Road Cycling - Does anyone still make 10 speed road bikes?

I really never paid much attention to bikes for a long time between childhood and a few years ago so I don't even know when the manufacturers quit making them.

If they are not made by anyone anymore, what would be a good old used 10 speed to look for?

Thanks and Happy Easter.

Hi,
I had a Schwinn Varsity 10 speed 3 decades ago. I now have a 18 speed, and a 27 speed. Bikes are better now. A lot better.

I know they're better, just remembering an old black 10 speed I had about 1968 or so.

I have 2 27 speed road bikes and one 20 speed road bike now...just thinking it would be cool to have an old 10 speed too.

Hi,
I had a Schwinn Varsity 10 speed 3 decades ago. I now have a 18 speed, and a 27 speed. Bikes are better now. A lot better.

I love Schwinn (obviously!), however, it's easy for ANY bike (not just new stuff) to be a lot better than a Varsity, LOL. Here I go knocking them, and my fixie is a Varsity...

Never said it was a great bike. It was my first road bike, and I loved it. I went on road trips with it without so much as pump. Didn't need it. Changed my mind, it was a great bike. For me.

I have had good luck finding older Raleigh 10 speed road bikes. I have 2 of them that I purchased at the local thrift store. A 1978 Grand Prix that I paid 22.95 or so for. Then I just picked up a 1978 Raleigh Rampar R1027 (Raleigh's low cost Tiawan made model). I paid $15.95 for the Rampar. I am building the Rampar into my new commuter bike. The Grand Prix I use for my roadie.

There are several other good brands that you may be able to find. I would suggest you do some research on the history of different brands to avoid paying more than you should.

You can also find many vintage bikes on ebay.

Another good idea would be to post in the Classic & Vintage forum here on bikeforums.net. There is a lot of folks in the know there.

Good luck.

Bob

I really never paid much attention to bikes for a long time between childhood and a few years ago so I don't even know when the manufacturers quit making them.

If they are not made by anyone anymore, what would be a good old used 10 speed to look for?

Thanks and Happy Easter.

I'm rebuilding a 1978 Trek TX-500. It was built when Trek was five guys in a barn hand brazing frames with silver solder. They aren't especially rare or "collectable". In the midwest, at least, they aren't too hard to find. Anything from up to the early 80's would be great. They were built with Ishiwata 022, Reynolds 531 or Columbus SL tubing. All models were the same weight and geometry and had similar ride characteristics but the Ishiwata models were less expensive. If you're a smaller rider, I can probably hook you up with a Reynolds 531 frameset. It's sitting in my garage and I don't think I'll get to bringing it back to life this year.

If you want an older 10 speed ata good price, check out garage sales & thrift stores. There are great bikes out there just sitting in basements & garages! Watch for quality frames, components & wheels. A quick tipoff to a high quality frame on an older 10 speed is the presence of axle adjusting screws for the rear wheel. Not fool proof but frequently found on a quality frame. Reynolds 531, Columbus SL, Isiwata 022, Tange Champion, Tange#1 or even Tange#2 if its a touring bike.

Hmmm You could always do a Dura Ace 10 with a single chainring :D

Hmmm You could always do a Dura Ace 10 with a single chainring :D
haha, i thought the same thing

In my parents garage I think there are still a couple of peugeot 10 speeds (might be 18 spd?) I'll have to look.. Might grab the womens' one and see if it fits my wife... its old school, but I bet its faster than her comfort bike.. :)

[QUOTE=jlvantassel]I really never paid much attention to bikes for a long time between childhood and a few years ago so I don't even know when the manufacturers quit making them.

If they are not made by anyone anymore, what would be a good old used 10 speed to look for?

Thanks and Happy Easter.[/QUOTE
theres an old 10 speed behind my parents house.It's rusted and doesnt work right now

I really never paid much attention to bikes for a long time between childhood and a few years ago so I don't even know when the manufacturers quit making them.

If they are not made by anyone anymore, what would be a good old used 10 speed to look for?

Thanks and Happy Easter.
The road bikes available in the late 80's are really good buys if you can find one that has been very well maintained. Those bikes were usually hand lugged frames of Reynolds 531 steel or Italian made roadsters with hand lugged Columbus steel frames. Usually they sold new for between $450-$1000 and had good quality components. The shifting was often the Shimano Indexed Shifting system. It would be a great way to start back up for a total buy price of between $100 -$300.

The road bikes available in the late 80's are really good buys if you can find one that has been very well maintained. Those bikes were usually hand lugged frames of Reynolds 531 steel or Italian made roadsters with hand lugged Columbus steel frames. Usually they sold new for between $450-$1000 and had good quality components. The shifting was often the Shimano Indexed Shifting system. It would be a great way to start back up for a total buy price of between $100 -$300.

Oh!! I forgot to mention that they were most often 12 speeds.

Hmmm You could always do a Dura Ace 10 with a single chainring :D

Campy's had the stuff to do that for a while now... ;)

They didn't stop making them, they just added gears (and lots of other things).

There are old ten speeds being sold in garage sales every weekend. I would recommend checking those out.

I have a Bianchi 10-speed made in 1982. Bought it on eBay. Great bike. Check the auctions.

[QUOTE=jlvantassel]I really never paid much attention to bikes for a long time between childhood and a few years ago so I don't even know when the manufacturers quit making them.
If they are not made by anyone anymore, what would be a good old used 10 speed to look for?
...JL: Finding a variety of bicycles, I picked the BATAVUS Montecarlo 10-speed in Good cond. $15 at a Memphis Thrift store. It has recently new 27"X1 1/8" tires on it. Signs of rust, sprayed with WD-40, aired up the tires and started riding. Made a few minor adjs. since. Rediscovered how enjoyable a 10-speed can be. Look around. BillW.

i have a chicago schwinn varsity delux. it's a girls. and it's too small for me. ya want it?

I'll be keeping my 1978 Peugeot UO-10 forever, but as a second ride.

$-wise, it doesn't make much sense to upgrade/update them, but it's great fun to figure out what it needs to be just right.

Just came up with a freebie from one of my 2 favorite LBS's!
I told him what I was looking for and he gave me this bike. Great guy. He has been a great help in my getting team jerseys for an MS150 team too.
Not much for what I was wanting but in great shape - 1982 Schwinn Traveler.
I'll keep looking for the right oldie...
Thanks everyone...(oh and I did think about building my own 10-speed with campy just dont know where to start to keep it cheap)