General Cycling Discussion - Give Me Your Old Bikes!

It seems like most of the threads on this forum are dedicated to the new and the fancy. It leaves most of us thinking that it takes a LOT of money and new, new, new to be a cyclist. My stuff is pretty new but I'm already dreaming of the day it is old.

How about some stories of some "warrior" bikes. Bikes that have stood the test of time and have logged thousands and thousands of miles. They surely deserve as much or more credit than the new bikes. The more I ride my bikes the more attached I become to them. Anyone have any stories or bikes that deserve some recognition???

Anybody have any pictures?

It seems like most of the threads on this forum are dedicated to the new and the fancy. It leaves most of us thinking that it takes a LOT of money and new, new, new to be a cyclist. My stuff is pretty new but I'm already dreaming of the day it is old.

How about some stories of some "warrior" bikes. Bikes that have stood the test of time and have logged thousands and thousands of miles. They surely deserve as much or more credit than the new bikes. The more I ride my bikes the more attached I become to them. Anyone have any stories or bikes that deserve some recognition???

One of the things I hate is getting a new Bike. No matter how much I research it, get the size sorted, get a few bits changed before I take delivery, I hate them. They won't work aswell as the old bike, they need adjusting to get everything right, the cause drag, they need running in, they are horrible.

I suppose thats why I have a 2 year old Dale MT2000 that is finally getting sorted, A 3 year old Bianchi, that is finally comfortable and works, and may replace my 10 year old Kona Explosif, that is absolutely perfect, comfortable, and works like a dream

AS PER YOUR REQUEST:

I bought a used bike in '89 at the LBS. It was the LHR (Local Hot Rider) last years bike. A Paramount frame set with latest DuraAce Group.

I rode it for ten years, bought a new Cannodale with all Ultegra. I rode the C for a year, then stripped the 9spd components off the C and upgrades the P.

Had several heart-attacks gained weight, switched to a triple crank, had more heart-attacks, lung problems, and other misc problems, gained weight, changed my 9spd cassette from 12-27 to 14-27.

I am now moving out of the hills to flat land and will probably need to regear again.

But the old steel horse still rides.

hey, its all trickle down economics. the more people buy, then faster the prices drop to levels that we can all benefit from.

i feel a connection to my bike>>>its held up through accidents, wind, rain, sleet, hail, sunshine, potholes, sewer grates, etc. its soulful to have a relationship with your bike.

its good have something retro on your bike at all times, weather its a seatbag or handlebars, a tool, pedals.....something from the 90's <that qualifies as retro??!!>

I've been riding a lugged steel Trek since 1984. Amazingly, it still has the original Campy headset and the original Sun Tour Superbe brakes and front shifter. Everything else has been replaced at least once. To mark the bike's 20th anniversary, I had it repainted and it looks great. Interestingly, I own a new LeMond ti bike, which is wonderful. It's very quick and fun to ride, but the Trek (while heavier and not as quick in the handling dept.) is MUCH more comfy on long rides. Also, I actually enjoy the retro down tube shifters, the Brooks saddle, the old-school quality of the lugwork--and the realization that I've logged tens of thousands of miles with an old friend. I'll have to get a snap up here sometime soon.

Heh, hang out in the SS/fixie forum - you'll find a great many cycles in there of old vintage, mixed parts, dumpster cycles, recyced, etc... not too much is all that fancy or expensive in there. Good stuff.

It seems like most of the threads on this forum are dedicated to the new and the fancy. It leaves most of us thinking that it takes a LOT of money and new, new, new to be a cyclist. My stuff is pretty new but I'm already dreaming of the day it is old.

How about some stories of some "warrior" bikes. Bikes that have stood the test of time and have logged thousands and thousands of miles. They surely deserve as much or more credit than the new bikes. The more I ride my bikes the more attached I become to them. Anyone have any stories or bikes that deserve some recognition???

Anybody have any pictures?

ranger, i know exactly what you mean. when i first got back into riding.. i bought my old rockhopper from a co-worker for $50. it's probably 10yrs old or something. when i first picked it up, there were cobwebs and dirt/dust everywhere. it suffered from a rear flat and was not loved at all. therefore, i bought it cus i figured it would a bike to mess around with before i am seriously into biking.

to make the long story short... after cleaning and fixing it up, i realized i may need to change some more parts on it, thus i bought a new bike... sirrus. but even after i bought my sirrus.. i still can't ditch this rockhopper... the frame is too big for me, but i could still ride it.. so i put on some new 1.5" nimbus EX tires and now it's my daily commuter.
here is an old pic of it with the old tires:

I purchased last year a ritchey that was made 90-92.
Its the 35th frame of the p-series (without the p so- prob a p-20 or 22)
Made by the man, love the old steel bike.
The new paint is drying right now! :)
Hope the paint hardens well. :mad:
Am replacing most parts though they are top notch for there day. got some great goodies in the buy like a mavic rear rim, xt front hub.
Other than the fact the paint was chipping easily and a small toptube ding I am very pleased with the new ride.
All custom. well, a few more bits to upgrade.

Here's my main rain bike, an early 80s Centurion Touring bike: many scratches confirm a fully chromed frame under that ancient paint. I added the Brooks saddle, Dynohub & Lumotec headlight. Just keeps rolling along. Don

Bought a Talbot (i.e. Peugeot frame with Asian bits around it) early MTB at my local supermarket in 1988 and rode it for all of my commutes (college, job #1, job #2, etc).

All it cost me for all these years is a little bit of oil/grease now and then, one set of tires to replace the crappy Taiwanese tires that came with it and a rear axle that broke for a still unidentified reason.

As it started getting wobbly (wheel axles and derailleur levers) I eventually gave it to a colleague of mine last December and grabbed a sparkling new internal-geared, aluminium frame city bike with front disc brake for Xmas.

And I sure hope it will last for years and years.

I bought well used nishiki mtb in 95.then got a new nishiki in 96. the old one is still around in my parents shed. in 98 I got an 88 c-dale that was a trade in. thats what I started riding again this spring. In march I traded an old outboard for a schwinn heavy duti. this thing has seen more miles then I ever hope to. a new set of wheels and it rides like a dream. a heavy dream but,hey! my c-dale is a little small to ride every day on the road and the schwinn to heavy so I bought an old mid eightys mongoose atb frame off e-bay,used the wheels and cranks from the c-dale and have been riding it. I looked at new bikes but these have alot more character and class. pluss I remember how cool I thought they were back then,except I couldnt aford them.