Period correct.

[bobswire]

Is kinda like politically correct,IMO (Vintage/Older bikes and components).
I only started this thread because in the past month I been asked twice is my Merckx "period correct".
Seriously I buy bikes to ride not to mimic original retail. I just happen to prefer older well made steel frames and want the best operating bike I can build within a reasonable price range. Sometimes that requires I mix and match components from Campagnolo/Shimano/Sram/Sugino/Suntour. That's all. :)

http://i60.tinypic.com/21jx5qx.jpg

[jr59]

If you bought it to ride, then whatever you wish/like is fine.

If you bought it as wall art, then I would think correct is the way to go.

Something like this, IMO is wall art.

http://www.ebay.it/itm/1985-NOS-First-C-Record-Sheriff-Star-Columbus-SLX-Bianchi-Centenario-road-Bike-/231418938522?pt=Collezionismo_Sportivo&hash=item35e1a4c49a&clk_rvr_id=750371828140&clk_rvr_id=750354679988

[palincss]

Is kinda like politically correct,IMO (Vintage/Older bikes and components).
I only started this thread because in the past month I been asked twice is my Merckx "period correct".
Seriously I buy bikes to ride not to mimic original retail. I just happen to prefer older well made steel frames and want the best operating bike I can build within a reasonable price range. Sometimes that requires I mix and match components from Campagnolo/Shimano/Sram/Sugino/Suntour. That's all. :)



No, it's more like "collector" vs "rider". It's why I'm on the internet-BOB list but not the Classic Rendezvous list.

[Polyglot]

I have been collecting vintage bikes for over 2 decades and I would estimate that 95% of those who claim to be vintage bike enthusiasts are exclusively interested in vintage bikes because they are parsimonious and vintage bikes give the best bang for the buck. Were the comparative price of vintage bikes to modern bikes ever to increase to those levels seen with high end sports cars, I would expect all of these "enthusiasts" to immediately and permanently lose interest in the vintage items.

Given that your Merckx is nothing overly special or unusual, I say continue along the course that you have started, use the components that you feel offer you the best return on expenditure. There is nothing wrong with being parsimonious

[stephenmarklay]

Is kinda like politically correct,IMO (Vintage/Older bikes and components).
I only started this thread because in the past month I been asked twice is my Merckx "period correct".
Seriously I buy bikes to ride not to mimic original retail. I just happen to prefer older well made steel frames and want the best operating bike I can build within a reasonable price range. Sometimes that requires I mix and match components from Campagnolo/Shimano/Sram/Sugino/Suntour. That's all. :)

http://i60.tinypic.com/21jx5qx.jpg


Your bike is a travesty and you sir should send that to me so I kind make it proper and enjoy it in all its properness.

[texbike]

No, it's more like "collector" vs "rider". It's why I'm on the internet-BOB list but not the Classic Rendezvous list.

Great differentiation! :)

All of my bikes (except one) are period correct. The old stuff wears the parts that they would have had when they were new. The newer stuff wears newer parts. The newer stuff is ridden much more while the older bikes are mostly wall-hangers. The newer stuff racked up 4K miles this year while the old stuff only collected a couple hundred.

This is the path that works for my interests. ;)

Texbike

[bobswire]

Great differentiation! :)

All of my bikes (except one) are period correct. The old stuff wears the parts that they would have had when they were new. The newer stuff wears newer parts. The newer stuff is ridden much more while the older bikes are mostly wall-hangers. The newer stuff racked up 4K miles this year while the old stuff only collected a couple hundred.

This is the path that works for my interests. ;)

Texbike

I should have been more explicit,when I said period correct I mean like dedicated Campagnolo Nuovo Record, DA 7400, Suntour Superbe or the like. For my modern bikes I tend to use modern shifters and components but they too may be a mix from different makers. Though I have no qualms using modern campy on the Merckx or the 70's Richman that I own.

[oldpotatoe]

Is kinda like politically correct,IMO (Vintage/Older bikes and components).
I only started this thread because in the past month I been asked twice is my Merckx "period correct".
Seriously I buy bikes to ride not to mimic original retail. I just happen to prefer older well made steel frames and want the best operating bike I can build within a reasonable price range. Sometimes that requires I mix and match components from Campagnolo/Shimano/Sram/Sugino/Suntour. That's all. :)

http://i60.tinypic.com/21jx5qx.jpg

I agree. The heart of the bike is the frame/fork. Have ya seen my Merckx MXLeader? The 'ultimate' of NOT period correct.

And yes, yes, it was dented up and I have a spare.

http://s148.photobucket.com/user/chisholm2744/media/IMG_0929_zps5a409d8d.jpg.html?sort=3&o=16

My Moots has a mix of Phil BB, 1996 or so Record crank, 7s freewheel, 1986 Athena rear der, 2006 Centaur DP brakes, Mirage plastic brake levers(ERGO guts stripped)etc...

[makoti]

Is kinda like politically correct,IMO (Vintage/Older bikes and components).
I only started this thread because in the past month I been asked twice is my Merckx "period correct".
Seriously I buy bikes to ride not to mimic original retail. I just happen to prefer older well made steel frames and want the best operating bike I can build within a reasonable price range. Sometimes that requires I mix and match components from Campagnolo/Shimano/Sram/Sugino/Suntour. That's all. :)

http://i60.tinypic.com/21jx5qx.jpg

The worst thing about that bike is that it's photographed from the non-drive side. WHAT were you thinking???
I actually thought this might be a punctuation thread...

[lhuerta]

the worst thing about that bike is that it's photographed from the non-drive side. What were you thinking???

+1

[bobswire]

The worst thing about that bike is that it's photographed from the non-drive side. WHAT were you thinking???
I actually thought this might be a punctuation thread...

O.K. I'll flip it around, this better? :)

http://i60.tinypic.com/6xz3w8.jpg

[bobswire]

I agree. The heart of the bike is the frame/fork. Have ya seen my Merckx MXLeader? The 'ultimate' of NOT period correct.

And yes, yes, it was dented up and I have a spare.

http://s148.photobucket.com/user/chisholm2744/media/IMG_0929_zps5a409d8d.jpg.html?sort=3&o=16

My Moots has a mix of Phil BB, 1996 or so Record crank, 7s freewheel, 1986 Athena rear der, 2006 Centaur DP brakes, Mirage plastic brake levers(ERGO guts stripped)etc...

I used to like to strip non working mirage levers to use as brake levers also.

http://i57.tinypic.com/equhr7.jpg

[Saint Vitus]

O.K. I'll flip it around, this better? :)



No, too busy. There's a reason why bikes must be photographed in front of white garage doors :p

[bobswire]

No, too busy. There's a reason why bikes must be photographed in front of white garage doors :p

Tough crowd! ;)

[Saint Vitus]

Tough crowd! ;)

That's OK, I don't have a white garage door let alone a garage! Nice bike from any angle ;-)

[josephr]

No, too busy. There's a reason why bikes must be photographed in front of white garage doors :p

not to mention he's got straight bars on it?!?!?! :eek:

this guy can't get anything right...burn him at the state, I say!

[Black Dog]

I am with you Bob. Functionality before sentimentality.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/BlackDogryka/Serotta%20CII/file_zpsba26af1d.jpg[/URL]

[witcombusa]

No, it's more like "collector" vs "rider". It's why I'm on the internet-BOB list but not the Classic Rendezvous list.

There is a group of us CRers who do ride our period correct bikes all the time.

Stop in @ a Cirque and you'll see :banana:

[witcombusa]

I am with you Bob. Functionality before sentimentality.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/BlackDogryka/Serotta%20CII/file_zpsba26af1d.jpg[/URL]


There is good and bad from each decade. I find the functionality of the better parts from each period to be just fine.

You think Tour riders and cross country tourers from say the 70's were walking their bikes alot? The good stuff worked well. And if the $7 Suntour RD just happened to work better than the Nuovo Record piece, so be it.

[makoti]

O.K. I'll flip it around, this better? :)

http://i60.tinypic.com/6xz3w8.jpg

Heck, that's PERFECT now. ;)

[palincss]

this guy can't get anything right...burn him at the state, I say!

An amusing conflation of stake and grate, both of which have been used for burning...

[bobswire]

I am with you Bob. Functionality before sentimentality.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/BlackDogryka/Serotta%20CII/file_zpsba26af1d.jpg[/URL]

That bike is perfect and looks to be my size too.

[palincss]

There is a group of us CRers who do ride our period correct bikes all the time.

Stop in @ a Cirque and you'll see :banana:

Have done, but nobody's going to be doing that any more (last year's was the last ever, they said).

Didn't mean to imply collectors don't ride their bikes; it's a matter of focus. I am not a "collector." Never have been, never will be; don't even begin to comprehend the drive to complete the collection.

Still remember one time back in the 1970s we went for a ride up near Woodstock NY and stopped for a rest break at an antique store. Half the store was filled with phone pole insulators: every size, shape, color imaginable. And all this time, I thought there was only one, the same on every phone pole. And I still can't imagine why anyone would want even just the one, never mind an example of each kind. Utterly mystified.

My interest is in "riding." I care how well it works, not whether it came standard on it when it was sold. I happily removed the Campagnolo Grand Turismo rear derailleur from my Paramount back in 1973 and replaced it first with a Shimano Titlist, and then with a SunTour VGT Luxe. The SunTour was 10X better than the Campagnolo.

[witcombusa]

Have done, but nobody's going to be doing that any more (last year's was the last ever, they said).




I wouldn't count on that being the end of it. We've been here before. Dale will have something to say as will the core group of Cirquers, a great group of folks who happen to like bikes...

[cash05458]

This is fairly period correct maybe including merckx saddle and cinelli engraved stem (with the belgian flag on there!)...but it is my main ride...def. aint wall art...

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e151/jefferyweigand/133_zps232c20ed.jpg

no way I could have brought myself to put a sram part on there tho!

[Black Dog]

That bike is perfect and looks to be my size too.

Yep. It is a 54. If you are ever up in the great white north you can take it for a long spin. 😃

[pcb]

I have to start off saying that if you own the bike, you can do with it whatever makes you happy, and I'll never pass judgement on your component choices, cockpit setup or whether or not you resprayed the frame.

My own builds are colored by having worked in a bike shop in the early '80s, when lugged steel and non-indexed shifting were still modern and contemporary. None of my co-workers, buds or customers were concerned about whether their bikes were period- or catalog-correct. You showed your market knowledge and chops by upgrading to components that were better/newer than original spec.

When I got back into vintage steel, I built up a few mostly period-correct bikes to re-discover what '80s drivetrains were like. And though they were fun rides, component modernity crept back in. I'm always a bit behind the curve, so no 11spd or electronic shifting yet, and just a couple bikes with disc brakes. But most everything is indexed 9/10spd, even the '70s-'80s frames. I like riding the newer components better, and don't see any difference between running 9/10 STI on a current Newvex-lugged Waterford or a '77 Nervex-lugged Schwinn Paramount.

I do enjoy checking out time-capsule period-correct vintage machines, even though few/none of my own vintage frames are equipped that way.

[fiataccompli]

I can enjoy and appreciate a nice period correct build it I can also be quite amused when ideas of right/wrong start being taken seriously in that context. For me, I have to enjoy it as both art and as a machine . So the latter implies that I will ride the bike...sometimes hard and really putting it through its paces. So I have no interest in owning a bike that I don't enjoy riding. I am lucky to have a lot of bikes so I am able to choose to keep some in their "period" 6 or 7 cog freewheel/downtube shifter settings and I enjoy them that way. I do put more miles on modern builds but I would attribute that to doing more pointed "training" in the last few years.

When I build up a frame it is always a interesting evolvement. I usually have a purpose, a theme (maybe retro-modern? Period? Frankenbike? A color? Whatever) and a collection of parts I plan on using. What is interesting is that as it begins to take shape, the concept always evolves based on feel, "gut", maybe a technical glitch with parts or something. Anyway, it always ends up a bit of a process and maybe a bit of iterative experience for me in the workshop but THAT is really the driver more than anything else.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[numbskull]

Looking at the moment to connect with my past......and cycling's.

And away we go.

[elong8]

Period correct is kinda cool, but not where it compromises ride quality. My Serotta track bike is all C Record Pista. Because I like it. My 91 Litespeed is Chorus 11. I am actually building up an older Serotta with 6400 tricolor, but only because it looks good and the group is in great shape.

[tmf]

One way I found to improve the way I enjoyed some of my older bikes was to mix and match components a little. And by "enjoyed", I mostly mean the shifting more closely matched my more current bikes. Everything else on the bike isn't really as noticeable to me.

For example, you can use Campy 10sp shifters with Shimano 8sp rear gearing and rear mech. You can use Campy 8sp shifters and rear mech with Shimano 7sp rear freewheel/cassette. I know this mixes things up a bit, but for me it helped in riding the older bikes more often.

[Seramount]

when I bought my Ti Paramount, I really wanted to do a PC group. a DA 9-speed was my preferred option...

but, everything I found at the time was crap...beat-to-hell or ridiculously priced.

started looking at newer stuff and noticed that an Ultegra 6600 crank was vaguely similar to the 9-speed version. reluctantly, I bought a new 6600 group on sale from one of the British online shops for dirt cheap.

once the bike was built, my reservations about this choice dissipated..the 6600 stuff works nicely, I frequently get compliments on the bike, and no one has ever criticized the appearance of the non-PC parts.