I've been browsing CL and occasionally ebay from time to time looking for hopefully some decent deal on an 80's or early 90s steel frame bike, preferably but not necessarily Italian. At the same time I'm also thinking about transferring at work to a closer location (see commuting forum).


Think it would make sense to kill 2 birds with one stone, or should I probably just keep the 2 ideas more or less separate? That is to say, for all I know I might find some delicious nugget among all the trash, say a sweet Bianchi or Battaglin that would simply be much too nice to consider leaving outside in the bike rack overnight at work.

But I've also been looking for a decent deal on a Schwinn Varsity (harder than you would think around these parts) too......but even that might be too nice a find to commute on.

I'm sure there's some folks who have been down this road before, even if just daydreaming.

Tom

Eventually something will turn up. Would a change of location mean a safer place to leave your bike? Something will turn up because you want it to.

I commute on vintage and nearly-vintage stuff all the time...

Then again, everything I own is at least 16 years old, and I can park my bike in my classroom.

IMO People who steal bikes see C&V bikes as "old" and new shiny bikes as "new". They are after new.

one of the good things about C&V stuff is that mid-range parts are cheap and still work just fine, so you don't need to break the bank on a build that you're gonna chain up outside.

Schwinns make great sleepers, especially a 70's Super Sport.

Correction:

"People who steal bikes see C&V bikes as "parts" and new shiny bikes as "new". They are after both. For that matter, most of these arseholes could not tell the difference between a nicked-up Trek Madone and a minty Pinarello. Guess which one they would "pick."

You have to be vigilant with any bike that you intend to commute on. The uglier the better.

-Kurt

I ride vintage to work every day, and my bike is too.

Mostly I'm here in town and I park in my office, but I'm also in Oakland and San Francisco two days a week. You can always find a secure place, whatever you ride. In SF there's an attended garage in the basement, in Oakland the freight elevator is available for bicyclists. No need to park on the street.

You just have to plan. It's no big deal when you know where you're going. It's the random stops that get tricky. I usually don't carry a lock, so that works to prevent me from leaving my bike out. If I can't carry it in, I don't stop.

A vintage bike can make a great commuter, but you'll have to make some compromises if you use a racing frame. I have commuted on two steel lugged racing bikes, a Merckx Corsa and a DeBernardi SL, and they worked fine with some modifications -- namely a large rear seatbag (Carradice Barley) and a good compact light system. However, both of these frames had barely enough clearance for larger tires and fenders, as well as no mounts for racks or fenders.

Eventually I ended up buying a Bob Jackson touring frame for commuting. It doesn't ride any better than my racing bikes, but is much more practical. I've mounted full fenders that stay on the bike at all times, as well as a front rack. Eventually I plan to add a rear rack, altho the Barley is sufficient for most of my commuting needs.

If you can find a vintage steel Japanese frame with mounts for racks and fenders, that would be ideal. Look for touring and sport touring frames made by Miyata, Panasonic, Univega, Bridgestone and Japanese bikes from the 1980s. Many of them had lots of braze-ons for fenders and racks, as well as clearance for larger tires.

I commuted today on my 1960s Falcon San Remo. It's set up as a single speed w/ 27" wheels, fenders, a Brooks B17 saddle, flat alloy bars. I hauled my gear (laptop, food, some papers, lock) in a big Karrimor saddle bag. It's supposed to rain all day, so I wore my rain gear and looked appropriately Phred-ish. The bike is parked in my very small office right now as I didn't feel like looking for a space in one of the sheltered bike stands on campus.

Neal

There's a Univega listed on the local CL site, as well as a "vintage touring Peugot" but I'm not sure either are a good deal or not. Whaddya think?

https://springfield.craigslist.org/bik/1157889477.html

and the Peugot: https://springfield.craigslist.org/bik/1158002463.html

If y'all think I should offer 100 cash and run like hell, now be the time to tell me!

Tom

either of those would be nice bikes, I like The peugeot, but for your purposes, I'd propably take the Univega as it comes with a rack nd the listing stated they put a bunch of cash into it(as long as they really did)

also, make sure it fits well and is comfortable to ride

I'd be all over the univega. I love mine.

Looks like the Univega has a bent top tube from a front end collision. Check it out closely before buying.

I concur. The head tube angle looks a little too steep.

If it fits, the Peugeot could work fine as a commuter.

Back to original question. Why settle for one bike when you could have two?

Seriously though, you'll come to associate the commuting bike with work, and if you don't love work, you will look forward to riding it less.

I would aim for a higher-end Univega or other Japanese make. You see a lot of them sell on eBay for prices no more and sometimes less. The good thing about craigslist is the bikes are for sale locally and you could inspect it in person. From the photo, as others mentioned, the front end looks odd -- as if the fork is bent -- although it could be just the wierd perspective in the photo.

Peugots have a reputation for odd-sized components that can be hard to find or replace. Personally I would steer away.

Yep, one reason I posted the link. I looked at that first photo and thought "hmm, sure is raked pretty steep compared to the seat tube."

Given that I'm just starting out and don't have $150 cash in hand (till next week anyway ) I thought it merely prudent to post the link and ask first. The hardest part for me has always been being patient and not jumping at the first think that looks halfway decent, after all

Tom

Reminds me of me and the girlfriend

The Univega has a smaller frame. How tall are you, Tom?

The hardest part for me has always been being patient and not jumping at the first think that looks halfway decent, after all

Tom


Oh snap! what on earth was I thinking!

Jack, I'm about 5-10 on a good hair day, but built like a chimp. A 54cm frame is as tall as I can stand over.

Tom

You dont have to spend a lot on a commuter. Here is a schwinn Le Tour I fixed up. $10 for the bike, $16 for tires, $6 for cables, $5 for fenders, $1 for light set.