Originally Posted by
genejockey
I also have old bikes, including a couple from 1982, and I love 'em. I love riding them, and I love taking them out for long rides, too. My belief is that if a bike was a good bike in 1982, and it's working today as well as it worked then, it's still a good bike. The fact that my newer bikes are better bikes - faster, stiffer yet more comfortable, and better suited to things like long climbs and descents - doesn't make my old bikes into bad bikes. But for some folks, new bikes can't be better than old bikes because that would mean old bikes are bad bikes. What foolishness!
EDIT: I also don't believe in babying the old bikes, apart from not taking them out in the rain. I love thrashing them for all they're worth, not just toodling along, because that would be like having an old sports car and never taking it on a twisty canyon drive.
Yes!
My oldest bike was a top-level race frame in 1977. When my dad (bike nut, but not a racer) was riding it as his daily commuter, it was a mixture of mostly-Campy parts. After he passed, the bike joined my stable, spent a short time as a singlespeed with a different mix of mostly-Shimano parts. In 2020, I stripped everything off it, and rebuilt it with full Suntour Superbe. I would say it rides and functions every bit as good as it ever has, since it was new. It's quick, agile, and smooth. However, it doesn't get ridden because I have newer bikes that I like to ride more, but that doesn't lessen what the old bike is.