Where does a classic road bike fit in your cycling life?

[KJMUNC]

It's funny, I go through cycles with this same question and have for 15yrs. When I own old steel or something that most would call classic, I ride it and like it, but if I have a modern bike on the hook next to it, I often wind up choosing it more often, so I sell the steel bike.....and then eventually start thinking about how great they are again. I've done this with my 1st MXL, Primato, 3 Team SCs, 3 C50's, a C40, Dogma FP, 2nd MXL, Z-team Lemond, etc.

At this point I have a fully modern gravel bike (3T Exploro), fully modern road bike (Factor O2 disc), and a bit of a modern throwback with the Trek Domane Classics from Roubaix. To me, I have all my bases covered and don't really hanker for an old steel classic. Like many, I've come to prefer 28c tires, wider gearing (without having to invest in new cranksets), etc.

That said, if (big IF) I go down that road again, I'll build up a classic steel with modern components. I think ultimately that has been the deal killer for me every time....it was fun to source and build bikes with DT shifters, skinny rims, clunky 1st gen handlebar shifters, etc.....but at the end of the day I didn't ride them as often as the newer tech. I appreciate them, but I don't choose them.

So I guess for me it comes down to why you want to ride them: if you really want to feel nostalgic and experience older tech - that's one choice. Or you just like collecting cool old bikes....whatever works for you I suppose.

[tuscanyswe]

Originally Posted by KJMUNC

It's funny, I go through cycles with this same question and have for 15yrs. When I own old steel or something that most would call classic, I ride it and like it, but if I have a modern bike on the hook next to it, I often wind up choosing it more often, so I sell the steel bike.....and then eventually start thinking about how great they are again. I've done this with my 1st MXL, Primato, 3 Team SCs, 3 C50's, a C40, Dogma FP, 2nd MXL, Z-team Lemond, etc.

At this point I have a fully modern gravel bike (3T Exploro), fully modern road bike (Factor O2 disc), and a bit of a modern throwback with the Trek Domane Classics from Roubaix. To me, I have all my bases covered and don't really hanker for an old steel classic. Like many, I've come to prefer 28c tires, wider gearing (without having to invest in new cranksets), etc.

That said, if (big IF) I go down that road again, I'll build up a classic steel with modern components. I think ultimately that has been the deal killer for me every time....it was fun to source and build bikes with DT shifters, skinny rims, clunky 1st gen handlebar shifters, etc.....but at the end of the day I didn't ride them as often as the newer tech. I appreciate them, but I don't choose them.

So I guess for me it comes down to why you want to ride them: if you really want to feel nostalgic and experience older tech - that's one choice. Or you just like collecting cool old bikes....whatever works for you I suppose.

Im very much the same. But steel frames new or old with modern and the best components is a blast. Try it i think u may end up picking it a lot!

[teleguy57]

Originally Posted by robt57

Classic Tarmac getting maiden tire voyage tomorrow. Glued rear up this morning. Oldpotatoe method...

Looking forward to these 25mm LGG tubeless toobies on some Rolf CX58s I got recently.

Please don't make me want to buy some of those as well as the Challenge tubeless tubulars that you have written about so fondly.... I do have one more spare Vlaanderen hanging in the shop.

And +100 on Peter's gluing method. It's not scary rocket science or old-world voodoo, folks

[robt57]

Originally Posted by KJMUNC

It's funny, I go through cycles

Your don't say? A few here do that literally of course.

I go down that road again, I'll build up a classic steel with modern components. I think ultimately that has been the deal killer for me every time....it was fun to source and build bikes with DT shifters, skinny rims, clunky 1st gen handlebar shifters, etc.....but at the end of the day I didn't ride them as often as the newer tech. I appreciate them, but I don't choose them.

I sold my 85 Nago in 2015, it came home as frame/fork 3 years later. Chorus 11s and light fast wheels... Superb. I was not riding it much and let it go when the 8 Speed Ergo Mirage was pretty long in the tooth. Never do that again...

It is as ride-able as anything else I have with modern bits/wheels etc. It just has a bit of pork VS that Tarmac for example. Not enough it matters for my old ars.

[Waldo62]

Unless I am on a TIGged Rock Lobster or Rob English, all my riding is on classic lugged steel bikes. The 23-25 tire size limitation is BS to me. My 1978 Ron Cooper racing frame accommodates 30s and that's what that bike has and it rides great. My 1990s Glenn Erickson only allows for 26s and that's what I use. Ditto for my 1982 Brian Baylis -- 26s. My early '90s Nagasawa Road barely fits 25s, so that's what it has. If it had more room, it would get bigger tires. My 1984 Richie Sachs, 2019 Spectrum "Tom Kellogg," and late '80s Greg Diamond, etc. let me run 28s, which is what I do. I haven't used 23s in over 15 years. Sacrificing comfort and contact patch size makes no sense to me. I wouldn't use a tire smaller than the frame allows.

[galgal]

Originally Posted by KJMUNC

It's funny, I go through cycles with this same question and have for 15yrs. When I own old steel or something that most would call classic, I ride it and like it, but if I have a modern bike on the hook next to it, I often wind up choosing it more often, so I sell the steel bike.....and then eventually start thinking about how great they are again. I've done this with my 1st MXL, Primato, 3 Team SCs, 3 C50's, a C40, Dogma FP, 2nd MXL, Z-team Lemond, etc.

At this point I have a fully modern gravel bike (3T Exploro), fully modern road bike (Factor O2 disc), and a bit of a modern throwback with the Trek Domane Classics from Roubaix. To me, I have all my bases covered and don't really hanker for an old steel classic. Like many, I've come to prefer 28c tires, wider gearing (without having to invest in new cranksets), etc.

That said, if (big IF) I go down that road again, I'll build up a classic steel with modern components. I think ultimately that has been the deal killer for me every time....it was fun to source and build bikes with DT shifters, skinny rims, clunky 1st gen handlebar shifters, etc.....but at the end of the day I didn't ride them as often as the newer tech. I appreciate them, but I don't choose them.

So I guess for me it comes down to why you want to ride them: if you really want to feel nostalgic and experience older tech - that's one choice. Or you just like collecting cool old bikes....whatever works for you I suppose.

I've been away from the PL for quite a while but do remember some of the pics of your bike builds - great stuff. And yes, I agree with you and Tuscanyswe that a "classic" bike with modern components can be a blast. I used to to have my bikes with period silver shiny Campy which was very pretty but going to relatively new (haven't gotten to 12 sp yet!) was quite a revelation. Now the C40 has 2015 + mix of Record/SR 11/Hyperons, C59 has SR11/Hyperon Ultra 2, Colnago SLX has mix of Record/Chorus 11/Shamal Mille C17. Yes, I know, I should get a "modern" carbon wheelset one of these days but the Hyperons are quite stellar, so loathe to change.
I ride road exclusively and racing days are long gone so these bikes are way enough to put a smile on my face while cycling. Don't need the latest lightest aero frame but do want bikes that weave into my own personal (hi)story and that of cycling (as far as I know either...).
I most certainly don't have the bike knowledge and experience of many here, so I can only appreciate and learn from some of the shared knowledge regarding nuances and details. That being said, whether one chooses to have a "classic" bike seems to depend on personal preferences, needs and aims, terrain one rides, and such. Tire width for road tires is something others can speak of more expertly. I don't look down on my tires while riding and think, damn I wish I had 30mm tires, gotta get rid of this bike.

[Kirk007]

While not classic as in old, and not classic as in level top tube, I just finished up a ride this afternoon on a 2019 Spectrum lugged steel bike, steel fork, rim brakes, alloy wheels, 25 (well they measure out at 27) tires. It weighs more than all my other road bikes including a Spectrum ti "all road" disc bike.

It also has me thinking that I could sell all the rest - a Sachs, a carbon Hampsten, the ti Spectrum, the Dogma F10 disk - and rarely miss them. The ride is that good.

[ridethecliche]

Originally Posted by Waldo62

Unless I am on a TIGged Rock Lobster or Rob English, all my riding is on classic lugged steel bikes. The 23-25 tire size limitation is BS to me. My 1978 Ron Cooper racing frame accommodates 30s and that's what that bike has and it rides great. My 1990s Glenn Erickson only allows for 26s and that's what I use. Ditto for my 1982 Brian Baylis -- 26s. My early '90s Nagasawa Road barely fits 25s, so that's what it has. If it had more room, it would get bigger tires. My 1984 Richie Sachs, 2019 Spectrum "Tom Kellogg," and late '80s Greg Diamond, etc. let me run 28s, which is what I do. I haven't used 23s in over 15 years. Sacrificing comfort and contact patch size makes no sense to me. I wouldn't use a tire smaller than the frame allows.

Such a shame my 84 trek 760 won't readily accept 28s
😭

Originally Posted by Kirk007

While not classic as in old, and not classic as in level top tube, I just finished up a ride this afternoon on a 2019 Spectrum lugged steel bike, steel fork, rim brakes, alloy wheels, 25 (well they measure out at 27) tires. It weighs more than all my other road bikes including a Spectrum ti "all road" disc bike.

It also has me thinking that I could sell all the rest - a Sachs, a carbon Hampsten, the ti Spectrum, the Dogma F10 disk - and rarely miss them. The ride is that good.

Dibs?

[Ralph]

When you say "Classic" road bike.....I tend to think that means frames with 73/73 angles on frames with top tubes in my length (55-56 CM). 55-56 square. Not so much about frame and fork materials, older parts, or tire widths. With tall head tube and higher bars. Where riding position on the "drops" about same as riding on the hoods on a "modern" bike.

[Bob Ross]

Count me in the Road Bike Forever! crowd. I love road cycling; it's what allowed [edit: or caused] me to transition from Casual Utility Cyclist to Obsessive Recreational Cyclist ~15 years ago, and I have yet to do a ride on mixed surfaces and/or on a heavier, fatter-tired, squishy (or not), disc brake equipped bike that rivals the experience of flying down a smoothly paved road on a light, skinny tubed/skinny tired race bike.

Plus I own at least one "classic road bike" that you can't pry from my cold dead hands, so that'll always be in my garage.

[texbike]

All of my bikes fit into the "classic" category (rim brakes, skinnier tires/higher pressures, cable-actuated shifting, etc). The format has served me well for over 25 years. Since I rarely ride on gravel (it's a LONG ride or a drive to find any gravel around here), my current bikes are just fine and there isn't any real desire to move to a "modern" bike.

Texbike

[NHAero]

It's been revealing to me, over the past several months in which, due to COVID, my mileage has increased compared to past years, that my average speeds (slow - 14 to 17 mph depending on route, length, and especially wind conditions) are virtually the same on my 1989 Casati and more modern 2013 Firefly. The FF is 4 pounds lighter and has a light and slightly aero alloy wheelset. Maybe I'd be marginally faster on a 15 pound aero superbike like an SL7, but my point is that for many of us an older steel road bike set up with a modern drivetrain is more than adequate, and indeed delightful.

Having owned the Casati for a 4-1/2 months and over 750 miles, I've been wondering if this had been my bike since new I'd have had so many bikes along the way. My original custom has a 57.2 cm TT, and the Casati is 54.6, which is just right. My odyssey through various bikes began when I experienced neck issues from the too-big bike.

[Kirk007]

Dan, this classic bike is, as Dave Thomson says, just our size - for sale at Classic Cycles on the Island. Next time I go in I'll grab better photos.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by Kirk007

Dan, this classic bike is, as Dave Thomson says, just our size - for sale at Classic Cycles on the Island. Next time I go in I'll grab better photos.

That is classic - and classy..



How bout the DeBernardi a little further down?



Quite a deal there at $849..

http://classiccycleus.com/home/specials/used-bikes/

[Elefantino]

I had that DeBernardi. Amazing ride. It's been for sale there for a while and was thisclose to getting it (the shop will ship to lower 48) when the Merckx came up for sale and I got that instead.