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How many use a vintage bicycle to commute on?

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How many use a vintage bicycle to commute on?

Old 04-27-18, 02:04 AM
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Originally Posted by ballinwang
How do you like those Michelin Dynamic tires? thinking about getting some
I like them a lot. For me they seem pretty light and quick, but I worry about flats. Haven't had one yet though.
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Old 05-04-18, 11:28 AM
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Going to give commuting on a 70's Stella road bike a shot... it's got a rear rack that I'll probably put a pannier on and look hecka silly. Hopefully it'll be temporary while I save for a touring / commuter bike. A little nervous about the tiny tire width.
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Old 05-09-18, 08:40 AM
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Originally Posted by verybigsquirrel
Going to give commuting on a 70's Stella road bike a shot... it's got a rear rack that I'll probably put a pannier on and look hecka silly. Hopefully it'll be temporary while I save for a touring / commuter bike. A little nervous about the tiny tire width.
Nah. In Portland, you'll fit right in. If you pass a 1970s black Bridgestone with skinny tires and one pannier... we're neighbors!
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Old 05-09-18, 10:00 AM
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1976 Motobecane Grand Jubile.

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Old 05-10-18, 05:55 PM
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'81 Fuji with '76 SunTour bar end shifters. I totally overhauled the bike this past winter, and it is a great commuter. It's not exciting, but solid and reliable. My MP3 player adds the excitement.
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Old 05-13-18, 02:51 PM
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Originally Posted by AlmostGreenGuy
1976 Motobecane Grand Jubile.

first class ride man!
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Old 05-13-18, 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by cycleheimer
'81 Fuji with '76 SunTour bar end shifters. I totally overhauled the bike this past winter, and it is a great commuter. It's not exciting, but solid and reliable. My MP3 player adds the excitement.
barcons rule. i have em on my bob jackson.
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Old 05-16-18, 01:47 PM
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Planning on making this my winter commuter once I convert it over to 700x40c tires
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Old 05-16-18, 05:43 PM
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Originally Posted by 52telecaster
barcons rule. i have em on my bob jackson.
Absolutely! Simple, durable, and right where you need them! I just recently installed the bar ends. It took an hour or so of riding time, though, to stop reaching for the DT shifters out of habit.

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Old 05-17-18, 11:21 AM
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Originally Posted by noglider
Today, I rode my new (to me) ~1996 Lemond titanium/carbon bike to work.

This bike is SO badass!
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Old 05-17-18, 09:42 PM
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Originally Posted by davei1980
This bike is SO badass!
Thanks. It does encourage me to ride hard.
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Old 05-18-18, 08:58 AM
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Ooh! I do!

Rode an '89 Centurion Le Mans this morning. My usual ride is an '82-84 Zebrakenko (awesome bike), and I'm about to add a '69 PX10 into the mix!
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Old 05-21-18, 10:12 AM
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Kool Lemon Commuter - '71 Schwinn Sports Tourer

I ride this on days I think I might need fenders ... and have since removed the Pletscher rack and milk crate ... never carried much back there and didn't like it too much.

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Old 05-21-18, 07:55 PM
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Originally Posted by cycleheimer
'81 Fuji with '76 SunTour bar end shifters. I totally overhauled the bike this past winter, and it is a great commuter. It's not exciting, but solid and reliable. My MP3 player adds the excitement.
I was looking through old photos. The one below is from around 2009. The one above was from 2018. Both taken in the same general location. Looking at the head tubes makes it look like the bike grew. I just got lucky and found another in the right size years later.
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Old 05-21-18, 08:08 PM
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A few years ago I bought a 2001 LeMond Buenos Aires frame and re-built it with 10-speed 105 components to be a fun road bike to ride to work on nice days while keeping my carbon fiber Ridley for sunny recreational trips. A year later the Ridley was gathering dust because I liked the ride of the LeMond better, so I sold it. Since then vintage bikes have become a bit of an addiction, and N+1 can really escalate quickly when really nice bikes are available for a fraction of what new bikes cost. Now most of my stable is vintage bikes and only two of them don't see commuting duty.

Today I rode this one, a 1970's Stella with a 10-speed Campagnolo Comp Triple drivetrain.



Shortly after the replacement decals come in, that will be sent off for a repaint (it's worse than it looks in the picture) and may not see any more commutes. Plenty of others will remain on call.
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Old 05-22-18, 07:20 AM
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Originally Posted by Andy_K
Beautiful ride!!!!

Since then vintage bikes have become a bit of an addiction, and N+1 can really escalate quickly when really nice bikes are available for a fraction of what new bikes cost.
So true. You can buy a nice vintage bike for very cheap, if you keep your eyes open. As long as you're somewhat handy, you can have it up and running for far less money than any new bicycle would ever cost.

A year later the Ridley was gathering dust because I liked the ride of the LeMond better,
I'm at that same point now. My modern bikes are gathering dust, because my vintage bike rides soooooooo much better. It's as if the bicycle industry has forgotten how to build truly nice riding bicycles.

You read about all sorts of features that are supposed to make modern bikes so light and shift so perfectly and brake so responsively and..... on and on and on and on. But in the end, they're still just bicycles, and not that much more advanced than vintage bikes. If you find a good quality vintage bike, the frame and fork are likely designed with a level of understanding and craftsmanship that far surpasses the majority of modern bikes. And in the end, it's that frame that serves as the foundation for your ride. You can throw all sorts of whiz-bang components onto a bicycle, but if the frame isn't great, you'll never have a truly great ride.
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Old 05-22-18, 11:37 AM
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First post!

I ride my dads old restored Pinarello Treviso back and forth to work around 3~4 times a week.
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Old 05-22-18, 11:41 AM
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Originally Posted by greenscobie86
First post!

I ride my dads old restored Pinarello Treviso back and forth to work around 3~4 times a week.
Now that's a great first post! The only thing missing is a picture of that Pinarello.
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Old 05-22-18, 11:44 AM
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Originally Posted by Andy_K
Now that's a great first post! The only thing missing is a picture of that Pinarello.
Thanks! just need to get up to 10 posts and I'll drop a shoddy iPhone photo in here.
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Old 05-22-18, 12:14 PM
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Originally Posted by AlmostGreenGuy
You read about all sorts of features that are supposed to make modern bikes so light and shift so perfectly and brake so responsively and..... on and on and on and on. But in the end, they're still just bicycles, and not that much more advanced than vintage bikes. If you find a good quality vintage bike, the frame and fork are likely designed with a level of understanding and craftsmanship that far surpasses the majority of modern bikes. And in the end, it's that frame that serves as the foundation for your ride. You can throw all sorts of whiz-bang components onto a bicycle, but if the frame isn't great, you'll never have a truly great ride.
Preach it brother!

Here's the bike I rode today, 1982 Specialized Sequoia.



This has been my go to bike since I built it and is much more suited to commuting than the Stella I shared above. I picked it up as a frame, fork, and headset. Every component is specifically chosen for this bike and its purpose as an all-arounder. Accounting for every cost from cables and handlebar tape to the rack and fenders, including the original cost of things I had in my parts bin, I've spent around $1100 on this bike. That's not cheap, but it's cheaper than a new Surly and lighter too. What really blows me away about this bike is the way it rides. I have no idea what makes it special. The tubing isn't particularly special (a mix of Tange #2 and Tange #3 ). The geometry isn't unusual (typical sport touring). It wasn't hand built by magic elves (factory made in Japan). It's just really well designed and I guess perfectly suited to my body.
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Old 05-22-18, 01:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Andy_K
Preach it brother!

Here's the bike I rode today, 1982 Specialized Sequoia.
This has been my go to bike since I built it and is much more suited to commuting than the Stella I shared above. I picked it up as a frame, fork, and headset. Every component is specifically chosen for this bike and its purpose as an all-arounder. Accounting for every cost from cables and handlebar tape to the rack and fenders, including the original cost of things I had in my parts bin, I've spent around $1100 on this bike. That's not cheap, but it's cheaper than a new Surly and lighter too.
Wow. I wish Specialized still built bicycles like that. It shows off the difference between modern day recreation road riding, and what was experienced many years ago.

What really blows me away about this bike is the way it rides. I have no idea what makes it special. The tubing isn't particularly special (a mix of Tange #2 and Tange #3 ). The geometry isn't unusual (typical sport touring). It wasn't hand built by magic elves (factory made in Japan). It's just really well designed and I guess perfectly suited to my body.
Maybe that's the difference with vintage bikes. Instead of focusing on wind tunnel effects, and assuming that we're contorting ourselves into bizarrely cramped riding positions in order to achieve maximum speeds, those older bikes were possibly built with an initial purpose of making the rider comfortable throughout his journey.

And here's another picture of Jubile, just because I love to show her off. After 60 commuting miles early last week, I took her out for a 60-mile recreational ride in the midweek, and never felt a hint of discomfort. Then I proceeded to log in another 30 miles of commuting before the end of the work week. All 150 miles were trouble free and a wonderful experience.

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Old 05-22-18, 01:20 PM
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That's a sweet Grand Jubilé. I've got a 1975 GJ which is currently in the shop having cantilever studs attached as part of a 650B conversion. And as long as we're sharing baby pictures...



Did I mention that I have an N+1 problem?
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Old 05-22-18, 01:28 PM
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My 1985 ish Townsend singlespeed mountain bike, currently my favourite ride to work..
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Old 05-22-18, 01:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Andy_K
That's a sweet Grand Jubilé. I've got a 1975 GJ which is currently in the shop having cantilever studs attached as part of a 650B conversion. And as long as we're sharing baby pictures...
Sweet!!!!! And I must ask you, do you have any idea if your bottom bracket is French or Swiss threaded? I'm thinking about picking up a spare or two while I still can.
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Old 05-22-18, 02:06 PM
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Originally Posted by AlmostGreenGuy
Sweet!!!!! And I must ask you, do you have any idea if your bottom bracket is French or Swiss threaded? I'm thinking about picking up a spare or two while I still can.
Mine's French. I've read that later Motobecanes were Swiss, but I have no idea when they switched over.

Based on my personal experience, I'd say if you ride it a lot and the bottom bracket doesn't come unthreaded it's either Swiss or has Loctite. I'm three-for-three (the Stella, the GJ, and a Grand Record) unthreading French bottom brackets on the road before remembering to use Loctite. I think Sheldon Brown's advice for removing an unknown BB was to try applying gradually increasing pressure in alternate directions until one of them causes it to come loose. Another thing that has worked for me is to remove the NDS cup (which as you probably know is threaded the same from French and Swiss), remove the spindle, and then take a picture through the shell of the drive side. If you're lucky you'll have enough threads showing to be able to judge which way they're threaded. For example, here you can just make out the end of the threading at the top of the picture (this was on a Gitane and turned out to be English threaded):



Velo Orange makes a pretty good cartridge French bottom bracket, and IRD sells French and Swiss cups for their QB55 cartridge BB, though in that case you have to buy the English threaded BB and swap out the cups. Vintage cup and cone would be cool to have, but I'm lazy about maintenance so I like the sealed models. I do have a vintage Phil Wood in the Stella.
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