Old Mechanic
 

I was a bike mechanic in the 70's and early 80's. I am willing to pitch in on the vintage questions.

Go to the Classic and Vintage Forum. Roger

Yeah, I'm sure they'll be glad to have you. Pretty nice bunch over there. We get some questions about older stuff here too, so don't be a stranger. Welcome to BF! :)

U will be pleased to know bikes hasn't changed that much, fundamentally speaking.

New since early 80..... Index Shifting, clipless pedals, 5 to 6-7-9-10 and soon 11 speeds (just more cogs) and the slightly wider rear drop to accomodate the bigger cluster. Radial laced wheels. New frames materials - alu, Ti, Carbon. And of course the Brifter - shifter build into the brake lever. If u watched any bicycle events at all the Trianthlon bikes and configurations.

bliss53 - you can subscribe to the mechanical and classic & vintage forums, and also set your user preferences so that you automatically subscribe to any thread you post in. Then, whenever you log on, click on "user control panel" in the upper right and it will provide a short cut to those forums (or fora), and also list any threads that have been updated that you have posted in.

Thanks for the guidance.