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Old 07-20-14, 10:12 PM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by dedhed
Also keep an eye open for the Trek 400's (Elance) of the late 80's - early '90's as they had frame geometry close to the 520 touring models many have triple cranks, and have all the braze ons for racks and fenders.

Trek 400 Road Bike in Near Mint Condtion

That's the winner for all the chicken dinner right there.

I have an 86 400 Elance that's the most beautiful bike I own. It's also a comfortable, stable bike that has braze ons and room for panniers. I also had an 88 400 like the one pictured- it was just a touch too big for me, but it was a fantastic bike that I wish I would have been able to make it work out.






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Old 07-21-14, 04:40 PM
  #27  
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I do not know if you have but you should check out the blog Lovely Bicycle,started by a woman named Velouria who one day fell in love with bikes and started a blog, which got huge. This blog is a wealth of info, (been going since 2009) very diverse too, make a good tea/coffee and have a read.
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Old 07-21-14, 09:28 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by The Golden Boy
That's the winner for all the chicken dinner right there.

I have an 86 400 Elance that's the most beautiful bike I own. It's also a comfortable, stable bike that has braze ons and room for panniers. I also had an 88 400 like the one pictured- it was just a touch too big for me, but it was a fantastic bike that I wish I would have been able to make it work out
At about 1/3 the price of a 520.

I had a 87 and currently on a 91 updated to 10 s Ultegra
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Old 07-21-14, 11:58 PM
  #29  
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Bought a '87 400D, red to black fade, online around '01 because I wanted a comfortable bike to get back into riding onroad after a few years of mostly offroad through the cotton fields here in norteast Louisiana. Overhauled it, put new tires and a B17 on it and worked up to doing an hour or so a day on paved country roads. Liked the bike so much that when I saw another frame only on eBay, I bought it! The one I had been riding had quite a few scrapes and chips in the paint but the frame only one was in great shape! Nice bikes.
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Old 07-22-14, 09:05 AM
  #30  
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There's a 19" Trek 420 frameset here in the classifieds right now. Located in BC, Canada, so some shipping would be involved...
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Old 07-22-14, 10:56 AM
  #31  
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Christine, welcome to NYC and to bikeforums. Please stop by the shop where I work, listed in my signature. I am there Thursdays through Sundays. We are going to start publicizing rides that originate at the shop. It's a good jumping off location for Nyack and other nice rides.
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Old 07-23-14, 09:33 PM
  #32  
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Christine,

BF Member Heatherbikes has a 19.5" 1989 Trek 420 frame set available for sale; you could change over all of your components to that frame, and you'd be set! The only thing you would have to get are a set of brake calipers for the 420...

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...preferred.html

Just another option I thought might work for you.



EDIT: pcb is referring to the same frame set... whoopsie!
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Old 07-24-14, 04:30 AM
  #33  
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A few things to add:

- Ride quality of a steel bike depends on a lot of things - geometry, tube thickness and mass, and the synergy of the frame with the parts used for the build. My experience has taught me that lighter, butted steels of normal diameters tend to provide the best rides in most cases (e.g. unladen or lightly-laden riding).

- For city and touring applications, "slack" geometry (sub 72 degree head-tube angle; long wheelbase; reasonable fork trail) tends to work better, since riding speeds tend to be slower. Bike messengers may see things differently, since they ride fast pretty much all the time and have to avoid NYC's taxi drivers.

- Tire carcass width and tire pressures are extremely important, as a few PSI can make a difference between refreshment and numb hands and other body parts at the end of the day.

- Grip tapes are not created equal. Neubaum's tape looks cool and vintage, but does nothing to isolate road shock. Cinelli Gel or Selle Italia are often better for hardcore road use. This assume you decide to stick with drops vs. upright bars.

- Touring bikes tend to use thicker steels than sport/race bikes. This means the ride suffers when the bike is unladen. Mountain bikes and hybrids occasionally had the same problems, particularly during the "OS" tubing era.

- Saddles have to be selected carefully. Sometimes the ones that seem like they would be comfortable are horrid after ten miles. Other saddles (ones that look uncomfortable and thin) actually can be better in the long term. When selecting these, it's often best to avoid gimmicks and go for the basics - e.g. where your sit bones are going and suitability of the saddle for the riding position and bike use. Brooks leather saddles tend to be more flexible than others.

Brands to look for (IMO)
- Schwinn (80's vintage; made from Columbus tubing)
- Trek (late 70's vintage; made from Reynolds 531, Ishiwata 022 or Columbus SL tubing)
- Bridgestone RB-series; or anything numbered above 400.
- Miyata 610; other high-end Miyata
- high-end Panasonic
- Miele (tend to be more common in upstate NY)
- Japan-made Bianchi (not in Celeste color, though)
- early-mid 80s Centurion

Ones to avoid (IMO)
- Aluminum Trek
- Cannondale
- Raleigh Technium
- late-80s Fuji
- any French bike (Peugeot; Motobecane; Gitane)
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Old 07-24-14, 07:59 AM
  #34  
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Shogun was a bargain buy back when. Still is.

Selectra w/ 26" wheels spotted on a CL post. If you could work with a facilitator here on BF, might be something to look into.

Vintage Road Bike Selectra Shogun
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Old 07-24-14, 08:57 AM
  #35  
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Turns out the group of women riders I saw in Piermont were taking part in Rafa's Women's 100:
Rapha | Womens 100

I've never been to the Rafa store, only buy their stuff when I find it cheap on ebay, but it might be worth stopping by for plugging into your local riders network.
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