I got into road bikes thru my brother in law who had(has) half a garage full of older road and mtbs to refurbish. I liked a pink Zebra bike he had hanging(post Zebrakenko) and became obsessed with lugs and the history side of road bike technology and company history.
The history aspect(manufacturing, advancements, globalization, growth and decline of brands, etc) is fascinating and what keeps me interested in older road bikes.


As for my current stable of C&V…

87 Miyata 912 – my first road bike. Got it because it fit, I thought the Miyata Splined Tubing was neat, and it was an OKish price. It helped solidify my love for the entire Japanese history in cycling.

’80 Schwinn Voyageur 11.8 – got it because it fit and I wanted to do a full rebuild switching it over to a SunTour drivetrain that could handle loaded touring.

’87 Schwinn Prelude – got it because it fit and I wanted an inexpensive winter project. Came as a frameset and I used a donor bike plus my parts bin to build it.

’90 Fuji touring bike – got it as a frame because it fit and I wanted a more capable touring bike.

’93 Mongoose IBOC Comp SX – got it as a NOS frame from the local bike collective. Wanted to build up an MTB to do more singletrack when I didn’t feel like riding roads or gravel. Geometry is a bit wonky compared to current since its such an old frame, but it gets me out into the woods.