I've been conflicted about this question several times before. I would buy a very nice all-original steel frame bike, then think about upgrading the components. My conclusion has always been, if the bike worked fine with its' original components, why mess with the designer's intent. I also feel that putting modern components on a vintage bike would subtract from, not add to, the value of the bike. I'm picking up an 83 Trek 560 today and have a 10 spd brifter group that I'm considering putting on it. But, would this upgrade turn-off a vintage bike collector if I ever decided to sell it?

It's as simple as putting the original parts back on it to return it to original spec, right? Do what you want with it.

Installing the modern components would probably increase the overall value of the bike, but not enough to justify the cost of buying the new components. IMO a bikes maximal value is as close to the way it left the factory as possible. With that said, a potential buyer may want the modern components and offer what you want for the bike but anyone who offers less, you can offer to out the old components back on for the decreased price.

This, of course, is true. I could always put the original components back on it. But that's not my question. Many of you buy, refurbish, & sell classic & vintage bikes all the time. If you had a desirable high-end bike, do you think that you would get more for it in as close to all original condition, or with modern upgrades. If I see a vintage bike in near mint condition that matches what it would have looked like rolling off the show-room floor, my eyes widen. If I saw the same bike with modern components, I would see it as just another bike with a nice old frame. For example: I used to have a Miyata 1000 with all original components except for tires & saddle. I thought about upgrading it, but several on this forum suggested that it would be more valuable left alone with original tires & saddle.

I have fully chromed '81 Schwinn Voyageur 11.8. Not a high-end bike, but not a slouch. The only original part on it is the headset. I am exponentially happier with it with modern (but classic looking) components. If I tried to sell it as a complete bike, I'd lose my shirt.

There are a lot of variables regarding your question, not the least of which are the components you chose and the market in which you'd be selling.

For mid level bikes, I think modernizing it would add to the value, but nowhere near the cost of the parts. For high end bikes, I think it would reduce the value. Do the conversion, but save the old parts if you plan on selling it in the next couple of years.

Neither. I would get more for it if I sold the frame-set and the components seperately.

What's more important, value to YOU or to some hypothetical future sale? It seems odd to worry about 'how much will I be able to sell this for' rather than asking why do I own this in the first place. I say do whatever makes you want to go out and ride the thing!

YMMV

Personally, I do not think a vintage "collector" is going to be interested in a 1983 Trek 560 (I have a 1984 Trek 560 myself). Mid grade vintage steel bikes like the 560 Trek are attractive to people that appreciate a vintage steel bike to ride. Collectors will go higher up the product line.

As far as modernizing one, the way to get the value out of it is to enjoy it and ride it. Pick up the parts right, and you can have a very competent bike at a reasonable investment. When it comes time to sell, you will get maximum value out of it by parting it out (as pointed out by BBM).

As far as why mess with the designer's intent, I have a couple of reasons:
1. Original designer did not have access to the components we have today. I have no doubts that if Trek had access to modern drivetrain parts back in 1983, that 560 would probably been build out with a minimum of Shimano 105 STI.
2. To me, the modern drivetrain makes the bike more efficient, and a better ride.

But as pointed out by others, you will not get your money out of the upgrades. I have less than half of what a new entry level road bike would cost (all SORA), into my 1987 Schwinn Prologue, which is all Ultegra. So it provides good value to me. But if I ever sell it (I doubt it, as it took me a couple of years to find one), it will be parted out.

Hang on the wall? OEM and the value is what it is.

Ride? Upgrade and it's worth more, in general.

The exception is the rare bike that no one thinks should be changed.

Many, for whom riding the OEM is preferable, are just too, uh, "thrifty" to upgrade.

Me, I'm with Bill. $400 less than MSRP, and much better than OEM.

...something that is likely to be debated ad nauseam until the end of time. Like anything else 'vintage', it will ultimately depend on what the buyer is looking for. This same kind of debate rages on and on in an antique radio forum that I belong to: whether it's more valuable if it's left 'all original', even though it doesn't work, or if it's not 100% original (has new parts installed, not normally visible), but working...some folks even go as far as 'restuffing' components, that is, hiding new components inside the shells of the old ones, to preserve the 'all-original' appearance (however, that would be significantly more difficult to do with a bike than with a radio!)...
...some folks are that anal about 'all original' and think that preserving its originality is more important than restoring it to working order...and especially more important to making significant changes to it, even though they actually make it work better...whether you're dealing with vintage radios, vintage bikes, or vintage...whatever..., you might occasionally encounter that kind of 'anal' buyer, but I think the majority of folks want it to be working, and working well...
...I personally fall into the 'working well is more important than 100% original' camp...unless, as previously stated, it is something that is EXTREMELY rare...

My philosophy is bikes that were icons of their era, for example, raced in TDF etc. or were worthy of doing so, should be preserved as much as possible (while being made available for viewing) and ridden minimally, if at all. Less rare, more utilitarian bikes should be enjoyed in whatever way their owners' see fit, whether preserved, restored, displayed, modded, ridden etc. I prefer to mod the wear items on my vintage bikes (this really just boils down to chainrings and freewheels, which I like to mod anyway to optimize gearing - tires, tape, brake pads & cables don't really count since these are normally replaced already during a bike's first working life) , and keep the original parts for possible restoration to original.
Derailleurs and rims are a grey area - very high utilization may wear these out, but that is the owner's prerogative. I have a set of "workhorse" wheels for my Motobecane, to reduce wear & tear on the originals.

My 71 Paramount is all original, my 72 has more modern derailleurs and modern crankset. It shifts way better so I ride it more. I have the original parts stored for a future return to the frame.

Many collectors prefer to buy vintage bikes in original condition and keep them that way.Then there's enthusiasts and riders who creatively replace and swap out parts according to their own ideas of what works for them. Like most C&Vers it seems.
You need to balance out which of those bike-people you want to be. Even with the best intentions, many upgraded bikes won't ever make to back to stock. My wife loves vintage bikes but complains that she'll never know whats what if I get hit by a bus. And she won't have the time to research it.

Thanks all. There are many posts that I would have liked to have responded to individually, but the sum of it seems to be the same. If you bought the vintage bike to ride, then ride the damn thing or make it the bike you want to get up off the couch and ride even when you don't feel like it. I love vintage bikes for some reason? There are some that are deservedly respected as the best form and function for a particular riding style of their day. I have been fortunate enough in the last couple of years to have owned a few of them. 85 Specialized Expedition, 89 Miyata 1000, 92 Bianchi Reporto Corse with DA gruppo(thanks Rob). It's a no-brainer to say, that the 7spd Miyata touring bike would be better if it had a modern MTB group on it. But at some point, a bike that is modernized ceases to be the iconic image, and just become another modern(does that mean better) bike. I've got a 10spd drivetrain around here that I am going to try and put on this 1983 bike. I've never tried this, and I will consult the pastor on Sunday about it.

I plan on keeping my centurion till I die or it breaks, so I had no problem putting more modern components on it. It makes me get on it more

I think it's a mistake to make decisions about how to equip a bike based on supposed “value.” Like plumage in the parrot sketch, resale value “don't enter into it.” Except for very rare cases, bicycles are not investments, except in the sense of mental and physical well-being, and personal satisfaction.

Yeah, we need to distinguish between "the better bicycle", and "the more valuable bicycle"; and you might want to toss "the more fun bicycle" and "the preferred bicycle" into the mix as well-- the latter two terms meaning more or less "they way I want the bike to be." . If a bicycle is truly valuable, as is, it's probably not a good idea to try to make it better. If a bicycle is already really good, then it's probably not worthwhile to try to make it more valuable. If you have it the way you want it, then why mess with it?

UJB? probably unless its a pro level european race frame from the prestige builders it will be worth a fraction of what you spent on the upgrade..

you get more return putting the parts one by one on eBay. which is why there are so many bike parts on there.

I had to dig deep to retrieve this thread. I was hoping to find adequate hoods before posting, but alas. My first vintage bike ‘modernization’ project. I must say that I was surprised that no one on the C&V Forum, of all places, would defend the value of a vintage bike restored or maintained in its original condition over a modernized one.

If this bike had already been upgraded, I doubt that I would have been interested: 1) because the asking price would have been way too much; and 2) because, to me, it would have been nothing more than an old steel frame with modern components hung on it, not a vintage Trek.
I’m also disappointed in the ride of this bike. It’s a little twitchy at high speeds. Has anyone experienced a difference in the ride between 501 and 531 frames? This was to become my main ride, but I’ve decided to put the original 6spd components back on it and sell it instead.

With unjustified apologies to the fixed/ss culture, I'd agree with most posters; it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to go through the effort and expense upgrading an old bike, especially when it comes to drivetrain upgrades, due to the many compatibility pitfalls involved. As a side note, paying a professional to do it for you would be like paying a shop to drop a z06 engine/ZF 6-speed/irs in a '68 Nova. Not many will understand why you bothered, and didn't just buy a new vette and enjoy it along with all the other advancements.
That being said, it's your bike, not some sacred icon of antiquity; go ahead and do what you want with it, if it helps you enjoy your ride. Hang on to old parts if for no other reason than to attract a nostalgic buyer, or put them back on just for the fun of it(?), some forlorn, rainy day to reminisce about youthful, vigorous days long passed.
Upper-end vintage (ususally racing) bikes definitely lose value in the eyes of top-dollar-spending nostalgic buyers if any original components are lost/missing/damaged/bent/worn.
Some of the UJBB's (ubiquitous japanes boom bikes), though, can be so obscure, no one will really care what anybody did to it, unless it was an unassembled, in-box NOS, and then still limited to a small audience whose numbers eventually decrease as time inexorably proceeds.

Not much.....If anything, the upgraded bike's frame will pull down the value of the upgrade components that's mounted on it.
Best way to get your money aback and maybe a little more is to build the bike back to stock configuration and sell it and the upgrade parts separately. And, unless you have very sought after/rare upgrade parts, making money on them will be a big challenge if you factor in your time, shipping costs and other problems that may come up during the sale process. Speculation with bike stuff is very hard to make money on unless you really concentrate on the "unobtainium" market where prices for components can just double overnight for no real good reason and then you have to catch the upward surge by selling at the right time.
JMOs

Chombi

A 500$ bike from 1980 is a 2,000$ bike today...Upgrade the old Jalopy.

I knew this was a very subjective question to ask, and I did it more as musing out-loud because I wasn’t really sure how I felt about it. When I asked how modernizing a vintage bike would affect(rather effect I think) the value, I meant more than just the dollar value, but the aesthetic value as well. It’s understood that an old bike that has been upgraded with modern components is going to be worth more money based on the cost of the parts alone. But, does that make it more valuable. As an amateur enthusiast bike appreciator/refurbisher/collector (however you want to call it), when I’m looking for a new project, I get excited when I find a bike that appears to be in all original condition. I remember buying an 85 Bianchi limited with 6spd 600 a year ago and was THRILLED to refurbish a bike that I felt was the same bike that rolled off the showroom floor back in 85 right down to the bar tape and pedal straps. I guess it has something to do with feeling like you own and especially ridden a piece of history. If you have to sell your bikes to fund new projects as I do, I think you will find that you can ask a little more for a desirable vintage bike with all-original parts.

In your case, since this bike doesn't "fit" your style, and I'm assuming you don't have another frame with which to use the 560s OE, I'd put all the OE back on in good, cleaned up condition and sell her.