stronglight

That really is a great looking bike! I haven't even seen a photo of one for years. I really love the chainguard ring... on a Dura-Ace crankset!

And, Dura-Ace center-pulls, too! I have a pair of those calipers too. Interesting how the engineers at Shimano simply could not just leave the venerable Universal and Weinmann center-pulls alone; they just had to tweak them a wee little bit more. To be perfectly honest, I can see some clear logic behind their minute modifications, but...

As for the "VC" logos...

That was pretty ironic. I wonder how many people said "I ain't never gonna buy no damned imported VC bike!" Oops! BAD marketing decision!

Actually, the Viet Cong bikes used in Nam were often converted French touring bikes - relics from the disastrous French occupation of Indochine during the late 40s through 50s... which they then brilliantly reinforced to carry hundreds of pounds of supplies through narrow jungle trails. Alas, the humble touring bicycle ultimately won out over all the B-52 saturation bombings, napalm, agent orange and the most modern technology of the day.

Here is a wonderful quote from Harrison Salisbury, addressing Senator William Fulbright and the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in October, 1967:
Apparently not. We under-estimated the potential of simple 19th century two-wheeled technology... (well, that among other factors)

I've seen recent internet photos showing some of those bikes, now "demilitarized"... still in use as cargo bikes in Hanoi markets and in tiny villages all over the region.

smorris 

Thanks, and right back at ya. That's a beaut of a Voyageur! I just got a pair of those KK 18oz cans yesterday. I got the flat tops, with a spare Sport Cap 2 for actual use. They sure look great with that dark green!

olan

nice bikes! i don't have vintage bike yet but it is my dream. i will take care of my bike today so it can last long! haha!

stronglight

Since this thread has now rambled into hundreds of posts and has now received thousands of views, I wanted to add a couple of quite unlikely entries... not my own bikes, and not what would today be considered typical "Touring" bikes, but nevertheless bikes which had traveled thousands of touring miles.

Good examples of what VERY serious touring can be accomplished on bikes which would be considered quite unsuitable for the purpose by knowledgeable touring cyclists today. A couple of very inspirational accounts for an aspiring Cyclo-tourist with simply ANY style of bike in their garage. Just add your own two legs and GO!


This first photo shows Matthew Cole in1980 with his mid-1970s Motobecane Grand Record. This is a very lightweight "Sport Touring" bike, built very similar to a Peugeot PX-10 racing bike of the same era. He spent an entire summer touring with a Campagnolo Nuovo Record racing derailleur and a quite narrow gear range... and on tubular (sew-up) tires. He first traveled through the US Midwest and then went on to England. A professional photographer now, he posted this fascinating account of that summer several years ago which is still on his web pages HERE

This photo shows him resting beside his bike in Oxford, England:




The next photo I may have posted before on CV Forum. The small original published photo I have now re-scanned to a very large size (at 1200 DPI for maximum clarity - about as much detail the published image would allow) and then reduced it for usable viewing.

It is taken form a book published in 1899 (now long out of print) which chronicled the three British riders tour around the world between 1896 and 1898. Remember, this is before there were paved roads anywhere but in the largest cities, and even those they were often paved with bone shaking cobblestones. Dirt, mud, or coarse gravel was the more typical state of roadways.

You can see it larger, 2000 pixels wide, HERE to linger on some of the details of these three early "Touring" bikes... Bikes with single-speed fixed-gears - and no brakes... steel pedals with toe clips... and pneumatic tires. Both wooden and steel rims were available at the time. Their rear luggage racks actually look quite unchanged in general design, more than 100 years later!



No strangers to our modern cycling troubles, here is a quote from the book describing an event just after the cyclists had entered into Russia from Roumania in 1897:

Ciufalon

I picked this bike up a couple weeks ago. It is a Nshiki Riviera GT in new condition, not a scratch or chip in the paint, all original. I was surprised it stayed in Craiglist for a few days before I purchased it, but I am glad it did. It rides great and serves me well.

anomaly

I was <> to buying one off CL but the first responder took it, so jealous

stronglight

That's a wonderful looking bike! Great Find! ... dare we ask the purchase price?

I may be wrong, but I would infer from the condition of not only this bike but MOST of the bikes shown in this thread that the original owners, who would have made these purchases after considerable thought - and they were definitely not cheap at the time - had truly cared about the bikes they selected and maintained them well. It appears they were all kept in much better condition than most other styles of bike I come across.

I would guess the bikes were chosen for their sensible features, well suited to their intended purpose. And I'd also assume the buyers in making their choices were less affected by flashy trends or marketing hype then buyers of other bike styles. That was definitely the case for me when I recently spent nearly a year looking for a used touring bike - with precisely the features I would want.

Ciufalon

The price wasn't exactly cheap, but I didn't even bother to dicker or haggle at all. The bike was donated to a youth group that is not supported by the government, where adults teach kids about bikes, how to clean them, repair them, etc. The program is private, with the goal being to keep kids off the streets, out of gangs, and teach them about something healthy and positive. There are more kids wanting to be in it than the organization can handle, so I was happy to pay the asking price of $200 since it was going to what I consider to be a great cause and I got a really nice touring bike. The kids clean and fix up many bikes which are sold to support them putting together bikes for themselves. Mostly it is adult types of bikes that are sold and this one just happened to be a great donation. For me it felt like a good deal all the way around.

sonatageek

Picked up a Bridgestone T500 a few weeks ago. It rides great and looks to have been well cared for. The only issue I have had while riding it is the rather large jumps in gearing in back. The two that fit my pace the best, while on the front middle chain ring, are just a little too low and a little too high. I just bought a new touring bike as my main ride, but this is going to be my CV keeper.

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Dawes-man

We have 2 touring bikes, a 1975 Peugeot PX60 Gentleman and a 1981 Bianchi Special.

The Peugeot - bought as a frameset from Holland and built up here in Japan:


The Bianchi - bought as a complete bike from the USA and dropouts and RD straightened, mudguards added here in Japan. The bike was made here so it's come home. Works very well indeed:

rdrk

does your bike have DT shifter bosses or are my eyes playing tricks? i swear i have the same frame, though i do not have any brazed bosses.

-holiday76

ehh, did you look at the pics you just quoted?

cycleheimer

The "old" one & it's "new" replacement...have added Cat's Eye front headlight to right fork blade, Cannondale handlebar bag, Cat's Eye bar-end-mounted mirror and Karrimor pannier. Also have larger set of Cannondale panniers, and smaller set of Day Trekker panniers.

Bikedued

The newest addition to my touring bike harem, came last night. I traded the chrome 11.8, but I think I came out pretty good. This is a before pic obviously. Next week I will begin the redo. Anyone got a year guess? I am thnking 84-85 with the Deerhead XT?,,,,BD

Triple butted, but no extra spoke holder. I think I can live with that though, hehe....

Miyata 1000..... I've been wanting one for quite a while, and this one is my ideal size of 60cm.....

karmat

Stunning!!

Karl

Iowegian

Is it half-step gearing? Try using the 2 big rings in front to make the smaller increments between the large jumps in back.

ricohman

NIce to see another Velo.
Looks very similar to my Velo Sport Everest.

Grim

CL score last night for $40. Bought it to flip but got an unexpected surprise.

Vintage Trek shows the SN is a 83 500 but the parts on it say it is a 520. 500 and 520 shared the same frame geometry, paint colors and nearly identical components and both were Reynolds 501 double butted. The difference is the triple cranks and and the Helicomatic on the back. This bike has those so I am going to say that the Trek site has an error on the SN's.

My size even so I'll get it cleaned up this weekend and ride it for a while before release if I don't fall in love with it. Did get a quick lap in it...rides nice.

tarwheel 

Funny, I was inspired in part by this thread to start looking for an old Miyata or Univega touring frame. After two years of looking for a decent frame in my size, I finally threw in the towel and ordered a NEW Bob Jackson World Tour frame from England last winter. Although it's not an old frame, it is certainly classic in design and workmanship. I've tried to keep the components old-school as well, with silver parts wherever possible.

redneckwes

Grim,

I have the same Trek, it's a joy to ride.

illwafer

don't mind if i do.
1985 Trek 520.

Dawes-man

Thank you, Karl!

redxj

I love this thread. I posted my Nishiki Seral last page. I should be taking a look at an 84 Trek 520 and a 620 this week to hopefully buy. They will be too small so we will see what I might do with them.

wish I have had a camera at work (bike shop) because I have seen a number of nice vintage touring bikes rolling into our shop in the last few weeks, Maruishi tour Ace (?), Shogun something with full Shimano Deerhead group, early 90's vintage Miyata 6## something, and a few Trek 520's. Not to mention a regular customs Centurion Pro Tour has been hanging out in the basement storage since winter. He tends to ride his S&S coupled Waterford touring bike with 9 speed triple Dura Ace group.

Grim

Well after riding It think the Trek 520 is a hair small for me. I mis measured it thinking it was a 60cm and in fact it is a 58cm. Stock seat post is up to the max. I could put a taller post but I am back to the bars being lower then I like. Rides wonderful though. Will be sad to see it go.

I have a Trek dealer near my house where I buy parts. Had to ride up their twice. They liked it. Need to find some hoods and I guess it is hitting CL as a flip. It will be sold as a 500. My wife's Mixte has exactly the right parts to make it a 500. That will let me set up her mixte as a Touring bike. It has all the Brazeons already including double bottle holders. Trying to decide if I am going to swap the rims. It has beautiful Rigda's but it has a Helicomatic. May stick with the Suntour hub on Araya rims.


To console myself I bought a 25inch Fuji touring III for $8 at a yard sale like 8 houses up from mine.

The picture makes it look better then it is. The paint was apparently porous and it spent some tim in the weather. All long the rear brake cable on the top tube it has rust as well is all around the BB from chain dropping off and scratching it. It has enough rust that there is no touching it up trying to save the decals and it looking right.. It needs to be completely stripped. I think on the repaint it will get a deep metallic green with gold head tube like a Touring V.

Now all the components are in excellent shape. It rides wonderful. Thought about riding it to work tomorrow but no rack yet. The weird part is it has a 48 spoke rear wheel with specialized flip flop hub. That no misprint, 48 spoke flip flop. I guess the extra large frames Fuji decided to go extra heavy duty with the wheel making it Sumo tough and jumped from the 40 spoke to the 48. The rim is a matching Ukai to the front 36 spoke so I have no reason to think that it wasn't stock. Man that thing has a crazy low I can easily pull the front wheel off the ground with the high rise stem. May throw some bar ends on it as it is a heck of a long reach down to the down tube shifters.

RFC

Oh my God, I could never ride like that. Welcome from the people of Earth.