Hi folks,

I’ve been researching vintage European bikes for a future project. There seems to be a wide variety of opinions on the attributes of each country’s bikes. Examples: English bikes handle the best, French bikes have the best ride, Italian bikes offer the best overall performance (Well, they are Italian, aren’t they), etc. Supposedly, early continental bikes are poorly finished. Then there are the Dutch and Belgium bikes.

I’m considering building a retro path racer and would like to use an old English built lugged frame. Because some of these and all Italian made frames tend to command high prices, I’d consider other English treaded frames. I’m not a fan of the weird treading on French and older Raleighs and neither is my parts collection.

I’d like suggestions and inputs from other forum members on a cost effective approach to this project. This is just going to be a personal, around town ride, I don't want to go nuts on the cost.

Thanks and regards,

Van