I am a new cyclist and have just gotten my hands on a UniVega Gran Ralley from the 80's. I am looking for advice, tips and anything you can share with me that I might need to know about my bike.

Hey,

I've got an old Univega Gran Premio that I ride to work and back everday. My advice to you would be to get that thing tuned up and 'fitted' as much as possible and then ride the heck out of it. By tuned I mean that you need to get the drive train running as smoothly as possible, and keep it clean and properly lubed up. Also, check your brake cables and levers and repair/replace as necessary. If your bike is in tip top shape you'll be much less likely to be unhappy with it as you pass (or are passed by) other cyclists on newer toys. Rest assured it'll be a long time before you are being limited by the bike you ride. Even on climbs, I can hold my own on my Univega, and it's pretty satisfying to out-climb someone on a carbon fiber Dura Ace machine while riding a steel bike with Down Tube shifters. Just because the bike feels like it fits, doesn't mean that it's fitting as well as it can. Find someone in a Local Bike Shop (LBS) to answer some sizing questions and find out what they charge for a basic fitting. Even simple changes like adjusting the seat up/down and forward/backward can make or break the cycling experience for new riders.

The second part of my advice is to ride the heck out of it. You may be told by cyclists to start doing interval training etc. to increase strength, but right now you should stay focused on simply riding, and developing a true love for it. As a 'young cyclist', it's probably more important that you simply put miles on the bike. Ride often in all types of venues: By yourself, with groups, to work/school, with friends etc.

I love riding my Univega, but just like any other bike, if it didn't fit me or run as well as it does, I wouldn't enjoy it. It's a great bike to get into cycling with to find out if it's going to be a long term sport for you. You'll either find that you love your current bike and ride it forever, or decide that you want to be more competitive and upgrade. But don't feel like you need to upgrade anytime soon.

Without knowing what components your bike has, I can't give you more specific advice, so you've gotten my general 'new cyclist' advice. Welcome to cycling and to the forums as well.

-Jeremy

Welcome! All I am going to say is just go out there and ride! Then when you are really into it you may want to look into getting a new bike. I know that most people will say just ride the one you have but there is really no point in upgrading the one you have.

And when you come back here to Bike Forums to post a thread it might help to use the search function as some people here can "flame" you when you don't.

Again welcome to the cycling world and have fun!

You win the Hanging Noobie Curveball Award for 2007.

But in the Holiday Spirit, Pcad will take the pitch. I'm that kind of guy.

What Christmas Spirit. God Bless Us, Everyone!!!!!




+1 on getting it fitted.

You are a hell of a guy. I will remember this.

Thank you for the kind advice. I will run straight to my LBS (I am working on identifying which that should be) here and start up. I will post about my first long ride...

I moved this to Classic and Vintage

My first advice would be to hang with the Classic & Vintage crowd -- you have an older bike, the information will be better, and the responses here will be friendly and helpful rather than dismissive/judgmental.

The only thing that C&V will require of you (the de rigeur price of admission) is PHOTOS. Hey, there's a "show off your Japanese bike" thread that's going on right now!

From a cursory Google search, you probably have a bike with a Shimano 600 group -- that's very good equipment, at the time 2nd in line to their super-expensive Dura-Ace. I don't know anything about Univegas frame-wise (tubeset, or other esoterica), but a frame with that component group probably was not what's referred to here as "gaspipe" -- it's likely to be fairly lightweight.

Univega was one of several Japanese manufactured bike lines that were popular in the 80s and 90s, and Japanese bikes have their adherents in this forum -- they were, by and large, a great value, and a lot of them had very nice riding qualities.

Take and post some photos, and you'll get a lot more reaction and advice. Also, let the forum know what kind of riding activity you think you're interested in pursuing (long recreational rides [solo, small or large group], commuting, going for groceries, looking for more bikes ;-), etc.), because that has a lot to do with what you might do with the bike equipment-wise, if you have an interest in that direction.