Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Saratoga calif.
Posts: 1,049
Bikes: Miyata 610(66cm), GT Vantara Hybrid (64cm), Nishiki International (64cm), Peugeot rat rod (62 cm), Trek 800 Burning Man helicopter bike, Bob Jackson frame (to be restored?) plus a never ending stream of neglected waifs from the Bike exchange.
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What i love about old bikes is that usually there is nothing really wrong with them. they need grease and some parts may be stuck but almost always they can be brought back to life with nothing more than a few cables and a lot of love.
I got a thrill when I took my first Campi hub apart and saw how beautifully finished the axle and cones were. I was in awe the other day when the custom bike I was cleaning up had a Phil rear hub. I swear when I spun it it took 10 minutes before it came to a stop. love it when everything is back together and I ride it for the first time and see what a great ride it has.
Sometimes I scratch my head when I see a part that is ridiculously over engineered or just plain weird.
And I even love the stone age engineering of the Schwinn Varsity . I think the Ashtabula crank and bottom bracket may be the simplest most bullet proof bit of engineering ever to grace a bicycle.
And last but not least, the Raleigh Sport with it's 3 speed Sturmey Archer transmission that hasn't changed much since the 1920's and its steel wheels that are unbreakable is truely a hundred year bicycle.