fordfasterr

I was riding this (1986 schwinn world sport) to work up until last week when I replaced it with this (almost 20y/o) 1991 Paramount !

Mr. Underbridge

My "all-weather" commuter is my first non-Huffy bike my parents bought for me when I was about 15. I'm now 31. The components were crap but the frame rocks - it's Steel and is similar in geometry to the Cross-check. It's funny because that style was so passe for years before people realized that rigid steel frame + well-raked fork + 700C wheels can roll over anything that can be called a road, and lots that can barely be called a trail.

I'm so uncool I'm cool again. Do I lose my Fred card for that?

It is pretty fun riding a bike to work that I rode to school.

Tom Stormcrowe

You all know what? This thread will be so massively useful to potential entry commuters that I'm going to sticky it.

HardyWeinberg

I wonder if it's worth adding commentary for how non-mechanically inclined folks might pressure an LBS to tune up an old bike even though 'the maintenance will cost more than the bike is worth'. Or maybe you just can't do that, need to take it to a shop where they do recognize old bikes as useful.

stringbreaker

Oh yeah and here is another older bike I occasionally ride to work. Its a late 80's Bianch Tangent.

Sheik_Yerbouti

This topic is making me sad. I was commuting for the past couple of years on a 1979 Nishiki road bike. I had fixed it up, repainted it, and commuterized it. On Friday my front tire got jammed in a curb I was hopping causing me to flip over the bars. Trying to prevent serious injury, I held on and fell on my side. I came out rather unscathed other than some sore joints, but I cracked my frame at the top tube - steer tube lug, and bent the frame at the steer tube-down tube lug.

She's going to hang in my garage as a decoration from now on, I'll strip off the good parts over the next few years, but I'll leave the frame. On the plus side my wife gave me permission to buy a surly CC to replace it.

jgedwa

I bet this issue is in the top five all-time across BF. As such, there may not be any particularly good advice. A couple of things to think on though:

-Even if you do not consider yourself mechanically inclined, you might consider giving the work a try yourself. Bikes are not cars; they are far simpler. For many things, the tools required are minimal. There are good resources on-line that will try to walk you through any job. Sheldon Brown, Park, and BF are good ones. Bikes are simple enough that many problems can be thought out and solved even by fools like us. Maybe a happy medium would be to take care of the simplest things yourself, so that when you go into the shop you needn't just hand them a basket case to disentangle.

-Notoriously, some bike shops simply do not want to mess with old bikes. In some cases, they will be very unnecessarily discouraging about it. I have even had them be rude about it. Evidently, they do not like your money, so don't give it to them. With luck, you will find a place (or even a person within a place) that will want to do it. When I finally found a place around here that could and would help me, I felt like I had found religion. So, go to a number of places and start asking questions, you will pretty quickly figure out which ones will work with you. And ask others in your area for suggestions about where to go.

-In defense of LBS's, I suspect that a lot of people drag in old crappy bikes and expect them to be fixed up with little investment. They are merely toys, right? Who would bother repairing a toy for even $50. If you have an old, unloved bike, you can expect it will take some effort to bring it up to speed again. It is probably effective to clearly indicate to the LBS that you do actually want to invest in it. Maybe this works. In truth though, those LBS that are too snooty to bother with old bikes are just plain jerky about it however I present it to them. But maybe your jerks are not as jerky as my jerks.

jim

caloso

I've shown these several times, but I don't mind posting them again.

My '86 Gazelle Champion Mondial. It's outfitted with a modern Campy 10-speed drive train. I'll occasionally ride it on the local hammerfests. As you'd expect, it handle cross-winds and bad pavement like a, well, a Champ. It's also a pleasure to ride to work.


And my '89 Trek 660. I built this as a FG/SS all-weather commuter/rain training bike. The paint was looking a little ragged so I had it blasted and powdercoated and then install full fenders for the rainy season. Even though it was a purpose built race bike, it still has clearance for 25mm tires with fenders and 28mm without. Converting an older bike to FG/SS can be relatively inexpensive and a good choice for the flat-land commuter: it's simple, reliable, and a fun change of pace from your weekend geared bike.


And here we are at the State Capitol.

riddei

Where are the "clunkers"? All I see are gorgeous bikes in this thread. Arguably more gorgeous than anything found off the rack today!

Mr. Underbridge

Those of us who responded but own ugly-assed bikes didn't post pictures. Danged showoffs make me look bad.

AdamD

Either that or we're all just bike geeks who see beauty in all things bike! I see the sexiness and potential in a rusty old beater, a beautiful new carbon racer, and just about anything in between.

politicalgeek

I can stop b****ing about craigslist for a while. Bike Karma finally smiled on me.

I've been looking for a better bike more suited to my commute than my hybrid. I loved the hybrid for what it was-a chance to get a quality bike, get something that would get me back on a bike etc.

Started looking at the co-op, used bike store and craigslist for something. I had 2 thoughts in mind: either an old beater for campus and to get by, then build up a better ride off a Nashbar or Ebay frame OR find a beautiful vintage road bike that could be my one bike and serve me well. Then maybe an old mountain bike to get me by.

After a frustrating search on CL the last few weeks, a lot of flakiness and some frustration, I found an ad from a gentleman looking to sell his Schwinn Le Tour III or trade for a Hybrid. His ad specified a hybrid with suspension, but I emailed him anyways to see what size the bike was and mentioned my Bianchi. We exchanged a few emails and arranged to meet this afternoon. The Bianchi left with me and this came home:



It's wonderful as is, but I'll make a few changes. I'll save those for another thread.

BengeBoy 

+1

Some really good advice in that post above. Even if you don't do the work yourself, you should know what's possible / reasonable, as an unsympathetic bike shop is not going to be that helpful.

Also, be realistic about what an old bike takes to fix. The old bikes I've purchased were bikes that had a bit of use, then sat around in someone's garage or basement for many years....even if they were in otherwise great shape, you are (at a minimum) likely going to need new tires, tubes, brake pads, saddle, handlebar tape and cables. If you like riding clipless pedals, you'll need to think about that, too.

That's in addition to needing the normal commuting gear (rack or messenger bag; repair stuff; water bottle; pump; fenders; etc.).

MondoSam

If it's an Alfa Romeo Duetto, I'm going to be drooling with envy.

mickey85

heck, I'm actually looking at increasing my old-bike roster by quite a few (just found a scrap yard down the road that takes in the occasional old bike, and a kid who says that he's got at least 10 english 3 speeds and road bikes in his shed that will be going to scrap quite soon). I plan on commuting a lot on these old bikes, assuming I get them...

Rob_E

About a year and a half ago, I got my first ever, new-from-the-store bike, a Marin hybrid. It was fun and got me out and about more than I had been, but this spring, on Craigslist, I found a 36-year-old Sears break-apart Tote-Cycle. Much to my wife's chagrin, my $50, "beater" bike has been getting out more and more, and my Marin has been getting some rest. The Marin probably still gets more miles because it holds up better on longer trips and on any trip where I want to actually keep up with another cyclist, and I only have one decent set of lights, which are mounted on the Marin, but any daylight trips under 10 miles are done by the Tote-Cycle. It's just fun, solid (the Marin's a little squirrely), and the old, upright position is comfortable. I just ordered a 2nd CygoLight bracket and a 2nd tail light, so soon the Tote-Cycle will be a suitable after dark bike, too.



This bike is causing me a dilemma, though. I love riding it so much, that I'm questioning the wisdom of replacing the Marin with a LHT. Maybe what I need a full-sized, old, upright bike that I can gear up to my satisfaction (the 3 speed hub, while cool, is one of the few downsides of the Tote-Cycle).

FreddyV

I ride a 1985 Raleigh Marathon to work or home each day. 25Km a day, but it still is a great bike. It's not been driven for loads of miles in its life and still functions nicely. To be honest, I've even got the original chain, freewheel and chainblades on it. Still works perfectly.

sasquatch2

those vintage bikes are so awesome! I was out for a long road ride a few weeks ago and came upon 2 mint condish Raleigh touring bikes from the 70's that someone had chucked to the curb for bulk garbage pickup! Lots of dust but I could see the gleaming chrome and nubs still on the old cracked tires... somebody could have appreciated them!

rugerben

I would say it was your duty to go back and get them. My dad did that when he found two minty Raleigh 3-speed english racers. next to a dumpster. They now hang in his garage waiting for their chance to shine. They've been ridden a few times and they work perfectly.

Nightshade

Yep, old stored bikes to refurbish really are like money in your hand during hard times.

squirtdad

Here are my 'clunkers'

82 Niskhiki (i bought new) rebuilt to my vision of utillity/commuter....I use this for a 11 - 13 mile round trip commute.



here is the 89 Miyata also bought new....I used this for an 18 mile round trip commute in the past..now it is long weekend ride bike but I would not hesitate to go back to it for longer commutes

YoKev

Bought this 65 Phillips for $40 and haven't looked back. I ride it about 100 miles a week. The thing was a rust barnacle when I got it, and it's not much better now. I did clean it up ok, but it has rust pits EVERYWHERE. Nothing structural, just a nice aged patina...yeah, that's it IF you look closely, you can still see rust all over the handlebar/stem, and a hit of the beat up paint on the front fender. The photo really makes it look nicer than it is.



pre-cleanup

Doohickie

Those are some damned sexy fenders!

caloso

Thanks. They're standard SKS thermoplastics. I had to McGuyver them on with p-clips and zip-ties (no bosses on the frame).

Nightshade

Damn! Everytime I see this bike it takes my breath away. (It's also now a screen saver)