PugRider

I like this exercise, it has touched on general themes and specific bikes. Some grail lists in disguise, too.

Thinking about the more accessible, economical end of things, I will always and forever recommend Univegas for people getting into bikes in general or old bikes. I'm also partial to old Fujis. Dead simple, no funky threading or measurements or proprietary stuff, even the entry-level stuff had a pronounced classiness. I've never ridden a high-end Peugeot, but I've had two entry-level ones and found them to be really nice rides. Depending on the era you will hit some funky threading and stuff, but some people like the challenge.

In a more general sense, I sold an Ironman because it was a touch too small but picked up a Nishiki Tri-A almost exclusively because it was Tange 1--I just love that stuff.

I have a feeling the late 80s/early 90s MTB craze will start to fade soon for all but the fanatics, but I always recommend fully rigid MTBs--you can upgrade or ride as-is, they're actually quite comfortable on the road/commuting; and if you've never been on modern MTB technology you won't know what you're missing, as they are quite light compared to modern mtbs and quite capable.

top506

Good luck with that. I can't decide between my PX-10 and Super Corsa.

Also worthy of consideration are:
Tenex Schwinns.
Fillet-brazed Lambert/Viscounts.
Metric 531 French bikes as a class, rather than brand by brand.
And for being the same yet completely different Vitus 979 and Alans.

Top

Jordanmilo

I was. And if I'd done a bit of digging around I would have seen that you've posted a ton of pics of that bike.

To explain: I had a Fay, many moons ago; quite different to yours (same part of the country, though).

cyccommute 

Not vintage but certainly classic touring. 2010 T1. Last year Cannondale made them in the US and almost the last model year, period.





Less serious (but only slightly). 2004 T800 (repainted). It’s my running around town bike.




See above.

Unique enough? 1999 Nashbar Flashback. Aluminum with steel fork too. Not necessarily classic or vintage by road bike standards but mountain bikes don’t have that long of a history.



A couple of more odd balls. Schwinn Home Growns (1997 Bass Boat Brown, 2000) in size very tiny. These are so rare that the size isn’t even listed in the catalogs.





My own additions to the list of needed bikes are mountain bikes. Particularly locally crafted mountain bikes. 1998 Moots YBBeat (which also ticks the “kind of weird” box as well. Here it is being used as I built to to be used…for adventures in bikepacking.



And in winter togs.



And a 1999 Dean



Both the Dean and the Moots were made within 200 miles of where I live.

And, not vintage by road bike standards but vintage and classic by mountain bike standards, two Specialized S-Works Epics. Perhaps the best dual suspension system ever invented.

52telecaster

Metric 531 is way cool. It seems just a touch more comfortable to me.

nlerner

They ony produced about 85 in total, so a somewhat rare bird. I actually had another at one point, built more for go-fast than touring, but dumbly traded it to a friend for a chartreuse Raleigh International, which I ended up selling. My friend still has that NF but doesn‘t seem keen to trade it back.

sd5782 

I like these lists in general, but would like to see this or another one with the caveat that the bikes were produced in enough numbers that one might actually have a decent chance of finding one. This list could be more useful to that mythical newcomer seeking wise advice into the vintage bicycles. Custom builders and rare bikes would be superior I suppose, but to the new person would maybe add to the confusion. One almost needs a basis with some good bikes to appreciate the great ones.

AdventureManCO 

Your request is actually within the ethos of the original intent in which I started this thread, and even leaving room for that one-off ultra rare bike as more of a category (quest/grail bike) than an actual specific bike, as people and their needs/wants tend to be so different. Perhaps your post is the gentle nudge to bring things back to topic.

What got me started was thinking...If someone came along and said "hey I'd love to get into this vintage (road) bike thing. I've got room for 10 bikes - where should I start?" That would be the question. Purely hypothetical, as I don't know if there is a single soul on this earth asking it. However, I know that people come to this forum everyday and wonder about old bikes. The unanswered question is...what would or could be a somewhat collective answer? What is the quintessential sample set of bikes? "Oh, have you tried a Miyata 1000 or a Trek 720 for a tourer? Check those out! A relaxed old school racer? Try a Peugeot PX-10 or a Raleigh International." Something that when people think of a purely classic (and classy) vintage road bike...70s or 80s...___________ comes to mind. Something where the vintage road bike experience wouldn't be complete without - but staying fairly pedestrian and accomplish-able.

I'm painting with a VERY broad brush here, but I still think the list would look something like...

1. That relaxed but fast ride...French. Nimble yet comfortable (PX-10, Gitane TdF, Motobecane, etc)
2. That sleek and racy ride...a thoroughbred race horse of a bike...Italian (Pinarello, De Rosa, Cinelli, Masi, Colnago...etc etc)
3. That tourer to take you anywhere you want to go (Miyata 1000 or Trek 720)
4. Slow moving but cushy - the cadillac. (fillet-brazed Schwinn, Fuji S-10S)
5. The high end. Top-o-The-Line, production wise, and pick your poison! (Le Champion, Eddy Mercx, RB-1, Paramount, Opus III, Specialissima, etc)
6. The punch-above-its-weight budget ride (UO-8, Super Course, Trek Multi-Track, Specialized Crossroads)
7. The Custom. Rare, or individual and unique (Merz, Holdsworth, Bruce Gordon, Wizard, etc)
8. The Gentleman's ride...English (Raleigh 3 speed)
9. The Japanese tidal wave! (Ironman, 3Rensho, Cherubim, Fuji, Lotus, etc)
10. That old MTB hanging in the garage...convert it and ride! (Ritchey, Klein, Schwinn Cimarron, Stumpy, Singletrack, etc)

I can think of quite a few other categories...the city bike (Belgian), the old school (pre 1960s), the no-name, the bottom-of-the-barrel, the beach bike, the winter thrasher. But in thinking of my time here in C&V for quite a few years, I think there are many bike names that float to the surface (recommended) that are recommended by a lot of people (common and/or affordable). Doing a search on the top # of replies does lend itself to finding out some of these bikes.

And there are dozens of ways to do this...bike by the decade, bikes categorized by tubing set, by racing wins, by production numbers, by pocketbook, or any host of other things.

But if a newbie (of common sizing) came our way and said 'hey, recommend me a solid option for ________ ' I think there are some bikes that sort of float to the top, the bikes that speak to us, the ones that, if upon hearing of their final purchase, could allow us to nod our heads in solidarity...knowing that, yeah, someone steered them in the right direction.

All in good fun.

nlerner

^ In that scenario, if it had to be one C&V bike (at least at the start) I usually recommend a UJB: ubiqitious Japanese bicycle. Whether Fuji, Univega, Panasonic, Centurion, Miyata and a host of others, it‘s hard to go wrong with what you can commonly find on CR or FB marketplace for reasonable money and not needing much to get in shape to ride.

RCMoeur 

The Flashback! When I first saw that bike in the Nashbar catalog, I thought "that is exactly what I need - a cantilever-style bike with a lightweight frame that will readily take quality components. However, we already had a relatively-new set of Ross Mt. Cruisers that we were perfectly gruntled with, so we looked but didn't buy. When Nashbar blew them out on closeout, I couldn't resist and bought two - one in the small frame and one in the medium frame for intended use as his n' hers cool-looking mountain bikes. But Dear Wife showed no interest in mountain biking and I was too busy for trails, so they sat in their boxes for a while. Over a decade, actually.

In 2010, I was in the shed and heard one of them crying out "Build me! Build me!" And so I took it and set it up as a city / touring bike with racks and fenders. I swapped the stock wheels for Deep V 26" I'd laced to Performance hubs, and that bike quickly supplanted the Ross as the "alpha bike" in the pool.

Which worked out, as the Ross fell off the back of the truck at 65 mph several months later. But that's another story.

But the other Flashback lay dormant until 2017, after I retired from my first career and I had time to mountain bike. I unboxed it, put a suspension fork and Thudbuster on it and rode it on local trails on Shaw Butte and along Trail 100.


But I wasn't 100% happy with its performance as a mountain bike, so after I happened into a dual-suspension Haro, I repurposed this bike with slicks as a sort of "comfortable but speedy" bike, with which I'm rather happy.

cyccommute 

If you do a google search for Nashbar Flashback, your bike and mine are about the only ones that pop up. This is actually my third one and I have another one for my daughter’s Denver bike. They are rather rare.

RCMoeur 

Doing our part for ol' Arni and his (remarkably good) house-brand bikes.

mhespenheide 

Wouldn't the RB-1 go in your category 6, not category 5?

Erzulis Boat 

My absolutely best riding bicycle is my made in USA Cannondale from the 2000's (or thereabouts). I have some super nice bikes, but that is the most nimble, and comfortable bike that I have ever ridden.

When I actually have to get something done, like climb a mountain as fast as I can before my GF wakes up on a Sunday.

AdventureManCO 

Talk to me about this. I used to have a Trek 1200 or 1220 and it was aluminum and the ride was harsh. I never really understood what people meant about steel being a forgiving ride until I tried that bike. Now, I have an aluminum framed bike - my hardtail mtb. But I'm a bit gun shy on aluminum for a road bike.

I'm also used to seeing aluminum frames crack, a lot. How does a Cannondale hold up? I'm sure for foul weather it is hard to beat.

Erzulis Boat 

Granted, the sum of the parts is a major factor, but for some reason this bike has "everything". I got the frame from Craigslist for cheap, and the original plan was a rainy day commuter. Once I took it out (after repaint) it was mind blowing from day one. It has carbon forks and seat post, so that factors in, but that alone won't totally transform a bike.

I have other aluminum bikes like a 1998 Pinarello, that also ride good, but not like the Cannondale. Aluminum does have the cumulative fatigue life, so there is always that possibility of cracking, but I have probably 8000+ miles on my Cannondale ( purchased used, so who knows how many miles) and 15,000+ on the Pinarello (now retired, decals flaking). A good aluminum frame is engineered to go the distance.



This steel Colnago is my harshest riding bike by a lot. It is super stiff.

Smooth, fast, and stiff without being too harsh. Very balanced bike.

Super flexy. I can get it to "ghost" shift if I really give it the gas when standing.

cyccommute 

I question the “seeing aluminum frames crack a lot” statement. In my personal experience, I have several aluminum framed bikes with over 10,000 miles on them…one with excess of 25,000 miles on it…that are still going strong. I’m not worried that they are going to fail tomorrow just because they are aluminum. I also see a lot of used…and abused…aluminum bikes at my local co-op and very few of them are broken. Frankly, in over 10 years of volunteering and seeing in excess of 15,000 bikes, I don’t recall too many (if any) cracked aluminum frames.

Again in my own personal experience, I’ve broken 4 frames in close to 50 years of bicycling. Two of those were aluminum and two were steel. One of the steel ones made it to about 4000 miles before the dropout broke and the other one made it to about 10,000 miles but it broke 4 times…at the fork steer tube, at the bottom bracket bridge, at the driveside dropout, and then again at the bottom bracket bridge after being repaired. If evenly distributed, that’s breaking at about 2500 mile intervals. One of the aluminum bikes…a Specialized M2 metal matrix frame…made it to almost 7000 miles before it broke. The other one broke at about 1500 miles but that was due to me using a seatpost with a huge set back on a frame that wasn’t really well supported at the seatpost in an attempt to make a wrong sized frame fit me. It was repaired but I got rid of it soon after because it really didn’t fit.

My current touring bike is a 2010 Cannondale T1 (4500 miles) and my touring bike before that was a 2003 T800 (10,000 miles) that are both stiff touring bikes that are, quite frankly, much better touring bikes than the steel touring bike they replaced. And, just to note, there was nothing wrong with the T800 when I replaced the frame. I just wanted a different color bike. It’s still in the top of my garage as is the Salsa Las Cruces with 25,000 miles on it. Again, I just wanted a color change.

Erzulis Boat 

To answer the OP-

1- Italian race bike, 1970's or 80's
2- High end steel from the 1990's with shifting at the brake levers
3- Bike boom cheapie (but you have to ride it occasionally)
4- Aluminum frame something
5- 1950's race bike
6- Track bike
7- Something odd (evolutionary dead end etc.)
8- Something French
9- Modern Carbon
10- Vintage MTB

USAZorro

I've seen similar threads, but these are fun. I get to expose some of my blossoming curmudgeonliness.

Right off the bat, I'm throwing down a critical marker. I'm only going to consider steel frames. Perhaps it was the horrible experience back in 2002 with the Magna MTB that weighed almost as much as a field cannon, or the test ride of the CAAD-6 that rattled a couple of my fillings loose, and a general unwillingness to take Titanium seriously as a viable material that will survive several seasons of hard use (or for that matter to pay what they cost), but I've not been moved off of steel frames. So keeping with the original example of 10 examples, the opinions follow.

1. Everyone with a collection of bicycles really can't be taken seriously unless they have at least one legitimate racing bike. Road racing bicycles were (at least until Cervelo came into existence) elegant machines that generally were responsive, lightweight and often fitted with whatever components were state-of-the-art at the time, Yes, there are stories of "thrifty" riders entering races on their Raleigh Grand Prix or Peugeot U-08, but one needs to keep things real and not attempt to pass off such sub-entry level machines off to others who share interest in the hobby. Standards have shifted a bit since the 50's. I used to own a Viking Severn Valley and read that it had been chosen as the race machine for an obscure Scottish team. Having it in my hands and hefting the dread beast, I could only shake my head and lament - as they could have chosen something that weighed about a full bagpipe less. What most collectors expect is a PX-10, or Raleigh Professional, or a top of the line Gitane, or ... something red that was built in Italy.





2. A fixed gear or single speed - preferably with track ends. Fixed gear isn't for everyone - clearly. If you ever happen to meet an old, hard-core rider who raced on the track who is missing the tip of an index finger, chances are he was in a hurry to get the chain back on to his track bike when the surgery occurred. I'm not the hard-core sort who will quibble about having a bike without track ends set up as a fixed gear, or will insist that they should, or should not have brakes, or who shake his head because the track bike is set up as a single-speed. Admiration does increase if it is a true track bike with fixed gear and no brakes - though I reserve the right to laugh if it's set up with 52-14 gearing.





3. An old friend - something you have a history with, whether it's the same bicycle you had when you were young, or something that evokes that sensation. I am not able to pull out a bicycle and truthfully state "this is the bicycle I had when I was 20". I know who stole that bike from me, but the cops insisted that I had to have actually seen him take it before they'd so much as talk to him about it. Really? But anyway, we don't have to be teen-agers to make fond cycling memories, but one does need to have at least one bicycle that has a nostalgic riding story attached to it.





4. A mule - need to get groceries? Go on a tour? Bring home a new refrigerator? Granted, this may not seem "essential" for some. For example, I can only access one road from my house. It is a relatively busy one, and about 100 yards from where our dead-end road connects connects to it, there's a blind curve and about 3 cm of shoulder before a dropoff into an 8 foot deep ditch. The closest town is 4.5 miles away and this blind curve is on the way. Getting to that same town, traveling the other direction would require riding about 30 additional miles, and travel over mountains and several road features that are at least as treacherous... so I won't be regaling my friends here about jaunts to the store on my bike to pick up a case of beer and munchies. This said, I still aspire to take a trip down the Natchez Trace, or the Erie Canal or such, and having a bicycle that is appropriate for such an adventure is a necessary pre-condition for it.



a candidate that needs a rear rack.

5. A beater - not much to look at, may or may not be a "quality" frame, but something you won't panic over if it gets rained on or gets a small scratch - let's call it "Hank". Seeing as I don't have much occasion to ride into town, having this doesn't seem quite as urgent either, however... If we ever decide to go on a vacation and want to take a bike with us, I'd rather take Hank than, say Shadowfax, or Crayola or Bobby. Also, if you have relatives who come over on occasion and they insist that we all go for a ride - and they're the sort who would just as soon toss the bike on the ground, derailleur-side down.. well they're riding Hank.





6. Gravel/offroad - could easily have turned this into multiple categories, but since I only have two (going on three) that fit this category, I won't. Now mind you, Hank might be able to pull double-duty here, but face it, Hank is not likely to grab sufficient attention if you aspire to participate at Cino. Let's face it, you're not going to take your mint 1986 Casati with 20mm tires down a gravel trail, so you will need something. Wider tires, capable of fenders if you prefer. Might be a MTB, or a converted MTB, or a gravel bike. If you don't think you need one, you really need to re-examine your commitment here.




7. Rando - If you ride regularly, you need a bicycle that you can escape for a whole day on. It'll be reasonably light, be able to tote a few essentials and not beat you up over the course of a full day in the saddle. To me, it goes without saying that this is a core necessity. When one the C&V social tour circuit, it's an unwritten rule that there will be riding and the bonding that goes with it. Hard to properly do this if you get back spasms 6 miles into the ride because you haven't ridden that Confente with the aggressive bar drop enough miles to get used to it. You have a LOT of options here, but 650B and Gugificazione is a very do-able and satisfying option.




8.Throwback - Was tempted to be much more specific and say "post-war British Club Bike", but for some folks it might be an ordinary, or a three-speed, or if you're still waiting for when it makes sense to shave every day, a BMX. Yeah, right. Me on a BMX. Here's another one that could possibly pull double-duty with almost any of the other categories here, but throwback machines tend to involve technological compromises and/or sacrifices, and I've found that a lot of older stuff that's available is close to being worn out, so this might be something that sees limited use. Definitely should be something functional, even if you have trouble getting the old Sturmey Archer FW to shift into all four gears.





9. Eye Candy - This one may, or may not be a wall hanger, but by gosh, you need a bike that you can show with pride. Great workmanship, sweet paint, shiny bits... yeah, need at least one of those. The most serious of collectors tend to take a "bicycle as a work of art" attitude with them. Any departure from originality (the fourth version of that rear derailleur wasn't available until two months after the frame was made) will be met with disapproval (the more tactful ones may show it only via a muscle twitch at the side of the lip). If they get on the subject, they will share their particular checklist for the concourse. Fortunately, these people tend to stay largely in their own circle, and a second visit from them will be quite unlikely. Fair to say though, everyone wants something that they are proud to show as a fine specimen of a well-crafted bicycle.





10.Ridiculous - Everyone enjoys showcasing their inventiveness and quirkiness. Whether it's a swing bike, an inverted recumbent, an Alenax, a reverse-steerer, a Flying Gate, a Pedersen, Soft-ride, or something with 40+ gears. This could be an unlikely retro-mod pairing suicide shifters with disc brakes and tubeless tires, or brifters and rod brakes. Slap some aero bars on a racing trike, or see how well that trigger shifter serves as a brake lever. Quirkiness is key here. One can find inspiration in any number of places. One of my considerations over this winter is to see if I can up my converted 1971 Super Course from 81 to 99 speeds.




11, A Unicycle - This could go under #10, but it's really more of a power move. It's an ace in the hole for when you have a stuffy guest over who has a collection that exceeds yours in nearly every respect. That's when you offer to let them ride your unicycle.

Have fun, and remember, a thread is worthless without pictures.

due ruote 

Is that a little mounting tab I see on the seat stay? Is that for a light?

rustystrings61 

Okay, I'll play.

Sentimental favorite - either a bike you truly desired when younger, or one you have lots of history with. This is mine, a 1976 Puch Royal X that my father bought for me in 1978, I foolishly sold in 1987, it was stolen from the friend I sold it to ... and then it surfaced in 2019 and I reaquired it. This one also checks the oddball/unusual box, as this was a one-year-only model in the U.S. and I always thought the original parts spec felt like pairing the same frame as the Royal Force with a sweep of leftover parts from the floor.


Vacation bike - this is the one you take for a week or two at the beach to be-bop around town, or maybe to ride laps on Edisto Island, or along the inevitable Atlantic Boulevard of South Carolina beachfront towns. My choice is this battered '71 Gitane TdF fixed-gear conversion with parts spanning four decades, many from now-defunct manufacturers. Bonus points for adhesive tape repairs (the right brake hood is bound together with electrician's tape) and unusual treatments (the once-blue bartape was dyed green with Easter egg dye). Oddly enough, this is my absolute smoothest running, best handling bike in the stable, and it also has served for years as my go-to "I wanna grab a quick ride" bike.


Mad-scientist bike - This is the bike you play around with ideas to try unlikely combinations to see if they work for you. In this case, this '73 Raleigh Competition Mk. II has settled into its current conformation as a fixed-gear/single-speed all-roads bike with 70-in pavement and 60-in gravel fixed gears, or 60-in general noodling and 52-in gentle singletrack rambling. Because this one is now pretty well sorted out, I guess that means I will need another experimental beast ...


Custom/bespoke gem - the Rivendell I used to own fit this category, but my '02 Mercian Vincitore is currently my only machine in this class. I wanted a nice long-distance fixed-gear road bike that reflected classical British club and road/track heritage, but made to take modern parts. Had I known then what I know now, I would have specified long forward-opening horizontal dropouts instead of track ends, and tire clearance for 32s with mudguards instead of the 28s it is capable of. I've ridden this bike more than any other, and it still feels like home when I get into its saddle.


Non-ferrous - this is literally the ONLY non-ferrous bike I think I've ever owned, a 1986 Cannondale ST 400 that I bought for the Clunker Challenge one year and discovered ... I like it. This one awaits a rebuild as a full-on cycle camping bike. 32 mm tires make a big difference.


Punches waaaay above its weight - two examples here. The '88 Specialized Sirrus is an Allez dressed down 105 parts instead of 600, and the paint is a little softer, but oh my goodness can it GO!


- but in fairness, the REAL punches-above-its-weight award should go to this humble, crusty-looking 1988 Centurion LeMans. By that point this model was Tange no. 2 with mangalloy stays and forks, Shimano Exage Sport parts, etc. Very much a bike built to a price point - but it doesn't understand that, and it rides like a much more expensive sports-tourer on the zippy end of the scale. I need to take a more recent photo with the 25mm tires and the carefully saved original pattern bar tape from another Centurion.


All-out racebike - Everyone needs at least one, even if you don't set it up as such. In my case, it's a former The Spoke/Harvest/Mercian team-issued bike from 1982, and maybe someday I'll have the time and luck to build it up with original spec Campagnolo Super Record. This is a very zippy yet stable-handling bike, and feels like its on rails when descending.

nlerner

My guess is that was for a bottle generator, but that's just a guess.

Drillium Dude 

I like 'em fast and sexy; if that's not a category, it is now:





















DD

georges1

one of my favorite road bikes that I own since 1997,a 1993 peugeot prestige in Reynolds 708 Classic ,it will be upgarded with durace 7800 and 7700 components

another rarity a 1991 Raleigh professional team with Campy C record and campy delta brakes made in Reynolds 753, i will buy a new pair of wheels for it

The Raleigh 753 Frame is slightly stiffer than the Peugeot 708 classic but the 708 classic tubing has better rigidity and is more comfy on long distances.
Apologize for the average quality of photos taken some years ago

motochick 

I like the different steels approach:

1. Colombus
2. Reynolds
3. Tange
4. Tru Temper
5. Dedaccai
6. Ishiwata
7. Super Vitus
8. Oria
9. Miyata House brand
10. ????

I have 7 of the above, all ride very nice.