iab

1989Pre brought it up in the other thread. I have no problems modifying your bike however you please. I have a pink powder-coated 1960s Umberto Dei sporting Ergo 10, Speedplay pedals and all sorts of new tech.

But then there are bikes where I want the experience of riding the old tech. Purely because, for me at least, I want the variety, riding the same bike and tech would get boring for me.

Now if I had wall-hangers, I'd keep everything as is with the exception of probably giving everything a good clean. But I like to ride the bikes and there are a few things I won't do, mostly for safety sake. Here are the old things I tend to avoid.

Wood rims older than 30 years old.
Tires/tubes older than 20 years old.
Brake pads older than 10 years old.
Used bearings, period.
Non-stainless spokes.
Corroded cables/housings.
And I am not abusive to aluminum that is older than me.

Rola 01 by iabisdb, on Flickr

Frejus 01 by iabisdb, on Flickr

Frejus001 by iabisdb, on Flickr

Cinelli_Model_B 004 by iabisdb, on Flickr

79pmooney

Like the OP, brake pads, tires and tubes. Seats - I need the groove or cut-out. (Terry Flys are pretty close to the Selle Italias I raced in the '70s and used to be made by them.) QRs. the newer ones have better cams and curved - less likely to be opened accidentally - levers. I've crashed from a front QR opening. Non-aero brake levers. I fantasized about them on my long training rides as a racer - levers I could drop my palms over the hoods of for the long upwind miles. Stems with raised hex-head quill bolts. (I planted by sternum ion such a bolt-head on my UO-8 when I was 14. That Cinelli above reminded me.)

bikemig 

Yeah I don't use old tires, tubes, etc. I replace consumables. And I'm OK with repops.

I don't have anything as old as @iab 's bikes. There are some bikes that it would be a shame to mess with like my 1960ish Olmo Gran Sport. Yeah the saddle is a repop and the cinelli bar and stem are obviously later as are the brake hoods but the parts are otherwise original.

I haven't rebuilt my 1968 Schwinn paramount tourist because I can't decide whether I want to mess with it or not. It came to me almost completely original but I'd get a lot more use out of the bike if I swapped out the stronglight competition 55 crank for a TA double to eke out better gearing. Plus I'm not that much of a fan of flat bars. I think the older the bike and the closer it is to original spec, the harder it is to justify messing with it at least in my book.

Dylansbob 

Cottered cranks.


Just too big of pain in the ass to press out cotters and if you damage it at all, you're SOL trying to find a new quality one in the correct diameter. Once a bike needs BB service, I'll swap in something else.

CliffordK

The question is if one should never say never. Situations may change from one situation to another.

I won't use a freewheel with a 14T smallest cog. Well, at least in general.

iab

While I have never had the opportunity, I'm pretty comfortable in eliminating corncobs from use.

lasauge 

Vintage 5-7sp freewheels. Modern 7-sp freewheels in silver look vintage correct and work identically, but give much smoother shifting, so why put up with needlessly clunky shifting and fewer gears?

Thinking of 1970's road bikes here, I'd add galvanized spokes, hookless rims, steel rims, 27" wheels, cellotape, stem shifters, steel drop bars, seat pillars, and low end stuff in general - it's not that hard to find period-correct parts or visually identical modern equivalents that are much nicer, so why put up with a sub-par vintage experience?

Bianchigirll 

I’ve kinda given up on freewheels. Most of my bikes use the same shipmano 7spd cassette wheel which makes life a bit simpler. I don’t have to worry about broken axles and I really only need one spare wheelset.

Two bikes have 8spd hubs for the Campi Ergo, but when that breaks the wheels may go. One has those beautiful Electra Sherrif 8spd hubs.

the only freewheel bike is my Ugly Betty and she is actually running a 5spd Suntour FW and has the Campagnolo Portacatena as well.

steelbikeguy

The part about "low end stuff in general" does match my general feelings. I didn't like that stuff back in the day, so why use it now?
Of course, that might be why I don't want to own stuff that pre-dates the 70's much... even though cottered cranks might have been the top of the line gear, I'm not in the mood to start messing with cotters, and I'm not going to own a bike that I don't ride routinely. If I had a lot more storage space, then I might consider a bike that just gets ridden a few times a year.

Other stuff, like Weinmann brake levers and the hard white hoods, aren't the best, but I haven't been spoiled by the newest stuff yet.

Steve in Peoria

obrentharris 

Biopace chainrings, Dork discs, "safety" levers, kickstands that clamp onto the chainstays, Pletscher racks, leg lights, Wonder lights, bottle generators, Cinelli M71 pedals, elastomer forks.

Brent

Mackers

I removed anything pre 9-speed on mine with the exception of some 8 speed dual pivot Record brakes and dart seatposts.
Also Arione saddles and modern bend handlebars, SPD-SL pedals

RustyJames 

I'm guessing like many of you I’m torn on this issue. I see it like the George Washington’s Axe conundrum. I’ve decided I’ll more or less keep my old stuff old and new stuff new. If I swap parts it’s because;
- the old part failed
- it wasn’t very good in its era
- it’s period correct but the whim of the manufacturer decided on brand X
- it’s NLA

My 1960 Legnano isn’t getting carbon wheels and brifters and my early 2000s Allez isn’t getting Mafac Racers.

nlerner

I faced this dilemma in building up my 1961 Hetchins. It had already received some frame modifications with the last owner--water bottle bosses and downtube shift cable stops--and I was pretty sure I did not want to build it up with period correct derailleurs. The late 1950s/early 1960s was a low point in derailleur technology, in my view, so I instead went with what a discriminating owner would have upgraded to when it was time for a refresh in the mid-1970s: first gen. SunTour Superbe with SunTour barcons:

Untitled

Otherwise, the build is relatively close for its time: Stronglight crankset, GB brakes and levers (which actually don't work very well--might be upgrading to Weinmann).

Untitled

jforb427

I can't think of any. I even put the old balls back into the bearings, after cleaning and inspecting them.

They don't make stuff like they used to (for better or worse!) and if it's lasted 40+ years, I suppose it probably wasn't so bad, after all.

icemilkcoffee 

Single pivot brakes.
I’d rather not deal with tubular tires neither but that’s just a matter of convenience

tkamd73 

Cottered cranks, tubular tires, straight tooth freewheels.
Tim

gearbasher

Tubulars. Rode them for a week. End of story
Campagnolo NR/SR brakes. After using modern brake calipers, I've come to realize you need the forearms of a 14 y.o. boy who found his father's Playboy stash just to slow down a bike with the old side pulls..

Edit. Post #15 popped up as I was typing mine. It looks like we agree on these two points.

steelbikeguy

first of all, great metaphor regarding forearm strength (and maybe endurance?)

second, I haven't really figured out the variation I see in the Campy Record sidepull brakes on my bikes. My Olmo requires a fair bit of oomph when braking, but I haven't decided if it is the old cable housing or not (I need to get some new bright yellow cable housing for it).
My Raleigh Team has the later version, with the script Campagnolo text on the caliper arm and a somewhat triangular cross section to the caliper arms. These seem to have weaker springs, and are easier to actuate. Maybe they were developed after the introduction of teflon lined cable housing?? Perhaps someone with better knowledge of the evolution of these brakes can comment.

Still, the 1989-ish Shimano SLR sidepulls on one of my newer bikes are much much easier to use. Shimano was really doing some good engineering when they came up with all of the little improvements in that era of brakes.

Steve in Peoria

blamester

I won't use aero levers again.
Shimano 1050 brake levers and 7400 single pivots are the best brakes I have ever used.
Modern cables and pads.
One finger at any speed. You can switch hands and look over your shoulder as you brake with confidence.
It's the long pull which gives very fine control.
Shimano changed the pull because the cable entry changed when they moved to sti.
And don't be fooled by the 105 name.. The 1050 levers are dura ace quality and possibly the best quality shimano part I have ever used.
I have a second pair stashed.
I was wary of using carbon rims because I didn't want to compromise braking. But I have bought some just because I think they will work well with these brakes. Yet to be proved but I figured I could risk it. Whereas before I wouldn't bave bothered..
I might also try them with a dual pivot just to see.

non-fixie 

I'll use anything, as long as it is in good shape and I like it. Age by itself is not a consideration.

fabiofarelli

Me too. L'Eroica on tyres as old as the bike never was a problem. Even no punctures.



And I didn't walk all the way.

microcord

Well, yes. So what (A) don't I want and (B) is old? Several of the items mentioned by various people above; also, (i) the angle-adjustable doodads (sorry, I don't know the name) that used to come between saddle rails and a simple seat pillar, (ii) "bottle" dynamos (powered not by a hub but by the side of a tyre), (iii) tungsten filament lighting.

I don't like leather saddles, either; but I'm a fool so I'm about to try one again.

iab

Vintage metal water bottles? That's one more to my list.

BFisher

I won't use Simplex plastic derailleurs and shifters. I don't ride fixed gear.

ThermionicScott 

Steel rims and perished rubber parts (I go by condition, not chronological age) are about it for me.