Originally Posted by
CardiacKid
it came out that the real reason he wanted a new bike was that the guy at the LBS told him that those old steel bikes can't handle the vibration of Texas chip seal roads, nearly as well as the new $1000 Raliegh he wanted to sell him.
Now, that's funny. Chip seal is pretty much all I have to ride on around here and have for years. I thought it was the tires that couldn't handle the chip seal as well - i.e. they wear out a lot faster. Maybe the salesman just had his bike nomenclature mixed up.
My LBS owner has resigned himself to the fact I like the older bikes and doesn't push new bikes. He also let's me get look through his boneyard for parts knowing that I'll keep coming back if he makes them available.