Originally Posted by
Darth Lefty
Bike was made in France or England (but those brands ok once you're in the Japan/Taiwan import era)
Agreed. Regardless of brand, a bike made in Japan or Taiwan will most likely use the thread standards local to those countries, which are pretty widespread.
Originally Posted by
gregjones
Which brings up the point that rigid MTBs with street tires and commuting accessories is very hard to beat.
Definitely.
Originally Posted by
Dave Mayer
Vintage brakes. The worst, such as the flexy steel models are hopelessly dangerous. Ditto for anything that is labelled: Dia-Compe. The very best of the vintage brakes, such as Campagnolo Record sidepulls.. They still sucked.
Oh yeah. I forgot about brakes. They have improved a lot over the years. I replaced some Dia-Compe with new dual pivots that weren't even high end, and it was night and day.
- Maybe 1 of 20 'vintage' bikes on our local Craigslist is not an overpriced gas-pipe POS. Every bike for sale will need a new chain, and more than half of them need a new freewheel and chainrings.
- You don't want downtube shifters. I used these for 40 years.. Trust me. For safety and shifting performance you want brifters.
Good points. The prospects for bringing a "vintage" bike up to modern standards depends on a lot of things, and many of the people who commute on those bikes (including me) are comfortable with doing all of the upgrade and maintenance work ourselves. It's hard to get a straight answer from us because we enjoy wrenching on bikes. So, your success might depend on your aptitude and interest for the other side of biking, which is bike mechanics.