aixaix 

Here are a few photos of my first serious bicycle, an Olympia Competizione Super Leggera:


I bought it new in 1972 and put thousands of miles on it when I was younger. Lately I've been riding other bikes and the Olympia has been languishing in a closet, next to my wife's slightly younger Serotta which has likewise seen little use lately.
Well, I took out my dear old Olympia for a ride yesterday. It amazes me how it still feels so natural to ride it. It is like an extension of myself. It is stiffer than the three bikes I've been riding lately, and as such is harder on my aging bones. Still, it is an absolute joy to feel it under me again, with every part exactly where my body expects it to be.

I'm sure some of you still have bikes that you got new. How do you feel about them now? Have you been disappointed, thrilled, or unsurprised by their ride compared to more recent acquisitions? Do you think it's kind of cool that you are responsible for virtually every scratch and ding on it? Are you as mad as I am at the fact that they became vintage while we just got old?

Show your stuff!

russd32

That's awesome!

eja_ bottecchia

Does 1989 count as "vintage?'

I have owned this 1989 Bottecchia SLX since it was new.

joejeweler

I have only bought ONE new bike in my entire life,.....and i'm 56 now.

Back in 1987 this 18" Schwinn Cimarron was my first serious purchase, and i still have all the original parts although it's currently built up as a 26" to 700c conversion.

I posted on this build up in the Hybrid forum, https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...00c-Conversion

In case you missed it here are some pics from that thread. I still have a set of fenders comming to complete the setup with the bigger wheelset.




The bike accelerates very quickly with a DA wheelset, and the Mavic MA-40 are a durable and not overly heavy rim.



Tektro long reach duel pivot nutted calipers work great (front and rear) in the original mounting holes:. The cantilever studs now well protected with fitted 5/16" fuel line and a liberal greasing underneath.





The added bar ends set up this way a allow a very upright cruising position, and when down on the main grips a more aero one. My forearms never even touch the "wings" of the bar ends when using the main grips where the brake levers are located. A very "practicle" 2 position setup that i haven't seen elsewhere :-)



BTW, here's a step back in time to see the bike set up as i originally got it, when taken out of storage and i later went through the entire bike for clean/regrease. I had taken the rear fender off and added a gel seat cover here to try out, but the gel cover was way too heavy and the new Brooks B17 saddle way more comfortable after i worked it a bit.

Those old 25 year old tubes & tires still held pressure, but i replaced them as the tires had a lot of dry rot on the sidewalls. I like the ride in the city better with the 700c conversion and other changes i've made since. (especially the Thudbuster LT seatpost and Brooks B17 seat as shown in my 1st pic above)

ericzamora

I bought this Bianchi Campione D'Italia new with money earned helping my dad build a garage for a coworker of his back in the early 80s while i was in high school. it's changed a bit during the 80s and i stopped living on it once i discovered girls but i still have the original sew up rims and other parts. and though i've thought about selling it many times, i always knew i wouldn't. i just pulled it out of the latest garage of mine and have started cleaning and waxing it.



eric
fresno, ca.

onespeedbiker

It's a little hard to recognize it today as a fixed gear/singlespeed with Shimano brakes, and 1970's Strong Light crank, but I bought this PH105 near new in 1985 (the original owner bought it, road it a couple times then sold it to me a month later so I figure it counts). I rode my first Triathlons, my first Centuries and raced my first races on this bike; it was also my first foray into fixed gear. I have a couple dozen bikes, but this is my sentimental favorite.

Captain Blight

I don't think I've owned anything from new. I started with nothing and I still got most of it left.

rootboy 

I was too nomadic, restless and irresponsible back in the early 70's. Didn't keep my bikes, boo hoo. Nor my LP records. Sniff.

LeicaLad 

I swear that we've done this thread, no? Deja vu all over again?

Anyway, my babies:

1981 Ritchey. I custom ordered it. A thief broke into my Bangkok apartment and stole it, or I'd still own it. I have a replacement, and I'm the first person to ever ride it (3rd owner), but that doesn't count.




1971 Gitane TdF. This totally qualifies. I bought this in the summer of 1971. The only original parts still on it are the incredibly ugly seatpost bolt and that little chainstay cable stop. That's it. I loved this bike, and still do.



1971 Gitane SC. In fact, I loved it so much, I have a Garage Queen Super Corsa, which is the same frame with Dress Campy. Same wonderful ride. I bought this from the original owner, a guy 5'5" tall who tried to ride it once and then hung it in the rafters from where I rescued it. Almost from new, eh?

Pars 

Yes, I think this thread has been done before. I've bought 3 new bikes in my life: a '72 Schwinn Sports Tourer (which I got rid of rather quickly ), a '73 Raleigh International, and a '73 Raleigh RRA, which I built up with the parts from the International (technically a frame trade for the RRA frame). I still have the RRA and ride it all the time. I may get the International back this winter.

aixaix 

You are probably right. If so, I missed it (or forgot, which is getting disturbingly common as my brain becomes vintage), and figured I'd throw it out there.
Unearthing the bicycle I practically lived on in my formative years and have lately passed over for more comfortable/flashy/terrain-appropriate rides was a revelation. It reminded me, simultaneously, what time has changed (more discomfort riding over bumps on a really stiff frame; the need for lower gears) and what it hasn't (my shape and size; the pleasure of riding a well constructed and proportioned frame).
Muscle memory is an extraordinary thing. It is why you never forget how to ride a bicycle. Musicians, painters and dancers depend on it. As a mechanic and fabricator I rely on my hands to know how tight to make fasteners and how much force is needed to bend a piece of metal. Getting on this old bike woke up a kind of body-memory that in turn stimulated a flood of images from my adolescence and early adulthood.
Anybody else ever have this experience?

David Newton

I bought my Raleigh International new in 1974. I still own it, but someone else has possession of it. Sad.

Bianchigirll 

My 87 Sport SX "the bike that started it all" I bought new with the proceedes from an auto accident in which my '67 VW Sedan (aka Beetle) was totaled. The insurance company (the other driver) gave me around 8or 900 dollars and said keep it. I got a new fender and tail light put on for about $100, a new dryer and a Bianchi!



It has a few chages for fit and comfort and few replacement (but original model) components. Still rides great.

otg 

I've had my 71 Super Sport since new, used to deliver newspapers on it when I was 15. I still take it out for a spin once in a while, but it is a bit too big for me. I found another one that is just my size and ride that one as my main bike.

Kobe 

My Kobe Capri started life as a drop bar road bike. I bought it in 1975 at the age of 12, luckily I was already tall enough for the largest size road bike the shop had.

It went to High School, College and my first job in Hawaii with me. I gave it to my brother the hoarder in the late 80's and he gave it back to me about 2000.

It was never the lightest or fastest, so this current configuration work well for me. I still have all of the original parts and may one day convert it back.

It was never the lightest or fastest, so this current configuration work well.

T-Mar

1974 CCM Tour Du Canada
1975 Scapin SL
1977 Nishiki International
1988 GT Karakoram
1990 Rocky Mountain Hammer
1991 Marinoni Custom
1991 Gianella SL

Hoss Cartright

I bought this 1981 Schwinn Super LeTour new in 1981. I still ride it all the time.

badger_biker 

I got my 1984 Bridgestone 400 as a 30th birthday gift from the bike shop owner where I worked that year. Little did I know I would be assembling it for myself at the time.

goldfinch

Fixed up with the assistance of this forum--my first project! It rides beautifully once it was recabled, rederailled, and the bearings serviced. Just needs the rear fender fixed--next spring.

This spring it looked like this:

due ruote 

1973 Raleigh Gran Sport



1978 Motobecane Team Champion

jimmuller 

This has been posted before, and it is nowhere near as haughty as the other offerings here. But it's the only bike I ever bought new. My humble UO8 from '72, still in use:

Elev12k

My 1993 Koga-Miyata ValleyRunner back in 1995 or so >>>


Very utilitarian built. Ready to crush and destruct everything that comes on its path!

Now in 2012 I have new plans for it >>>

Cougrrcj

I've posted mine before as well, but it is the late '74-build ('75 model year) Fuji S-10S 'Special Road Racer' I bought new in fall of '76 as a scratched floor model. I still ride it as my primary bike! Just about every component has been replaced at least once - except the DiaComp centerpull brakes, the bar&stem, and original Fujita Belt saddle! 36 years and some 45+ thousand miles later (I lost track! )!!!

Hydrated

Every single time that I get on my bicycle.

Your description is the best that I've seen... and it explains why our cycling makes us so happy. Instant time machine. I know it sounds corny, but when I'm riding... my 50 year old body has an 18 year old brain running things.

jimmuller 

Wow. I have you beat on sheer age (40 years) but 45 thousand miles? That freak-out awesome!