If you bought a Vintage Bike when your Vintage Bike was new, what would you be riding
12-31-21, 05:10 PM
#1
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If you bought a Vintage Bike when your Vintage Bike was new, what would you be riding
That was the question posed to me my a neighbor after seeing me on a bike built in 1972.
So, if I bought that bike new in 1972, a bike of the same age at the time would have been built in 1922.
I know I could have bought a Schwinn, but it would have likely been a fixed gear and for sure would have been tubulars on wooden rims. A Raleigh? They might have been imported to the US. But a Peugeot or a Bianchi? While they were around then, I doubt I would find one here. A bike from a smaller builder like Watson? Maybe.
Now if I did the same exercise with one of my newer bikes, I’d have a lot more choices , but I would still be looking at what would have been viewed , at the time, at some seriously dated technology at least as far as components.
What would you be riding ?
So, if I bought that bike new in 1972, a bike of the same age at the time would have been built in 1922.
I know I could have bought a Schwinn, but it would have likely been a fixed gear and for sure would have been tubulars on wooden rims. A Raleigh? They might have been imported to the US. But a Peugeot or a Bianchi? While they were around then, I doubt I would find one here. A bike from a smaller builder like Watson? Maybe.
Now if I did the same exercise with one of my newer bikes, I’d have a lot more choices , but I would still be looking at what would have been viewed , at the time, at some seriously dated technology at least as far as components.
What would you be riding ?
12-31-21, 05:58 PM
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12-31-21, 06:16 PM
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Best, Ben
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12-31-21, 06:45 PM
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This would be my choice from 1922. Women obviously dig it.
12-31-21, 06:50 PM
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Woah
I bought Schwin continental new. Then a Rossin Record 1984 I think. Sold both..
12-31-21, 07:50 PM
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When I was looking for my first road bike in 1972, I thought of a decent used one.
my parents had 1964 Carlton Catalinas.
the market was quite imperfect. One did not see quality used bikes.
there was the local paper Bargain Box classifieds, $100 or under, the big paper was too expensive to place an advert.
Rare were the shops with decent trade ins.
very different from the reasonably efficient market today.
there were a few mail order retailers and framebuilders, but seemed kind of risky.
in 1974, how good are these Strawberry bikes?
my parents had 1964 Carlton Catalinas.
the market was quite imperfect. One did not see quality used bikes.
there was the local paper Bargain Box classifieds, $100 or under, the big paper was too expensive to place an advert.
Rare were the shops with decent trade ins.
very different from the reasonably efficient market today.
there were a few mail order retailers and framebuilders, but seemed kind of risky.
in 1974, how good are these Strawberry bikes?
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12-31-21, 09:14 PM
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I rode a Schwinn Varsity through high school and beyond. Then it was a Kabuki Diamond Formula I bought new so I could get more serious about riding. My wife and I parked our cars and rode bikes for a few years . We lived on a sailboat and rode those bikes rain or shine . I still have the Kabuki and I love that bike. It needed going through frequently due to the environment and amount of miles I rode it.
12-31-21, 09:47 PM
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01-01-22, 10:52 AM
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My Rudge is from the ‘40s and ironically 70+ years prior Rudge was making bicycles.
01-01-22, 12:06 PM
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When I bought my Miyata in 1984, I think my dad still had his bike from his teen years. I don't know the brand, but it was a typical 1950s American balloon tire bike with a springer fork. It never had a tank, as far as I know.
01-01-22, 12:29 PM
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I bought a Azuki in 1971, but lusted after a fuji with, gasp, sew-up tires. Read Anybody's Bike book a lot
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(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or for Raleigh International frame fork 58cm)
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(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or for Raleigh International frame fork 58cm)
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01-01-22, 12:59 PM
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That would cause me to look at bikes as new as mid 1940's. Legnano, Bianchi, or Bottecchia comes to mind. Admittedly, I am not familiar with brands from that time period. I should learn more about that time period.
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01-02-22, 07:05 AM
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I bought my Raleigh Record in 1970. That was 52 years ago, so a vintage bike for me then would have been something like this 1918 Mead Ranger. I probably would have changed out the handlebars, though.
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01-02-22, 07:31 AM
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Yesterday, I rode my ‘73 Raleigh Gran Sport. I suppose if I bought a 49-year-old bike in 1973, I might have ended up with this one from 1924?
01-02-22, 07:38 AM
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My Bianchi was new in 1982. Projecting back 30 years, if I had bought a then-vintage Capo Sieger then, it would probably look like this 1952 model, complete with Capo brand derailleurs.
A few years later, Otto Cap wisely dropped the through-frame cable routing (always a major fail in my book), added the U-shaped braze-ons to the rear dropouts to emulate the function of forged units, and switched to Campagnolo derailleurs and Weinmann Vainqueur brakes.
The 49-46/14-16-18-20-22 gearing seen on this sample was very popular in the day, and seen on Raleigh Lentons and other marques and models.
A few years later, Otto Cap wisely dropped the through-frame cable routing (always a major fail in my book), added the U-shaped braze-ons to the rear dropouts to emulate the function of forged units, and switched to Campagnolo derailleurs and Weinmann Vainqueur brakes.
The 49-46/14-16-18-20-22 gearing seen on this sample was very popular in the day, and seen on Raleigh Lentons and other marques and models.
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Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
Last edited by John E; 01-02-22 at 07:47 AM.
01-02-22, 10:27 AM
#16
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Okay, I thought I was looking for a Schwinn but maybe another Chicago built bike would have been what my 1922 self would a
have bought…a Mead Ranger! Thanks NW Univ for the photo.
have bought…a Mead Ranger! Thanks NW Univ for the photo.
01-02-22, 11:40 AM
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01-02-22, 01:03 PM
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Well, I was buying bicycles in 1972 but I wasn't into C&V at the time. If I had been, I would probably have sought out something Italian with Campagnolo Cambio Corsa or a very early Scapin. However, they would have been extremely hard to find without the internet. More attainable would have been something like a mid-1950s Dynamax, Gachon or CCM Prolite Flyer. I may even have tried for a pre-war CCM Flyte. One thing that I've always regretted was not buying a first year Marinoni when they came out. I had the opportunity but already had my Scapin and couldn't financially justify another frame.
01-02-22, 01:08 PM
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1915 Rola = 1808 = Draisienne.
1925 Frejus = 1828 = Draisienne
1933 Frejus = 1844 = Draisienne
1942 Frejus = 1862 = Draisienne
Now my 1960 Cinelli = 1898, I can get one of me one of those fancy safety bikes.
01-03-22, 09:01 AM
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Most of my bikes are early to mid 90's
- so call it 30 years ----- That would put me solidly in line for a PAramount
- so call it 30 years ----- That would put me solidly in line for a PAramount
01-03-22, 04:15 PM
#21
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If I had looked for something old when I got my motobecane in 1980, I probably be looking for an old wartime Columbia since I grew up near Westfield and did a fieldtrip to the factory in Third Grade. If I was setting my sights higher, it would have been a Raleigh 3 speed. I was blissfully unaware of old French bikes back then. https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/ma...mpleted.84876/
