Why do you like vintage steel bikes?

[KidWok]

Originally Posted by john903

What will be interesting is in 35 years will the people who grew up on carbon bikes be saying the same thing about their carbon bikes?

They'll be saying "I can't ride it anymore because they stopped supporting the proprietary HS/BB system on it". And they'll be saying that in 5 years, not 35.

Tai

[John H.]

I don't like them.
At least to own or ride.
But I do like to look at them and appreciate them. To me, they are like owning a car from the 60's- fine if you want to play around or drive around town, not as good as a daily driver for the roads and climbs that I ride.
I like modern wheels, 11 speed compact, etc..

[jr59]

Originally Posted by KidWok

They'll be saying "I can't ride it anymore because they stopped supporting the proprietary HS/BB system on it". And they'll be saying that in 5 years, not 35.

Tai

[FlashUNC]

Is it still vintage if it was made this decade?

[Kirk007]

or last decade?

[Ralph]

I don't particularly......many of them not made well.....alignment way off, etc. What they did do is ride well. The ones I had in the 70's (mostly Schwinn Paramounts) were 73/73 and were designed to ride well. That 73 degree seat tube angle put the saddle in middle of the rails like I like it. They were just designed to be ridden in long races, where comfort was as big a part of the design as all out going fast. My custom steel Jonathan Greene (with Enve fork) is designed the same way....with modern tubing, etc. Rides great....and with modern tubing and components is way lighter than those old P13 Paramounts I used to ride. Not really interested in going back. But for you younger guys....who didn't get o ride these bikes....I get the appeal....especially for a well made older example. Like some of ones mentioned and shown above.

[stephenmarklay]

Originally Posted by KidWok

Ride like buttah! None of this modern 20% stiffer 20% lighter mumbo jumbo. My repainted Merckx Professional:



Tai

Absolute eye candy.

[CampyorBust]

Perfezione!

In a few...

IMHO there is nothing more perfect than a vintage racing frame with modern shifties and turnies. Italiano of course!

[Saxon]

I still remember walking into a bike store in 1982 and seeing a Campy tricked out Celeste Bianchi. That was it for me. I didn't have funds for a nice bike at that time and was riding a "SONNE Cycle" which was made in China out of what looked like pot metal. I bought a set of Campy bar end plugs for the SONNE but it wasn't really the same thing Eventually I was able to scratch that itch and get a few really nice steel bikes. I ride carbon also, but the steel bikes hold a special place in my heart.

[exapkib]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Is it still vintage if it was made this decade?

One of the most beautiful bikes around!

Although, if yours gets to be vintage, than mine does too:

[paredown]

I'm a born-again rider--raced in the '70s, more or less didn't ride for a lot of years, and then bought a Mercian while we were living in the UK (a lot like my old Falcon from BITD, except with "modern" gear)--and I was hooked again.

I have had so much fun these past few years, because everything from the 80s and 90s I basically missed enjoying at the time, and I still feel like a recently divorced guy whose out with the gals that he didn't date while he was married.

My main ride now is a Simonetti, filet brazed by Mike Howard out of O/S Tange (probably early '90s according to Mike)--still with some indefinable Italian heritage thing going on, and I love the modern gear--brakes, shifters, rims, tires--all pretty much better (except I occasionally pine for Criterium Setas on tubi rims).

Still looking for 'the one' though--I have been eyeing a couple of the Serotta CSis that have traded in the classifieds--I hope I'm ready to pounce the next time one comes up.

I dream of custom retro-modern, but that may not happen with my current level of underemployment.

[OtayBW]

Can't put my finger on it. I like classic things, classic lines on bikes, etc. I came up riding in the '80s and was always enthralled with the Primatos, so when this came up...schwing! And the ride quality has just made it all better. Next I need a Merckx MXL....

[stephenmarklay]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Is it still vintage if it was made this decade?

For sure. Look at a Kirk for instance. Even with his seat stays. I still dig them.

[retrofit]

Originally Posted by msl819

I had no idea Craigslist has been around since the mid 90s!

Yup. I had to look it up (Wiki):

Craig Newmark began the service in 1995 as an email distribution list to friends, featuring local events in the San Francisco Bay Area. It became a web-based service in 1996 and expanded into other classified categories. It started expanding to other U.S. cities in 2000, and now covers 70 countries.

[biker72]

Originally Posted by John H.

I don't like them.
At least to own or ride.
But I do like to look at them and appreciate them. To me, they are like owning a car from the 60's- fine if you want to play around or drive around town, not as good as a daily driver for the roads and climbs that I ride.
I like modern wheels, 11 speed compact, etc..

+1
Definitely nice to look at.