, possibly modernized with brifters, for less than $1k. At this point you start to get into a discussion on whether the vintage tubing matches the ride you want, even if you install a carbon fork. In a nutshell, if you want the quality of a high end vintage bike, but want a new bike and have the coin... Go for it! Buy the Washoe! https://greglemond.com/#!/en/washoe

tricky 

More mass market stuff on par with the Raleigh. Vigorelli 105 | Bianchi USA Not sure of other brands that are still making this style.

sloar

If I had the money, the only new vintage style bike I would own is a Pegoretti. Other than that its vintage only.

kingston 

I like those steel raleighs a lot. The advantage of buying one over a CV bike is that you don't have to invest any time in finding and refurbishing the bike. You roll it off the showroom floor and you are ready to ride.

I have been in the market for a travel bike for a while, and the Grand Prix at $2100 including the bag seems like a pretty good deal.

John E

I have seen nothing that would entice me to give up my old stuff.

sloar

If you want a "new" classic bike, check out the retro c&v thread. A true classic frame and some brand new components from someplace like Ribblecycles and you can have a lot nicer modern classic bike than anything from a bike shop.

USAZorro

I might consider getting a SOMA, simply because it's difficult to find a quality vintage steel frame with all the braze-ons that it has. One of the mass-produced Rivendell's would also seem a reasonable deal in the "new steel" category, but generally speaking... real vintage is a better buy, imo.

peugeot mongrel

+1

bikemig 

I ride newer and older steel bikes. I like my newer steel bikes a lot, a soma doublecross and a salsa casseroll (the one that takes long reach sidepulls). I like both the bikes a lot. I figure the frames are no better than what you'll find on a vintage bike. Shifting and gear ratios are better on modern bikes. I understand though why someone might opt for a vintage bike over a modern steel bike.

RobbieTunes

I like them. No reason not to, but I'm not their target market.
If Rivendell can make $$ on those things, no reason Raleigh can't.

Like bikemig, the new steel bikes are fine for me. So are the old ones.

I would opine that 75 of 100 folks here, after an hour on a Wraith, would sell a bike to get one.

toavii

Like stated above, Soma has had some very attractive offerings.

Located in MN, I can appreciate what All City has been offering up. I've owned a Mr. Pink and Nature Boy, while the gal has a Macho Man. They won't blow you away in a lot of different aspects, but they're all around solid bikes that can handle most anything you throw at them. I'd take everything they offer over Surly's counterpart without blinking an eye.

All of of that is neglecting an already established and growing custom steel market. If I ever went new again, that's the direction I'd go.

coolkat

"Public" brand bikes often make me do a double-take when passing. They are very c&v inspired. I went by one the other day with non-aero levers.

tricky 

@RobbieTunes Do you have a thread anywhere that goes more in depth into your Wraiths? I have been following those guys (that guy?) on Instagram and I really like his approach. It's similar to the Endpoint cycles, Breadwinner and Oceanair guys. US made stuff that is really reasonably priced and well thought out.

pcb 

There are significant benefits to getting a new retro-inspired steel bike, particularly if you're a bicycle novice, without a well-sorted bicycle-specific workshop and pile o' parts. Buy from a good bike shop and you'll get a bike that fits you well, is correctly assembled, they'll explain how to use and maintain it, and you'll be able to ride it without spending much/any time tinkering/repairing. It may not have the charm of a true C&V bike, but you'll have a safe bike that fits well and is fun to ride. If you're not very knowledgeable/technical with bikes, that shouldn't be underestimated.

If you're an old codger who's been working on C&V bikes since when they were new, or a young'n with bike smarts, tools & parts, you can almost always find a nicer/better C&V bike for what the big guys are charging for a production bike. Whether you go full C&V or build a neo-retro mix, buying used will save you money, give better value, and you'll wind with up a bike you've tailored and built for yourself.

That said, there are some very nice steel production bikes out there these days. And if you can stretch your budget higher, there are heaps of low-volume production and one-off custom frames that ride great and look beautiful. The number of really good steel framebuilders active today, and the variety of frames they offer, may be unprecedented in my lifetime.

RobbieTunes

I do not have a thread that goes into more detail, but I'll send you a PM.
All I have is some experience, enthusiasm, and a big mouth.

Bandera

Don't confuse the new generation of steel w/ actual old bikes, small but significant design changes can make for a versatile lively modern-ish machine.

130 spacing
1 1/8: threadless steerer
Full braze-ons

Never crashed, abused or overpriced with a warranty and aftermarket support.
What's not to like?

-Bandera

paulkal

The threadless headset and stem, it looks ugly. Especially compared to a classic stem.

Bandera

I agree that particular stem is ugly, however it took 10 minutes to swap it in to compensate for shoulder bursitis vs. the MKI build.

Choices:
1) Not ride
B) Surgery
iii) Ugly stem

I went for iii), works a treat until shoulder recovery is complete and a swap back to my normal drop (see pic).

The 1 1/8" front end is very solid at pace on the chip seal descents in the Hill Country.
It's a more functional design, when building a new bike I use new tech w/ no intention of building a Replica of my old machines.

If I want to look at Cinelli bar/stem I can ride other bikes.



-Bandera

Jay.Money

Wow, checked it out. Some beautiful bikes in there. Problem I've got is: no parts, never built a bike before, don't really want to build one now.

I'm OK to do maintenance and do know one end of a wrench from another, I just don't want to spend my time finding stuff and building it. I have other hobbies, a family, etc. that reduce the appeal of the build.

Soma's are a good suggestion, thanks. Will check them out!

joe v

WHAT!! And miss all the fun???

Road Fan

How do these features affect liveliness? Sounds like LBS sales-talk.