Retro Road Bikes ?
Discussion
splodge s4 said:
Ebay find a few months ago, needed new tyres, tubes, cables, chain & a few spokes, does me all in for £60 so not bad. Rides crap!
Exactly the same as I had as a kid, loved it, but cant imagine it feels great now.Some lovely retro goodness in this thread, other than Pig Iron bottom of the range Raleigh tat ! Which I still have fond memories of, not bought the Record Sprint, looks like its gone anyway, did wonder whether I would ride it.
Edited by J4CKO on Tuesday 14th July 13:28
Apologies for the truly awful photo, but here is my circa 1980 Ken Bird (RIP). Super Record throughout, San Marco Concor Saddle and GP4's...lovely then, and it would probably be worth a fortune now if I still had it.
The picture is probably too shonky to see the period "climbers gearing" : 53/42 and 13-21 at the back. I'm pretty sure I rode the Junior Tour of the Peak on that gearing, although the fact that I weighed 5% of ****-all at the time might have had something to do with my decision not to revert to anything as extreme as a 13-24.
I still have the Roberts 753 frame that came next, but sadly all the Super Record components went long ago:
Finally, a few more "period" features on earlier Ken Bird "Bitsa" approaching the finish line on the old Q10/2 course...woolly racing jersey? Check. Flappy brake cables? Check. Binda Toe Clips? Check. First Generation Cycle Computer (aka stopwatch clamped to handlebars)? Check.
The picture is probably too shonky to see the period "climbers gearing" : 53/42 and 13-21 at the back. I'm pretty sure I rode the Junior Tour of the Peak on that gearing, although the fact that I weighed 5% of ****-all at the time might have had something to do with my decision not to revert to anything as extreme as a 13-24.
I still have the Roberts 753 frame that came next, but sadly all the Super Record components went long ago:
Finally, a few more "period" features on earlier Ken Bird "Bitsa" approaching the finish line on the old Q10/2 course...woolly racing jersey? Check. Flappy brake cables? Check. Binda Toe Clips? Check. First Generation Cycle Computer (aka stopwatch clamped to handlebars)? Check.
Edited by ian996 on Sunday 26th July 16:43
How the hell did I miss this thread?
Current retro roads include...
-Raleigh 531 Triathlon (owned since 1987). Only real mods are decal change, White Rolls saddle, new bar tape and hoods
-Record Sprint circa 1986. Couple of minor jobs to finish such as new headset (chrome a bit doggy) and refurb/paint black quill pedals. I had the rear whell rebuilt with a normal hub and laced with stainless spokes a while back too as the Helicomatic hub was buggered. Again, Rolls saddle but this time in black. Keep threatening to sell it as I never ride it but can't bring myself to part with it!
-Raleigh Equipe (still not sure whether to fully restore or fixie on deep v black rims) which I won locally for a tenner ages ago. Cheapy 18-23 gaspipe frame but they look great in the decals and I finally found a BNIB silver original saddle for it a while back so it's more likely going to end up a resto now.
Current retro roads include...
-Raleigh 531 Triathlon (owned since 1987). Only real mods are decal change, White Rolls saddle, new bar tape and hoods
-Record Sprint circa 1986. Couple of minor jobs to finish such as new headset (chrome a bit doggy) and refurb/paint black quill pedals. I had the rear whell rebuilt with a normal hub and laced with stainless spokes a while back too as the Helicomatic hub was buggered. Again, Rolls saddle but this time in black. Keep threatening to sell it as I never ride it but can't bring myself to part with it!
-Raleigh Equipe (still not sure whether to fully restore or fixie on deep v black rims) which I won locally for a tenner ages ago. Cheapy 18-23 gaspipe frame but they look great in the decals and I finally found a BNIB silver original saddle for it a while back so it's more likely going to end up a resto now.
Edited by V1nce Fox on Sunday 26th July 18:05
Edited by V1nce Fox on Sunday 26th July 18:07
Terrible picture and don't have any to hand on my phone, but here's my Nishiki road master winter bike with 10 speed tiagra, bar end shifters and miche altur wheels doing a bit of light off road. Frame was NOS - likely mid 90s and built up as it stands (minus the wheelset). Bought off eBay for £180, sold the wheels on it for £30 quid, so it's really £150 - ideal winter hack. Although not as glamorous as the previous 2 pages, it does a job and I have a nice bike for nice days....
19Dogger87 said:
Terrible picture and don't have any to hand on my phone, but here's my Nishiki road master winter bike with 10 speed tiagra, bar end shifters and miche altur wheels doing a bit of light off road. Frame was NOS - likely mid 90s and built up as it stands (minus the wheelset). Bought off eBay for £180, sold the wheels on it for £30 quid, so it's really £150 - ideal winter hack. Although not as glamorous as the previous 2 pages, it does a job and I have a nice bike for nice days....
Weirdly I didn't think we got Nikishis in this country. Don't remember ever seeing one in the flesh.
V1nce Fox said:
19Dogger87 said:
Terrible picture and don't have any to hand on my phone, but here's my Nishiki road master winter bike with 10 speed tiagra, bar end shifters and miche altur wheels doing a bit of light off road. Frame was NOS - likely mid 90s and built up as it stands (minus the wheelset). Bought off eBay for £180, sold the wheels on it for £30 quid, so it's really £150 - ideal winter hack. Although not as glamorous as the previous 2 pages, it does a job and I have a nice bike for nice days....
Weirdly I didn't think we got Nikishis in this country. Don't remember ever seeing one in the flesh.fizzwheel said:
My Kirk Precision
Sadly it's cracked like they all did at the Bottom Bracket so its now hung up on the wall in my study
I remember seeing those advertised in bicycle magazines in the 1980s. Always fancied one. What was it like to ride?Sadly it's cracked like they all did at the Bottom Bracket so its now hung up on the wall in my study
I had a Peugeot Mirage from the late 1980s, in gunmetal (or metallic brown, depending on your point of view). Did many miles and road races on it in the late '80s and early '90s. Tange 2 frame, Suntour Ole white groupset. Loved that bike. It was the budget end for serious bikes I guess... but I still miss it now and they clearly didn't sell many as I never see them coming up on ebay.
This isn't mine but is same model and colour, except mine came with white handlebar tape and creme / white brake lever shrouds.
Edited by kiseca on Tuesday 18th August 11:49
Saw a guy out a couple of weeks ago on a gorgeous Colnago Steelie from (I think) 1990, but built up with what looked like modern day Campag Record - wish I had asked more about it and got the details of how he managed to make the modern bits work on the old frame. The thing was stunning.
The bike equivalent of a Singer 911 or Eagle E-Type.
The bike equivalent of a Singer 911 or Eagle E-Type.
V1nce Fox said:
How the hell did I miss this thread?
Current retro roads include...
-Raleigh 531 Triathlon (owned since 1987). Only real mods are decal change, White Rolls saddle, new bar tape and hoods
-Record Sprint circa 1986. Couple of minor jobs to finish such as new headset (chrome a bit doggy) and refurb/paint black quill pedals. I had the rear whell rebuilt with a normal hub and laced with stainless spokes a while back too as the Helicomatic hub was buggered. Again, Rolls saddle but this time in black. Keep threatening to sell it as I never ride it but can't bring myself to part with it!
-Raleigh Equipe (still not sure whether to fully restore or fixie on deep v black rims) which I won locally for a tenner ages ago. Cheapy 18-23 gaspipe frame but they look great in the decals and I finally found a BNIB silver original saddle for it a while back so it's more likely going to end up a resto now.
Nice collection. I have 3 reasonably similar which I’ll post up once I get round to taking a photo.Current retro roads include...
-Raleigh 531 Triathlon (owned since 1987). Only real mods are decal change, White Rolls saddle, new bar tape and hoods
-Record Sprint circa 1986. Couple of minor jobs to finish such as new headset (chrome a bit doggy) and refurb/paint black quill pedals. I had the rear whell rebuilt with a normal hub and laced with stainless spokes a while back too as the Helicomatic hub was buggered. Again, Rolls saddle but this time in black. Keep threatening to sell it as I never ride it but can't bring myself to part with it!
-Raleigh Equipe (still not sure whether to fully restore or fixie on deep v black rims) which I won locally for a tenner ages ago. Cheapy 18-23 gaspipe frame but they look great in the decals and I finally found a BNIB silver original saddle for it a while back so it's more likely going to end up a resto now.
Edited by V1nce Fox on Sunday 26th July 18:05
Edited by V1nce Fox on Sunday 26th July 18:07
kiseca said:
They were magnesium so yeah I guess they'd burn relatively easily.
Magnesium alloy, I’d be surprised if the magnesium content was sufficient for them to be combustible. They were cool bikes, especially the ones with genuine Reynolds forks. The geometry didn’t work with boingy forks though and they had a bit of a reputation for flex at the bottom bracket to say the least....
OK, so a bit of a devil's advocate post.
I got into cycling in 2002 by stripping what was my BIL's inherited road bike, an old Claude Butler steel frame that I would guess at 1970's vintage, to bare metal, respray, rebuild and rode it year-round for about four years. I doubt that I have ever been much faster than I was on that bike, that was mainly due to the amount of time I spent training / riding. I really loved that bike, rode about 20,000km on it and I still have it.
However: everything has moved on and almost nothing is (readily) compatible any more. 27" rims, narrower frame spacing, down-tube unindexed shifters, five-speed freewheel, single pivot long-drop brakes, quill stems etc etc. Makes it harder to upgrade or even replace items at reasonable cost.
I would add that those old brake levers where the cable exits from the top are probably the first thing to upgrade as the leverage on them is simply worse than modern levers (Tektro used to make some that were both nice and cheap).
I do also wonder about riding 75km/h downhill on crappy tarmac on forks that are fifty years old, and that's why it doesn't do much other than sit in the shed now.
I got into cycling in 2002 by stripping what was my BIL's inherited road bike, an old Claude Butler steel frame that I would guess at 1970's vintage, to bare metal, respray, rebuild and rode it year-round for about four years. I doubt that I have ever been much faster than I was on that bike, that was mainly due to the amount of time I spent training / riding. I really loved that bike, rode about 20,000km on it and I still have it.
However: everything has moved on and almost nothing is (readily) compatible any more. 27" rims, narrower frame spacing, down-tube unindexed shifters, five-speed freewheel, single pivot long-drop brakes, quill stems etc etc. Makes it harder to upgrade or even replace items at reasonable cost.
I would add that those old brake levers where the cable exits from the top are probably the first thing to upgrade as the leverage on them is simply worse than modern levers (Tektro used to make some that were both nice and cheap).
I do also wonder about riding 75km/h downhill on crappy tarmac on forks that are fifty years old, and that's why it doesn't do much other than sit in the shed now.
Another Colnago owner - this is a Technos and built with full Dura ace 7700 groupset. I took it to Australia last year and had no worries of it getting damaged on route like I would have with a carbon frame. Also locked it up for short periods frequently with no issues, as to most it was just an old bike - would think twice about doing that in the UK unfortunately. Have comfortably ridden 50 mile rides and received plenty of friendly comments. For something retro and usable I would recommend one - plenty available second hand or they are still available new
kiseca said:
I remember seeing those advertised in bicycle magazines in the 1980s. Always fancied one. What was it like to ride?
I went from a Reynolds 501 Raleigh Criterium to that, so at the time with the 7spd shimano 105 gearing, Mavic Open 4CD rims and 20mm tyres it felt alot faster, but as another poster says further down they had a in my experience well deserved reputation for bottom bracket flex.I never felt it was a bad bike and certainly out performed all my previous bikes at the time, I like it for its quirkyness, but it has nothing on a modern bike, but as said i keep it for its retro charms.
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