Classic & Vintage - Riding vintage bikes on group rides

I'm just getting back into road bikes after a long hiatus (during which I've been riding a hybrid),

I own two vintage Schwinns- a Continental that I bought new in 1974, and a '71 Super Sport that I recently bought off eBay. They both ride like Cadillacs, but I'm really enjoying the Super Sport. I like the idea of riding a vintage American-made bike! It's got soul.

I'm planning to do some long rides with groups this Spring. I have two questions:

(1) What kind of responses (compliments/heckling/etc.) do you guys/gals get when you show up with your vintage Raleighs, Schwinns, etc.?

(2) Does having "only" ten speeds put you at any kind of disadvantage?

Most folks appreciate the vintage metal. The older riders will sometimes even wax poetically about their old bikes. Gerry

I did the Hotter'N Hell Hundred this year with another 11,000 cyclists and got a lot of good comments about my early 80's steel. At local rides too, club rides, doesn't matter. If you got the legs to hang with the group, doesn't matter what you're riding.

Last ride I took on my Carlton, I got plenty of compliments, and only one curmudgeonly response ("Lose your derailleur?" Har dee har har). But now, all I have is vintage, so I really have no choice. I find that the vintage bikes stand out, and get more attention.
Here's the Carlton Crit
http://web.mac.com/wagonwaller/iWeb/Chester%20Cycles/Carlton%20Criterium_files/slideshow.html?slideIndex=0
Edit: tried to link image directly, didn't work. Never does for me.
Oh, and I ride with usually only one speed, so I can't say that 10 would be a problem at all.

The Super Sport ought to provide the most entertaining responses. The cognoscenti will recognize it; the clueless whippersnappers will think it's a Varsity.

Last year, I did a group credit card tour with a local club on my Mondia. 54 miles out, overnight at a hotel in Oldtown Sacramento, and 52 miles back. No one seemed to notice the bike on the way in, until we got to the hotel. I leaned my Mondia up against a wall in the shade and went to check in (wife and kid were standing guard). When I came out, there was a small crowd standing in a semi-circle around it. As I walked over to talk with my girls, a couple of fellows turned to me and asked, "Izzat your bike?".

When I nodded in the affirmative, I was hit with a flood of questions and declarations of admiration...... they were fascinated by it. Made all the work and expense worthwhile, right there.

WARNING - gratuitous bike porn ahead:

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/673/mondiaredone6qh5.jpg

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7474/mondiaredone1vm2.jpg

http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/8565/mondiaredone9wh2.jpg

Always fun to answer the question "how old is that bike?"

"Older than you"

A few weeks ago, I did a short group ride (~20 miles) on an old low-end Fuji. No one heckled or complimented. There was also a sweet, grandmotherly woman in great shape who rode an ancient little Bianchi. As cuda2k said, as long as you can keep up--which is more about being in shape than about the bike--you should be perfectly fine. If you're going to do a longer ride, just be sure you're up to it.

As for # of speeds: I say learn to use your 10 speeds efficiently, slowly build up your endurance and skill over time, and you should be fine. In any case, range of gears is more important than # of combinations. I have a 40-52 double, and a 14-28 freewheel, and that range works okay for me even with the hills here.

I think more people should do group rides with their older bikes to make a statement. Unless you're racing, vintage steel, even the lower-end stuff, is just as good as the latest and greatest.

That mondia is amazing.

I've only gotten positive comments, especially when riding my Jack Taylor. But tomorrow I may put this to the ultimate test. I'll be doing a New Years Day ride with a group I've never ridden with. Some wet snow is predicted overnight. If it's still sloppy at the 1PM start I'll be riding my "shopper", a woman's frame Raleigh Sport 3 speed (upgraded to a 5 speed hub) with Walds biggest steel "Newsboy" backets.

That mondia is amazing.

+1. That is some serious bike porn.

That would make bossman the fluffer, right?

It might have to do with getting older, but I'm becoming more and more inclined to do the exact opposite of what everybody else is doing!

I'm enjoying these responses. Thanks!

Well considering the last two "group" rides I went on were vintage steel rides:D you would fit right in, in fact one of them was primarily Internal geared hubs, the stand outs were a Raleigh International, a Flying Scot and a Bate Diadrant there was also a Curly Hetchins (don't recall which model but it was a Crit bike...no water bottle bosses)

Aaron:)

That mondia is amazing.
+1 Beautiful!

Love the clean classic lines

Aaron:)

I like to ride 3-speeds on club "C" rides. I don't shift gears much anyway and I can hang with all but the fastest riders but it's fun just to relax and not have to go all out all the time.

I like to ride 3-speeds on club "C" rides. I don't shift gears much anyway and I can hang with all but the fastest riders but it's fun just to relax and not have to go all out all the time.
I am a "D" rider...I don't normally ride with the crowd...I like to wander off too much, the road less traveled, etc, etc.:p

Aaron:)

When the weather is warm a group of local riders have vintage ride days. The requirement for being an official participant in the vintage ride is having a bike at least 15 years old with all components of the appropriate age. Anyone may ride any bike of course but the real purpose is to celebrate bikes of the past. Appropriate vintage clothing to match your bike is a plus! The only down side to this is the fact that nice old bikes are harder to obtain in this area as every biker wants a vintage bike to ride on vintage group days. I've been riding an Schwinn World Sport but this year I obtained a 1989 Raleigh SuperCourse with all original components including bar tape with the Raleigh bird emblem and Raleigh printed on the tape.
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3829/raleighsccl5.jpg

(1) What kind of responses (compliments/heckling/etc.) do you guys/gals get when you show up with your vintage Raleighs, Schwinns, etc.?

(2) Does having "only" ten speeds put you at any kind of disadvantage?

Tarmusic,

Welcome and enjoy your ride.

As to 1), the response varies. My riding mates know and love "Mimi", my '68 or '69 Peugeot U08. I ride reasonably fast and long and keep up reasonably well (by sucking a fair amount of wheel! :D ) They expect to see me on her and don't say much at all.

On the other hand, at a ride like the Hotter N Hell, it's always surprising the number of positve comments I get, even by guys in their twenties who can tell what Mimi is. The people at Oklahoma triathlons are absolutely encouraging when she is racked sporting vintage Scott aero-bars.

As to 2), it is a disadvantage to ride an old 27 pound 10-speed downtube friction-shift Peugeot. It's also a disadvantage to be 56 years old and weigh 200 pounds. So what? We always finish in time for beer!:)

Tyson
Cushing, Oklahoma

I haven't ridden a vintage bike in an organized ride yet, but I have ridden a comfort bike, and received positive response. I think people are impressed when someone on "inferior" equipment is able to complete the distance, even if I can't keep up...

This year, I hope to complete a century, and it will be on an early 70's Sears lugged steel bike with upgraded components everywhere... Alloy wheels, aero levers. 6 speed indexed rear (megarange), cotterless triple crank Shimano Deore LX rear derailleur, Campagnolo front derailleur and a Brooks saddle... I know I shouldn't mix Campy and Shimano, but I need just a little bling. :D

I know in the last ride I did, a couple of bikes caught my eye... the ones with non-aero brake levers and lugged steel frames. The exposed brake cables caught my eye on a couple as they passed me. :D

If I decide to do a short organized ride (under 20 miles or so) I will consider doing it on my 1955 Schwinn Corvette... That ought to get a few looks.

[QUOTE=bigbossman]
When I nodded in the affirmative, I was hit with a flood of questions and declarations of admiration...... they were fascinated by it. QUOTE]


Very nice Mondia

Yeah something like that happened to me too, and I was'nt prepared for it. My son and I were about to leave the LBS one Saturday morning when the bike shop group riders all came rolling in on their Trek Madones and Lightspeeds. Man these guys were dressed to kill, and in good shape. Son and I just stood there watching them while we were straddling our bikes, me on my Tommasini and my son on my old Fuji. We were kinda impressed because these guys looked like pros, and so did their bikes, and there must've been a dozen of them too.

Next thing I knew all these serious looking dudes are coming over and flocking around me and my son. It was rediculous, but for a minute I thought they were all going to jump me, thats how startled I was. Well these guys start flooding me with questions about my bike, asking me about the frame and the paint, and how old it was, stuff like that. It was crazy. They really seemed interested that it was a 'Columbus SL' frame, and I even heard some of the older riders explaining that to the younger riders, who I guessed never heard of Columbus. They told me how beautiful my bike was, and to take care of it, so with that we rode off with my head swelled up so tight I thought it was going to bust.

Crazy day ;)

That Mondia IS gorgeous!

Before I had it repainted properly, I rode the 1959 Capo on a few vintage bike rides, where it did get noticed, despite its dull Rustoleum paint job. This year, when I rode it to the start of the RAAM, only a couple of folks commented on it, but the response was at least positive. I rode it to church the day the Bishop ( http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=9771 ), an avid bicyclist, was giving a guest sermon, and she was duly impressed.

Two thoughts on riding vintage with modern:

1. If you get heckled, just tell them to f*** off and go find somebody else to ride with. That kind of attitude is completely infantile and inexcusable.

2. Only having a five speed rear is not necessarily a disadvantage. In my collection, I've got one two fives, two sixes, and a nine. The best one of the bunch for riding in my area is the Rossin with the six speed freewheel - I've got it geared to the point that most of my shifting goes from the third cog (slight uphills) to the fourth cog (flats and slight downhills) and back. It works wonderfully. Odds are you've probably got an old standard 14-28 rear, which covers the first eight gears of the usual modern ten speed cassette - the gaps are just bigger. And most modern bikes, IMHO, are way overgeared for my riding style. On my 9-speed Fuji, I'm gathering additional low end cogs to beef up the low and middle, and get rid of three of the fourth top ones. If I gotta have all those gears, I'd rather have ones that I can actually use.

I'm just getting back into road bikes after a long hiatus (during which I've been riding a hybrid),

I own two vintage Schwinns- a Continental that I bought new in 1974, and a '71 Super Sport that I recently bought off eBay. They both ride like Cadillacs, but I'm really enjoying the Super Sport. I like the idea of riding a vintage American-made bike! It's got soul.

I'm planning to do some long rides with groups this Spring. I have two questions:

(1) What kind of responses (compliments/heckling/etc.) do you guys/gals get when you show up with your vintage Raleighs, Schwinns, etc.?

(2) Does having "only" ten speeds put you at any kind of disadvantage?


1) None whatsoever from the group I ride with, In fact everybody is interested and supportive of my vintage obsession.

2) Sometimes not having STI is a disadvantage. Being able to easily shift up or down in the middle of a hill is extremely handy. Sometimes on longer climbs the gearing gets to me (14-21 freewheel). But all in all it's not a problem keeping up with the fastest in the group as long as you have plenty of miles on your legs. ENJOY!

That's interesting, Sykerocker, and I agree. My hybrid is a 21-speed, and I have to shift a LOT. Of course, shifting is easier because it's done from the grips (and indexed!), but it's still too much.

My ultimate goal is to get an old Paramount. Don't know why I'm taken with the old Schwinns... unless it's because I had to ride a Western Flyer as a kid!

I did an organized ride back in October on my 1949 Raleigh Clubman internal-geared 4-speed (that's the pic on my avatar), and most of the rest of the pack on modern bikes. Truthfully, barely anyone noticed me at all, which I found somewhat unfriendly. Only a couple of people said, "Nice bike!" and one was someone I knew (and he was riding an early 70s Raleigh Super Course set up as a single speed). Several years back (read: when I was younger and stronger), I did a 50-mile, fairly hilly group ride on my one-speed Columbia middleweight. I had a rack and panniers covering the back end, so it wasn't until nearly the end of the ride that someone noticed that I was on a single speed with a coaster brake. Hopefully, in the next year, I'll have my 1937 Raleigh Sports rehabbed and ready to go for a group ride!

Neal

I'm just getting back into road bikes after a long hiatus (during which I've been riding a hybrid),

I own two vintage Schwinns- a Continental that I bought new in 1974, and a '71 Super Sport that I recently bought off eBay. They both ride like Cadillacs, but I'm really enjoying the Super Sport. I like the idea of riding a vintage American-made bike! It's got soul.

I'm planning to do some long rides with groups this Spring. I have two questions:

(1) What kind of responses (compliments/heckling/etc.) do you guys/gals get when you show up with your vintage Raleighs, Schwinns, etc.?

(2) Does having "only" ten speeds put you at any kind of disadvantage?

1) Keeping up with the group on a club ride will get you a fair amount of respect when others are riding new bikes with lots of expensive and lightweight parts. The club I belong to is surprisingly non-equipment oriented. The riders talk about all kinds of subjects and what equipment you're using is way down the list. I ride my Puch Marco Polo touring bike with Blackburn rack, fenders, handlebar bag and blinkie light and ding aling bell on some rides where others are running Lightspeeds, and Giant compact team Telekom replica carbon fiber steeds. If you have done your training and handle yourself professionally you will gain their respect. Now if your vintage Schwinn was just pulled from the shed and the gumwall tires are cracked and the chain is squealing, the group isn't going to be very impressed at all. One thing that gets people's attention and respect is proper fit and proportion. How many times have you gone out and you'll see an older rider that just looks so at home and balanced on their rig? The opposite is true as well, i.e. older rider shows up with filthy vintage bike that is riddled with damage with numerous miscues in fit and execution. To me, I tend to steer clear of most of these folks. Occasionally they will surprise you, unfortunately, most of the time your first instinct is the correct one. There's an older gentleman that comes on our Sunday morning breakfast ride who has a mid 80's Cannondale that he proudly says is "just like brand new". The bike is covered in big scratches, deep gouges into the aluminum, worn out looking chainrings, handlbar tape falling off, dust caps missing on the pedals and not even covered with duct tape, etc... etc... the chain squeals and the saddle tilts down making you wonder how he could ever stay on it... anyway.... the man's bubbly personality makes him likeable, unfortunately that bike is a deathtrap...

2) Yes. You are most likely to be at a distinct disadvantage. I took my Masi Gran Criterium out on a class B training ride back in July and had already logged 2500+ miles and I thought my fitness was picking up. I was riding lightweight tubulars no less. I hung with the group as we headed out into the country and into the hilly country. My cadence would vary wildly as I would hunt for a comfortable gear through the varied terrain. Miscues where I would spin too low a gear would have me dropped off the back in no time. The older gentleman of the group and the ride leader politely would reel me in, and try to bridge me back to the studs. This went on for a couple hours and my lack of recovery was getting the scorn of the regulars. If it weren't for the fact that I was on unfamiliar turf I would have told the group to ditch me. Problem was, I was lost, developing heat stroke and just having no fun at all. My average speed went from the fastest of the year through 40miles ( a little over 18 mph) , to where by mile 55 or so my average speed was falling quickly into the low 16's and any poise I showed earlier had left me for the day. Clearly the bike wasn't the main culprit, the main culprit was the lack of fitness to handle the repeated hill climbing in the heat, and also dehydration and bonking.

Because my Masi just has one set of bottle braze ons, I was just carrying one 20 oz. bottle. This was not good. The SunTour 13-30 tooth wide range 6 speed freewheel I was riding was too new to me to figure out and while it helped me climb the steepest hills, It prevented me from maintaining a high enough speed to stay with the group. Even vintage brakes can be a handicap since they stop you unpredictably causing you to ride more conservatively that you might on newer equipment.
One guy on a Kestrel was pretty understanding and so was another guy on a Waterford. What I learned is that to hang with serious riders when you ride vintage, you need a lot of hours in the saddle of that particular bike and plenty of trial and error to iron out the imperfections.