Originally Posted by
Barrettscv
Nostalgia plays a part in collecting items from a former era. I could not have used an adult lightweight bike as a new bike if it was originally sold prior to 1970. Coincidentally, my interest in C&V bike is strongest in bikes built after 1970.
Do you have a C&V bike that predates your generation? Do you have a sentimental interest in the bike, or is you interest purely rational?
(flame suit on)
I'm the wrong person for this thread. I'm a real Clydesdale cyclist at 6'7" and nearly 400lbs. So I detest the flex of steel frames and basically need the stiffness and strength of aluminum frames. There really aren't a lot of big aluminum touring bikes or road racing bikes in larger sizes. There are a TON in steel as during the bike boom a lot of frames were made in 27" (68.5cm).
I'm lucky that Cannondale made some of these in Aluminum and that's mostly what I ride for C&V bikes. A couple of ST800s, a frame I think is an ST400, a white one with lower end Suntour I think is an ST500, and another dark metallic blue one that I don't know what ST model it is (the differences were mostly paint & components within a model year other than caliper/cantilever brake mounting, or number of water bottles, other than that ALL frames were identical in terms of tubing and welding so I don't really pay too much attention to the other ones, they are just "frames" to be built to me).
My earliest bike is an '86 and I was in the 8th grade then, and probably not quite able to ride a 68.5cm bike. So for me its rational, what I have is what actually comes close to fitting.
What I want is a 66-70cm Klein and I don't care the models or years.