yukiinu

Go to library or web, read copies of 80s Bicycling Magazine. Get understanding of high, med, low quality and original selling price of brands of bikes and components. With knowledge of good quality name manufactures and components, go to goodwill, salvation army and buy donated well cared for bikes for $40. I have bought a Trek and other good bikes this way. And have done thousands of miles of loaded cross country and daily city miles on them. For cross country, I put new bottom bracket, chain, freewheel, derauiler wheels, cables, brake pads, wheel bearings (wheels) if necessary.
. Older copies of Bicycling Magazine were about bikes, bicycling and the great love of everything that bicycle travel and bikes bring into a riders life. And not about $7,000 status symbles, that only a few can afford, or (if knowlegeable about bikes and riding) even want. Why pay a $1,000 to take a pound off your bike, when you can take a pound off of you for free.

oldukbkr 

I don't know your area so this may not help but... if there is a nonprofit community bike store within a reasonable distance they would be worth checking out. Most of them sell donated bikes at reasonable prices to raise funds. Their inventory depends on what has been donated so can range from low end to high end and from recent back to 1980s.

violini

Three years ago, I bought a steel frame (for $100). from an ebay seller, random.bike.parts, in Cross Lake, Minnesota. It is Marin brand, but the frame is made in Italy. Marin keeps several frames of each model for potential warrantee claim. After the warrantee is over, the frames are sold for cheap. I was lucky to get the frame of my size. It is a modern frame. I then bought a carbon fiber fork, wheel set, and Shimano 105 5800 drive train. The completed bike weighs 7.8 Kg.

kantquit

merziac

Welcome aboard, this is exactly the place to start. We need pics to proceed. You will likely find no shortage of help here, we are some of the best world class enablers on the planet. Full speed ahead.

tonyfourdogs

I don't think anyone answered your question: what are safety levers?

Allow me: safety levers, a.k.a. suicide levers by the posters here are the brake lever attachments that allow you to brake while holding the tops of the handlebars. Basically, long kinda L-shaped levers. Called suicide levers because they're known for being bad at stopping the bike when used from the tops.

Good luck finding a retro roadie - I have a feeling you're going to love riding them

squirtdad

You probably want to start you own thread.....also posting where in michigan may help people point you at good stuff

greenspark

Except for this last line, Cheseldine, you have not told the forum the intended use. May I suggest you first go to lovelybike.blogspot.com/ and start reading. You will find a woman (pen name Velouria) who began by looking for a bike to get around (she gave up driving a car in Boston) and discovered the classic European city bike - a completely different cycling culture than in America where bikes are:

• Toys for children (bike under the Christmas tree)
• Subculture for teens and teen-types - BMX, etc
• Go-fast-on-road bikes for lycra-clad elites who emulate Tour-de-France riders
• MTB real off road cycling - think Northern Californian whose parents were backpacking trail walkers

Velouria went from very comfortable, classic city bikes for day-to-day use to long-distance competitions. At one point, she moved to Ireland, married a local man and in 2017, gradually stopped writing as she took up a new passion appropriate for rural Ireland: knitting.

Her bike reviews are valuable as they go to a level of aesthetic and performance that other sites do not discuss... and it may be that contributors, such as those answering your question in this forum ,never consider.

I still own my 1972 Peugeot PX-10 that fits your criteria (except it is French), but is a very uncomfortable, stiff, lightweight bike made for maximum speed and winning the Tour de France.

I have gone full circle. As a kid, our summer island bikes were English 3-speed bikes. Raleigh was the best known brand. They had a Sturmey Archer internal 3-speed hub and the best had a leather Brooks saddle that was stiff-as for the first few days, but eventually formed to ones bottom and became a lifetime keeper (when you sell the old bike, keep the saddle for the next bike you buy). When I became a teen I went to a Schwinn Continental because 10-speed bikes were supposedly "better". I put a lot of miles on it, the longest being from Newport Rhode Island to Assateague Island, Virginia, too ignorant to understand how heavy and "unrideable" it was. The Schwinn was replaced by the PX-10 when I was working in a sports shop that carried bicycles, but I would be surprised if over the subsequent 46 years that the PX-10 has a hundred miles on it... too stiff, no fun. I then moved onto sports cars... Italian, British, German and only in 2011 returned to bikes after a sojourn in Italy where cycling to the cafe for morning expresso is a sacred ritual.

It was in Italy where I discovered ebikes, which I will address later. I used the internet to do research on town bikes, and soon came across Velouria at lovelybike.blogspot.com/ who interests in bikes paralleled my own, and whose knowledge exceeded mine by miles. Following her advice, on our next trip to Europe, we bought two new Bella Ciao bikes in Berlin (from Matthias, the company owner). Classic Italian frames made by the same small Milanese factory for over 50 years. Matthias' team would then assemble them in Berlin to ensure German quality using global components (such as a Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub made in Japan). We rode the bikes all over Berlin, then on Cycle Route 2 from Dresden to Prague (5 day slow cycling). They were perfect. Far more comfortable than the rental 27 speed, shock absorber bikes my cousins rented. Three speed was all we needed, and the frame and long rake front forks absorbed road shock.

On bringing them home to our hilly island, enjoying the Bella Ciao was impossible... that's why they call them push-bikes. The hills are too steep, the wind can be too fierce. I removed the cranks and bottom bracket and replaced them with Bafang BBS mid-mount electric motors - 36 volt 300 watt that kicks in with pedalling or pressing a thumb throttle. The motor adds 300 watts to my 100-watt legs, flattening the hills, neutralising the wind and making island-cycling the same as when I was a kid on my first English three-speed.

The point of this is to say that specifying a steel frame is not enough. You need to specify your actual intended riding. If you intend to do touring, it is touring as in Cadillac (soft and comfortable) or touring as in Corvette (so stiff your fillings fall out of your teeth)? To get the Cadillac ride the rake, or angle of the front fork needs to be larger - more horizontal. Then you need to indicate what you intend to carry. My Bella Ciao gets very whippy if I have a large load on the rear rack. For heavy loads I ride a Velorbis or a 1951 Raleigh that I refurbished. If you are touring, you may want to sit more upright so you can see the sights rather than looking down on the ground (which offers less wind resistance). If you sit upright, you want to get a Brooks leather saddle, but unless you find someone selling a bike without knowing what they have, it would blow your budget.

Now, having completed the lecture, I did a quick Craigslist search and found this helena.craigslist.org/bik/d/novara-randonee-19-t-touring/6749025267.html. in Helena. It sounds like what you think you want.

Randonee (by REI) touring and commuting. Fits riders 5'6" to 5'10. This is a bicycle I built up from scratch. All components purchased new by me. I did have some help from local bike shop for headset instal however. I chose Campy for easy shifting and cache.

Campagnolo Record Ergo shifters
Campy rear hub and 8 speed cassette
Campy Athena front and rear derailleurs
Brooks saddle with Thompson Elite seat post
Panaracer 700x38 tires
Shimano105 crank (49/38/24)
Water cage is Specialized.
Front and rear fender (front not mounted on the bike)
Pedals are Shimano SPD
Brakes are Shimano cantilever. Blackburn Lowrider front and Expedition rear pannier racks (front not installed but new in the box). Highly upgraded components in like new condition. A great town or commute bike. Also capable of doing distance loaded tours. Paint has a few cosmetic blemishes. No structural damage. All components are fully adjusted and functional.

Asking price is double your budget, but make an offer and see what happens... or decide first what kind of riding you intend, and then look for that.

If it is 20 years of hacking, you may want this 1980's Raleigh Marathon $120 https://spokane.craigslist.org/bik/d/proper-english-gentlemans/6775113954.html (Coeur d Alene)

If you're looking for a proper English Gentleman's bicycle, here you go. This Raleigh Marathon road bike definitely has style. It also has a 20" lightweight chromoly frame, 12 speeds, 27" aluminum alloy rims with quick disconnect hubs, a really comfortable and stylish Bell comfort seat and a set of gleaming chrome fenders to protect you from the elements. This would make an awesome campus cruiser or bar hopper bike...

slowrevs

Learn all about the various brands at SheldonBrown.com.

For my money, get a Nishiki, if you can find one in near new shape that wasn't ridden a lot by its first owner. They are out there. Look in Craig's list. Pick them up from moving and estate sales. You want one that slept inside at night, not on a balcony or outside under a tarp.

Plan on replacing many of the components to updated technology. The frame style is what is classic. Avoid downtube shifters. Shifters on the handlebar riser are the most convenient. In good shape, you might pay $200 for a ride that works. Much more than that and something is fishy. Lots of old style bikes are counterfeits put together with fresh paint and decals. Beware.

All modern bike have serial numbers on the bottom bracket. Sometimes the date of mfr. and the maker. Many of the frames you might want were manufactured by Giant.

Good luck.

Cycle Tourist

Safety levers were extensions on the brake levers to let you use the brakes from the top tube.
I'd look for braze ons such as derailleur hanger, cable holders, water bottle cages, seat post clamp. The more the better. Anything that has sew ups is going to be a valuable find. Old British bikes will have odd threads that can be forced (once) to Japanese threads. Many will find this sacraliges but I'm not a purest so... Early Italian threading can be daunting too. Cromoly tubing is a must and any sort of butting is good unless your planning on putting together a touring bike. Sometimes the lighter design can make a bike too flexible for a good touring bike.
Don't be afraid of a inexpensive quality bike that needs work. The restoration is valuable and rewarding, "eventually". 😃

Cycle Tourist

I'd stay away from stem shifters. Down tube shifters are preferred by me unless the braze ons act as stops for the cable on the stem shifters. This can facilitate some barend or lever shifters upgrades.

Phil_gretz

...that the OP lives so far away. There's a Fuji Touring Series IV for sale for $295 in the Bethesda, MD area right now. That would check every conceivable box for him. Terrific bike, which includes SunTour barcons. So the great bikes are out there.

tonyfourdogs

This.

I don't know why, but stem shifters are bloody horrible. They look more convenient to the inexperienced rider, but downtube shifters are surprisingly intuitive once you get used to them (after the first couple of rides in my case).

drdave18

I have several steel frame bikes. I like the 1980s Raleighs, but mostly for sentimental reasons because I had a Raleigh Touring 18 that I used for touring when I was younger. I recently rebuilt it with newer components. Lately, I have been collecting Marin "Racing Bikes" from the late 90s and early 2000s. I have a 2001 Marin San Marino that I built up after buying an NOS frame on eBay. It's currently my favorite bike because it's so lightweight and nimble. The Marins from that era are built with Columbus tubing and some of them are extremely light and fun to ride. Some have beautiful made-in-Italy paint jobs as well. They originally came with Campy Veloce components. I recently bought a 1999 (?) Marin Vicenza with all of the original components, water bottle cages included, on eBay for about $450 including shipping. It's a beautiful bike for not much money. I would personally stay away from 80s technologically, like downtube shifters and 6-speed hubs, but I guess they have their charm and they are pretty indestructible.

drdave18

If you have to choose between the two, downtube is definitely the way to go. Personally, I would upgrade to brake lever shifters or a flat bar with MTB shifters and newer components unless you want to stick with the period.

drdave18

Beautiful!

swilly100

I'm new here as well and I thought I'd share my recent experience buying and building up a steel frame. I recently had my mountain bike stolen which was my only bike. While getting a bike stolen is extremely frustrating it did give me an excuse to update to a nice new carbon Santa Cruz Hightower. I definitely would not feel comfortable locking it up around town so I decided to build up a townie for everyday use. I also wanted to learn more about bike building/maintenance since we have a garage full of bikes for the family now. I don't commute so just needed something for taking kids to school, grocery store runs, etc. I'm primarily a mountain biker so wasn't looking for a full on road bike. My goal was to build it for less than $300.

I found this '84 Schwinn World Sport on Craigslist for $20. It was in really rough shape, tons of rust, no front wheel, no rear brake, trashed seat, missing shifters, bent derailleur... perfect! I tore the bike down to the last ball bearing and removed all the rust and greased everything. I was able to save the bottom bracket and headset. Neither are super smooth, but they do the job. Also saved were the seat tube, stem, cranks, and chain ring. I found some dia-comp brakes that matched the originals on ebay. I went with a single chain ring on the front. The cassette is off one of my old mountain bikes as were the pedals. I found a rear derailleur at the local community used bike shop. Everything else (all the black parts on the bike) were new purchased on Amazon. I went with 700c wheels which gave me a little more room for bigger tires. The dia-comp brakes had plenty of reach for the 700c's (something to think about if converting to 700c) but are not very powerful. One thing that did not work out is that the derailleur is not capable of shifting onto the largest two gears so I will either need to replace it or the cassette. The rear wheel is also very slightly off center with the rear brake so I might adjust that at some point. It works for now.

I broke my budget and ended up spending about $350, and that was being pretty stingy with prices. It is by no means a restoration but I did save all the old parts in case I ever want to go that direction. Overall it was a great experience and I learned a ton. I found "RJ the Bike Guy" on Youtube extremely helpful. He had a video for almost every question I ran into. Good luck with your search! (I guess I can't post photos until I've posted 10 times so sorry, no photos.)

Cheseldine

Just so you all know, I have been carefully reading all of your responses and appreciate them greatly. I've been researching all I can as well. What do you all think of this one (assuming it is the right size)? I'd have to drive a few hours, but from my limited understanding it looks good. It appears to be a 1987 model - how do these older Treks stack up to their Japanese and European counterparts?

https://spokane.craigslist.org/bik/d...759075732.html

madpogue 

Can't go wrong with a nice Waterloo Trek. Appears to have been cared for. 531 is of course a plus. I'd request one or more drive-side photos, unless he's close by enough for a visit.

Price - all depends on what the market bears where you live. Regional variation is extreme. That asking price is middle-of-the-road, I'd say. Seen them go for less, and for quite a bit more. Given the asking price, I'd say $120 is a "reasonable offer".

IranianOyibo

I highly recommend Randyjawa's FREE SITE 1

It made a fantastic primer for a beginner like myself.

squirtdad

I think that would be worth the drive..... it looks completely rideable as it is with (with clean up etc) and would be a good base for future visions and updates. 531 tubing is a really good sign

Size look very close and workable

curbtender

Nice bike, I think you might have some competition for that one.

ericzamora

Sounds like "What are safety levers" has been answered

My market area is different than yours but you should be able to find a "classic steel road" bike for under $300 f you take your time, and Japanese 80s bikes are a great value. I just found a Bridgestone 450 with 4130 triple-butted chromoly tubes a couple of months ago, and it came with 700c aluminum rims, indexing downtube levers, suntour components for $100/$120. I added new Diacompe hoods $14, two new Vittoria Rubino Pro 25c tires for $19 each, new inner tubes ($10), new tape ($15), new brake cables and housing ($25), and new headtube bearings ($3), doing all the work myself. The 23-inch frame is chipped and no longer white, with a near-cream patina, but should ride fine.

If you find a similar deal, and fix it up yourself, be aware, this may not be the one bike you "continue riding for the next 20 years". This stuff can be addicting. I went in with the thought of just fixing it up and turning it around, which is still the plan. But i can easily see myself doing another. It's a nice hobby, keeps me away from the thug-life lol

eric/fresno, ca.

corn on the cog 

^ tempted to steal this for my sig

ericzamora