Originally Posted by cyclotoine
I think if it is that old you shouldn't ride it regularily or in foul weather. Like a classic car you take it out when the weather is good and you can let 'er ripe for a bit to make sure she is still all there but you maintain it ever so meticulously including cleaning after every ride so that corrosion and dirt can't even begin get a finger hold.
If we define "classic" as "too good to ride in foul weather," then my Capos qualify and my Peugeot UO-8 does not. The UO-8 is an interesting case in point in any "classic" versus "merely old" discussion; its decals and lugs have a distinctive, "classic" look, but it was a mass-produced entry level 10-speed for the masses; I think of an early 1970s UO-8 as the bicycle world's answer to a 1950s or early 1960s Chevrolet.
Because it is such an absolute pleasure, I actually do ride the 1959 Capo quite a bit, but only on good roads and under favorable traffic and weather conditions, and only when I either do not need to park it at all, or can do so securely and without risking damage to the paint. In contrast, I am riding the UO-8 into the ground, until the frame finally cracks (been there ... done that with my previous UO-8).
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069