greatbasin

I'm looking for a vintage road bike for everyday recreational riding and some short light tours. I currently ride a mid-80's Schwinn and I want to upgrade. I bought a later model Bianchi Vigorelli and it's cool. I enjoyed touring on it and some day rides but it's a bit too small for me and it lacks the vintage appeal I appreciate. I like the lightweight (mine is 21 pounds), and the fast tires (put GP5000 on it). I don't really care about the indexing brifters. So I think I can find an earlier vintage bike with a SL or SLX, 531 or Vitus tubes that comes in at a similar weight and still has the vintage appeal and down-tube friction shifters. I'm pretty sure I want to avoid 27" wheels. My Schwinn has 27's and the tires in that size just aren't that great. I don't want to convert either. Also, I'll probably want to run clinchers. I know a lot of the better vintage bikes came with tubulars but especially in the lower price ranges (users), they've been swapped. I might be more tempted to run tubulars than 27's, but a second set of clinchers seem like good insurance when traveling.

So I'm looking around the classified and auction sites and have come up with a few leads that fit my criteria for size and what I think I want to spend (maybe a grand or two). I know there are a few more out there on vintage bike dealer sites, but the prices around EUR 3000 are more than I want to spend. I don't know anything about these bikes except what I've read of their history and seen in pictures, so feel free to advise me what I could expect from any of them with respect to the ride and handling. I'm not expecting an evaluation of the individual specimen, but would like to hear some general opinions on the models.

Italian

• '79 Colnago Super; campagnollo and ambrosio
• mid-80's Pinarello Treviso; all campy but not original; also repaint but done by a top shop
• ~'77 Colnago Mexico; unknown gruppo, probably 27" wheels, waiting for details
• late-80's Sannino; all Dura Ace
• De Rosa; early 90's; Dura Ace 7400 w/downtube shifters, not dual-controls

The French

• early 80's PY10; Stronglite, Simplex; 27" wheels
• Peugeot Mont Cenis, Stronglite, Simplex, Mafac

Belgian

• Merckx; mid-80's with Dura Ace and Mavic G40 clinchers
• Merckx; 80's; Campy; Mavic tubulars

So basically, I don't have a chance to see anything in person without buying it and having it shipped or driving 6 to 10 hours round-trip. I've got to have my mind made up pretty well before I do either of those things.

non-fixie 

I don't think you could go wrong with any of those, so it's all down to size, price, condition and personal preferences. Get the one you fall in love with.

Were it me, I'd go look at the PY10 first. But that's just me.

billytwosheds 

A grand or two would buy you a really really nice classic road bike.

It's worth narrowing your search a little, I think.

If you like the makers Pinarello, Peugeot, and Merckx, become familiar with their model lines in the year range you are looking.

Knowing the details between the models will make it easier to know if you're getting the value you seek.

And by all means post things you are considering buying to the What's It Worth subforum, where you can avoid a bummer deal.

Cheers.

verktyg 

..or a Pig In A Poke!!! No photos? I'd pass on all of them.

Where are you located? Great Basin seems to indicate NV or UT ?

The most important thing when buying a bike is.... DOES IT FIT YOU!!! Too big is unsafe, too small can be a comfort issue.

Old Schwinn bike fitting guide. The stand over measurement is the most important... Disregard the handlebar stem and seat measurements. In most instances they can be easily corrected.



Sight unseen, I'd probably go for the Merckx with clinchers... But again, no pictures - no joy. You need photos of the drive side plus closeups help a lot.



verktyg

nomadmax 

I choose bikes on fit, then condition. However, those two things being equal among my choices, Merckx every time.

squirtdad

First it has to fit, so you should know what works for you? What size do you ride?

your location would be helpful, great basin indicates US, as does the driving time, but the euros part confused me

A want to buy (WTB) tin the classic and vintage for sale section could result in a find.

after that it is a matter of what sings to you, color, history of the marque, just looks greate

you will have much better tire selection if you go for 700 rims or tubular rather than 27 inch Modern clinchers are great and I find the GP5000 in 28mm great tires (i use both clinchers and tubular)

sight unseen i would say the de rosa

also to consider is if you want to stay traditional and friction and 5,6,7 (126 mm rear spaceing) or go for 8,9,10,11 rear (130mm spacing) easy enough to cold set steel from 126 to 130 but less hassle to start with 130 which will start showing up in bikes from 90,91,92

personally i really like the combo of classic steel frame and modern components

SJX426 

Fit rules. If they were all the same or at least in the fit range, then it would be the Merckx, since I have a De Rosa, Pinarello and Colnago. Oh, and a Bottecchia.

Bianchigirll 

I agree with those who said make sure it fits first.

You don’t mention what Campanutello is on the Pinarello but most of these bikes use old technology parallelogram rear derailleurs except the Dura Ace equipped bikes. Your Schwinn and most certainly the Vigorelli used the Slant Parallelogram rear derailleur which whilst Omni important for index shifting makes even friction shifting smoother. You’ll likely find these bike with Simplex and Nuovo/Super Record a bit clunky in shifting and will take some getting used to.

Do any have tubulars?

BTW lightweight, vintage and touring don’t usually go together. I don’t think any bike on your list will come in under 21 especially once you add water bottles, pump, tubes, and whatever else you need for your excursion. IMHO for most of who can stand to lose a pound or twenty, a 19 pound bike verses a 22 lb won’t really make us faster.

PS. Don’t over look later ‘80s Bianchi both the Italian and Japanese built bikes (or Japanese built brands like Centurion, Univega, Specialized) while they might not have the panache’ of a classic Italian you might find a great bike to suit your needs and have a few Benjamin’s left in your wallet to fund your summer fun.

bikemig 

Fit and condition matter. So does the largest tire volume the bike can take especially since you want to use this for light touring. I'd focus on a bike that can take at least a 28c tire and maybe (although that will be more difficult if you focus on racing bikes) a 32c tire. Gearing matters as well. Yes that can be modded but if you're sticking with a campy crank, your gearing choices are limited.

I like 70s era French racing bikes typically have eyelets (useful for light touring) and you should be able to mount a 28c or a even a 32c. I'm rehabbing a 70s Mercier 300 and it will take 32c tires easily plus it has eyelets.

All the bikes listed are fine bikes but personally I'd lean towards the Peugeot PY 10. By the 80s, top end French components were very fine indeed.

bamboobike4

I can’t quite imagine touring on a Merckx, but I’d prefer it, if carrying the load and bigger tires were not a requirement. I’ve owned a Corsa Extra, a “Professional,” and a carbon MX-3. I wouldn’t tour on any of them, their “endurance” qualities notwithstanding. Now, if all we had to do was eat mileage, you betcha.

I’ve only had three Pin’s, a Montello that was very precise but not a tourer, a Record that was a bit more sedate, and a Catena Lusso that was probably more suited to touring if it had better clearance.

The only Peugeot I’ve had was a mixte (2), and I serviced a lady’s Triathlon while she raced it. Based only upon my work on UO8 mixtes, I’d imagine a Peugeot built for light touring would be well balanced, forgiving, and a pain to work on, if it was early enough for French dimensions.

While I prefer a Mercks, I just can’t see light touring on one, or a Pinarello, so I’d go with a Pug built for it. I defer to bikemig on that one.

bamboobike4

OP said “mid-80’s Schwinn.”

Some of them were pretty darn good, even at light touring.

bamboobike4

There is a Miata 1000 here for $675, complete. That would be my answer, fit-dependent.

Mr. 66

I would go to the Colnago '79 first, then the '77. Either of those will handle a bigger tire. True neither are going to load and carry touring, but if you are the casual Sunday rider they may be fine.

Are you looking for a bike to put racks and fenders on?

greatbasin

I'm only looking at bikes that have a good chance of fitting. As I wrote earlier, I don't have much choice but to drive many hours or have it shipped to me to actually try the fit, but it's not like I don't know the sizes that I can make work for me and how to verify a seller's claim of size or tube measurements.

I'm not looking for bigger tires to tour. My preference is 25mm GP5000 or something similar like Michelin Power Road. I tour with about 25 pounds of stuff plus myself at 135 pounds. So no big loads. This is how I toured on my Bianchi which is no "touring" bike and it worked fine. I have no interest in a heavy bike with fat tires for big loads.

Yes, few I mentioned have tubulars. I noted where they do. That's a drawback for me, but maybe not as much as 27's.

The Merckx and De Rosa are more 'modern," and less vintage, with their Dura Ace 7400. Cool bikes, but relatively "high tech." The one Merckx with campagnollo has tubulars. Sure, the 7400 are less "clunky," but so is any new bike.

I like my Schwinn. It's not a Paramount though. It's three-tubes of 4130 with Suntour, Maillard, Weinmann, Sakae... The worse thing is it doesn't quite fit me - about two sizes too big so enough it's hard to adjust for. The Bianchi is two sizes too small, though accounting for the more modern geometry with lower stack-to-reach ratios and longer top tubes, it works well for shorter rides where I can tolerate lower bars and a more aggressive position.

I have pictures, but I'm not trying to sell the bikes to you guys! I can see most of what I need to know from the pictures, except on that Mexico where the seller just focused on the uncrimped chainstays with the idea to prove it's a Mexico with the Record tubing and not just a Super with Mexico decals -- didn't include any drivetrain photos. The other thing is it looks like it has 27's -- the humanity!

I'm leaning toward the Peugeot. It should have more relaxed geometry than the Sannino. It's a 2nd tier, three-tube frame and one of the heavier bikes on my list but it's got understated looks and is tasteful in all the details. It's also nominally one size too big, but the stand-over won't be an issue and the top-tube is still shorter than my even bigger Schwinn. Those bikes had shorter top tubes than the seat tube, under-square so to speak, whereas modern steel bikes like my Vigorelli are typically over-square with lower stack-to-reach ratios. Update: well, I'd almost made up my mind to buy the Peugeot, but someone else snatched it up this morning. It'd been on Craigslist for 2 months, and then while I snoozed, I losed. At least I won't have to find french-threaded freewheels and stuff like that.

The '79 Colnago looks good too, flashy. The refinished Pinarello (Treviso) looks good, but has anachronistic black-anodized aero (deep) rims. There's another Treviso that has the original finish and original campy gruppo, but it's got a decal disaster - what I understand is typical. I'm still holding out for good news on the Mexico, but the seller's convinced they have it sold to someone else and won't get back to me with details unless the deal falls through.

conspiratemus1

For Pinarello, just be careful about the "Treviso" identification. At various points in the 80s, Treviso was applied to frames or built-up bikes of varying quality. In '81, it would have been all SL with at least the drive-side chain-stay chromed and a fully chromed fork. The seat-stay caps were pantographed with the GPT logo. At this price-point, the component group was all Super Record, although many were sold as framesets for the shop to build to the customer's spec. Later in the decade the name applied to a less fancy frame with SL main tubes, a painted fork, and plain seat-stay caps. The other warning is that all Pinarellos were made in Treviso, so Treviso could appear on the frame, particularly on the bottom bracket shell, of any Pinarello even with straight-gauge Aelle tubing in the 3 main tubes only. And yes, the self-removing Pinarello decals prove it's authentic.

With French bikes it's not the freewheels that give trouble, it's the bits that have to go into the frame, like stems and seatposts and bottom brackets. Get an Italian SL frame and you know a standard stem and a 27.2 mm seat post will slide right in (unless the tube got warped somehow during brazing or the pinch ears got crimped.)

SurferRosa

Get a few of them. Use the best parts on one or two to keep. Sell the rest.

jimbossa

Merckx with the Dura Ace, or the De Rosa for me.

As others have said, fit is most important. If all other things are equal, I'd go with the above two choices mainly for their most likely compatibility with more modern groups/access to parts.