If I can bring another perspective into it maybe it will be easier to understand. I got into road bikes way back before Schwinn made the Varsity. But I even had a Varsity and moved all the way up to a Continental. A few years later a freind talked me into going to a LBS with him while he bought a new Nishiki. At that time I got to test ride a Viscount Areospace pro and fell in love. I rode that bike everywhere and when they started making 27x1 tires I thought I was riding a real racing bike. Then life got in the way, promotions came along, children, new homes and a few moves and cycling fell away a bit. Fast forward about 20 years and I moved from a mountain resort community back to the flatlands, more or less. Over weight and inactive I decided to give cycling a try. After giving a semi recumbent a try for about 500 miles and the loss of quite a few pounds I decided to look at a road bike. what was I looking for? Something that reminded me of my old Viscount. I however went to a LBS not knowing how bikes had changed.
I developed a relationship with my LBS and during a year end sale they offered me a Jamis Ventura for about the same price as a hybrid and told me to take in home and try it for a day or two before I made up my mind. I headed down the street and discovered it didn't have downtube shifters but there was some kind of button on the side of the shifters, Sora, and I was amazed at how easy it was to shift. Yet I couldn't for the life of me figure how to downshift. I turned around to head back to the shop in big ring small cog and was almost there before I figured that the brake lever shifted up. And wonder of wonder the brakes stopped the bike. Oh I thought to myelf if only my old Viscount shifted like this. And for the next 4 years I moved to Ultegra, SRAM Force and Dura Ace bikes untill I got that classic bug. But that is a different story.
The point is coming from a down tube generation and not knowing about bifters would have made me a horrible C L buyer. The old standover the top tube method of sizing was no longer in favor and I wouldn't have known the frame size to save my life. I just got over spending at least 6 months looking for a more classic bike but most of the CL ads in my area failed to mention size. And now that everyone watches shows like Pickers people seem to feel their old bikes are priceless finds. If a new rider comes to you they may have never seen a downtube shifter and wouldn't have a clue what bike frame size they ride. At least they are interested in cycling and it is better than getting stuck with a BBS bike and giving up after it breaks.
Last edited by Mobile 155; 03-02-12 at 01:36 AM.