Classic & Vintage - What is your favorite brand?

Just curious, is there one brand of bikes you find that you most consistantly like over others? Why? Be it history, a memory, build quality or some other factor. Photos encouraged.

For myself I think it is Motobecane, their bikes just have a certain quality I like. Maybe it was the neighbor I had growing up and the beauiful gold with brown leather wrap and saddle he had that left an impression, the first "real race bike" I ever rode. Ever since then, though don't currently own one, they seem special.

Specialized. I've never seen a loser from them. I've never owned one, either.

HHHmmm let me think.....

Trek, always have, always will.

Raleigh

Chris Rock once said, "Whatever kind of music was popular and playing on the radio when you lost your virginity is probably going to be your favorite music for the rest of your life."

My first "real" race bike was an '86 Schwinn Peloton, and my pics & mania are probably getting tiresome to most C&Vers by now. http://www.calamarichris.com/smiley/ohyeah.gif I've got two, and am currently building one for my beloved :love: girlfriend. (Also an '86 model.)

July of '86:
http://www.calamarichris.com/images/0705-chrbonelli.jpg

August of '11 (definitely don't look as good tearing around in public wearing a Speedo as I once did):
http://www.calamarichris.com/images/110820-coolbreeze-chr0.jpg

His n hers:
http://www.calamarichris.com/images/121011-pelotonbaby1.jpg

http://www.calamarichris.com/junk/1986peloton1.JPGhttp://www.calamarichris.com/junk/1986peloton2.JPG

The latest Taiwan-made Schwinns don't turn my crank like these 80's beauties do.

Raleigh or Peugeot

Acme

I seem to be drawn to Fuji bikes.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rwv8T2MH1JI/TZhogU_5ZQI/AAAAAAAADRI/K9S9-FFCDGA/s1024/P1010237.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PtjdhOIlZpY/Tb21GLAt-9I/AAAAAAAADVk/OJUAIjwp_U4/s1024/P1010304.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DizPknF_E58/TJTW-rfH1AI/AAAAAAAACbU/P8BWAbnwidg/s1024/P1000634.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-xLEa5omrJFM/TBrPCmhzvlI/AAAAAAAABz0/dbXLm_mhAGk/s1024/IMG_3348.JPG

Cinelli. Never owned one, but a pre-Columbo Cinelli is at or very near the top of my grail list. There's something about the Cinelli mystique and their classic elegance that speaks to me. I've coveted them for as long as I've been into road bikes.

Trek. Even the lowest end Treks were well thought out with good tubing and components.

Pretty much it's whatever is under my butt at the moment.

If I could only keep one, it might well be this one:

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-QHWIG3FZ.jpg

Olympia. One of the great Italian manufacturers that are virtually unknown outside their regions. Still in business and still making great bikes.

I kinda like Cinellis too. Well, a lot actually. Really a lot.






For anvils, safes and rockets, I agree with Rootboy.

Colnago -

Ernesto Colnago reminds me alot of my other Italian hero, Enzo Ferrari. Both had a passion for design, innovation, racing and winning and both had an awful lot to do with that thing we know today as, passione Italiano!

Cinelli. Never owned one, but a pre-Columbo Cinelli is at or very near the top of my grail list. There's something about the Cinelli mystique and their classic elegance that speaks to me. I've coveted them for as long as I've been into road bikes.

Wait a minute. Can I use this answer too? ;)

Too late. Show us your Acme.

Peugeot. Maybe it's all the pastel colors. It's been 1980s ones so far, but one day I'll get a 70s one in black.

Panasonic, particularly Panasonics made for Schwinn: 73 World Voyageur, 1986 Peloton, 1987 Prologue his and hers, 1992 Paramount Series 5, 1992 Paramount Series 7.

Trek, always have, always will.

Same here. I've liked Treks since my youth when I couldn't afford one.

Gitane and Peugeot - primarily from the 80's but I don't turn down earlier models.

Eddy Merckx.

HHHmmm let me think.....

Yep

Panasonic. This Hi-Ten machine rides great and has seen living in NYC, some fast centuries and from-the-doorstep tours in CT and MA. Best $40 I have ever spent.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb84/westhavenmusician/Bike/Bike%20Touring/DSC06771-1.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb84/westhavenmusician/Bike/Bike%20Touring/DSC06768.jpg

Schwinn and its post-bankruptcy spiritual heir, Waterford. I was immersed in the Schwinn culture and extended family as a child (Dad was with Schwinn for thirty years in the 50s, 60s, and 70s).

Chris Kvale for my favorite "road" bicycle builder.

Selling off vintage at a cheerful clip to order a light tourer from Chris or Dave Anderson.

A fresh brochure is on its way from Chris and should be here tomorrow.

Decision time.

For off road, Salsa has it hands down. imho

Best value going, along with Giant and Niner.

Trek, always have, always will.


+1, Vintage Treks are the most underated bikes of all time, IMHO. I love them. I'm not so sure I can pick a favorite brand though. But Treks and Miyatas are high on the list.

293602

293603


Cheers,

Well, I am not much of a rider, but I have built, ridden and compared lots (hundreds) of vintage road bicycles to one another. And this (http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds_1/Feature_Bicycles/Feature_Bicycles_Canada/Cyclops/CYCLOPS_1_Start.htm) is the one I have settled on...
http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds_1/Bicycles_Table/Canadian_Bicycles/Cyclops/Cyclops_TestBld/Cyclops_TestBld_Decal_HT_1.jpg

For me, brand does not mean much. It is the quality of the build, coupled with the geometry of the frame and supported by the materials, used that impart great ride quality. And each person will experience a different ride quality on the same bike (my opinion).

The Super Record group, fitted to the Cyclops, in the feature article, is long gone now, having been sold to a fellow in California. Today, I wait for the external bottom bracket to complete my 2007 Shimano 105 ten speed build on the bike. I am hoping that the user friendliness of the 105 stuff will compliment the wonderful (for me) ride quality of the bicycle. If the group does compliment the ride quality...

I intend to have the head tube lugs, stays and forks chrome plated. I will ask to have the bike repainted at the original shop, if possible, and the color of choice will be black with yellow art. That will be my grail bike, my brand and the one that will find a place in my will.

Ciocc, of course. "Huffy Cat" just doesn't have the same ring to it - sounds like a brand of cat litter. Besides, my San Cristobal that I've had since 1986 is still a super-sweet ride and my "new" titanium Titan continues to very pleasantly surprise me.

C'mon baby - does it get any better than a fantastically painted Klein

Cinelli for me. I first began to covet one when George from Parts Unknown here in Toronto came noodling down the alley to his shop riding his black, beat up Cinelli B in the dead of winter. Maybe it was the fact that he was smoking while riding it, or the cold winter air, or the glorious heraldic designs combined with the chipped up paint, but that bike seemed to be floating 2 feet off the ground, and the name Cinelli has had a magic draw on me ever since.

De Rosa

I definitely like Campagnolo parts...I like Miyata and Lotus.

Fuji and Austro-Daimler ..
Scott

No favorite....................I like Fuji, Miyata, Nishiki, Panasonic, Univega, Bridgestone, Schwinn, Bianchi, Surly, Trek and others

Cinelli. I have told this before, but when i was a kid, the cool teenager down the street went all the way to Chicago. Yes, that's right, all the way to Chicago to get his bike. Blood red and impossibly thin tires that you glue on. Yes, that's right, you actually glue the tires to the wheels.

I believe my 6-7 year old brain exploded.

Cinelli. I have told this before, but when i was a kid, the cool teenager down the street went all the way to Chicago. Yes, that's right, all the way to Chicago to get his bike. Blood red and impossibly thin tires that you glue on. Yes, that's right, you actually glue the tires to the wheels.

I believe my 6-7 year old brain exploded.

Parallel universe.

Wayne, the cool hippy kid down the block, moved from Chicago in 1973.

What did he have in tow?

Yep, a Cinelli. Red at that.

In a sea of Schwinn Varsities, Wayne could blast through the neighborhood pack like we were standing still.

I immediately realized this was a physics issue and started to save my paper route money at a feverish clip for a faster bicycle.

This was forty years ago and I still don't have a Cinelli.

Chris Rock once said, "Whatever kind of music was popular and playing on the radio when you lost your virginity is probably going to be your favorite music for the rest of your life." Maybe for some. Personally I can't stand most '70s stuff anymore, other than Genesis, which I wasn't even really aware of then. YMMV.

Raleigh... I've owned the same one for almost 40 years now. I am intrigued by much Italian, a De Rosa probably being at the top of the grail list, along with Tommasini, etc. I wasn't riding a lot in the '80s so kind of missed Trek coming up. Now that I've looked at some, and have a lower end 400 as a commuter for the coming year, I am impressed with how much bike their "lower" end was. Lightyears ahead of the lower end in the early-mid '70s.

Impossible to answer. If I had to base an answer on what I own, it would be Giant, Fuji, Trek, Nishiki, Miyata (2), Raleigh, Specialized, Townie.

Dadgummit, I've forgotten one.

I'll get back to you.

Parallel universe.

Wayne, the cool hippy kid down the block, moved from Chicago in 1973.

What did he have in tow?

Yep, a Cinelli. Red at that.

In a sea of Schwinn Varsities, Wayne could blast through the neighborhood pack like we were standing still.

I immediately realized this was a physics issue and started to save my paper route money at a feverish clip for a faster bicycle.

This was forty years ago and I still don't have a Cinelli.

Man, that story made me a little misty...:cry:

Time to get that Cinelli my friend!:)

Raleigh

Yup, what he said!

Not enough pics in this thread...

Parallel universe.

Wayne, the cool hippy kid down the block, moved from Chicago in 1973.

What did he have in tow?

Yep, a Cinelli. Red at that.

In a sea of Schwinn Varsities, Wayne could blast through the neighborhood pack like we were standing still.

I immediately realized this was a physics issue and started to save my paper route money at a feverish clip for a faster bicycle.

This was forty years ago and I still don't have a Cinelli.

Small world. I'd say it is either 72 or 73 when David got that bike.

Not enough pics in this thread...

Its not the blood red, but still floats my boat.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6165/6199095289_cab88f4f33_b.jpg

Its not the blood red, but still floats my boat.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6165/6199095289_cab88f4f33_b.jpg

I love this bike.

I never met a 531 Raleigh I didn't like.

Man, that story made me a little misty...:cry:

Time to get that Cinelli my friend!:)

It will be a much earned retirement gift in the not to distant future.

But which model?

Univega and WSI brands (Diamondback and Centurion) are two of my favorites.

My first flip was a Univega Gran Premio.. was also far and away the nicest bike I've owned and was the perfect introduction to learning how to recognize quality.

http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/223/p1010326q.jpg

My first 100% "custom" bike build from the frame up was my 1989 Centurion Ironman Master

http://cdn.velospace.org/files/P1010254.jpg

My second build and my first MTB build was this 1986 Diamondback Apex

http://cdn.velospace.org/files/P1010022.jpg

After building these two bikes, I was firmly in the Centurion/Diamondback camp. The frames were both excellent. It lead me to buy another Diamondback, a 1989 Apex. Unfortunately I didn't really like the 1989 and turned it into a rain "beater" bike for a while. Right now it's almost stripped down to the frame, waiting to be be built up to flip

http://imageshack.us/a/img545/1989/p1010129h.jpg

Around the time I picked up the 1989 Apex, I also grabbed a 1988 Univega MTB. The Univega had a nicer frame and the component spec was a little nicer too (Diamondback kinda skipped on the wheels in 1989 for instance). This ended up being my first drop bar MTB

http://imageshack.us/a/img339/5616/p1010339b.jpg


I also recently picked up a 1981 Univega Super Strada with full Dura Ace which I've been parting out. From my experience with the two brands, it seems Univega spec'd higher end frames and components, even for their bikes that were not at the very top of the line up. Conversely, Diamondback seemed to cut corners on all but the very top of the line bikes.


I'm sure there are better brands out there, but these are two brands that I've experienced excellent quality at average prices. Univega in particular seems to be relatively unknown, which is great for keepers but a bit of a challenge for flips.

It will be a much earned retirement gift in the not to distant future.

But which model?
A SC of course - 60s ;)

A SC of course - 60s ;)

Something like this little number......

http://www.velostuf.com/?page_id=84