I'm looking at a mid 80's road bike with typical 27" wheels, downtube shifters and high end but obsolete Suntour drivetrain. What kind of trouble can I expect in trying to use this as a commuter? Some concerns I have:
1. Can I find fenders that will fit OK for a 27" wheel? Would 700c fenders fit?
2. Ditto the rack.
3. And if I do break something, is there any chance of getting a replacement part with any ease? I don't want to be scanning e-bay for 6 months every time I need a part.

I owned a nice mid-80's bike in the mid 80's and I remember it fondly. I just wonder if trying to run such an older bike now would give me hassles.

When you consider that most name bikes from the 80's are very
well built ,by today's standard, I'd say they would make very
dependable commuters.

ALL of my bikes are 80's or early 90's vintage and wouldn't trade any
of them for a "new" bike unless it was a Rivendale Alantis (which it
made like my bikes) .

For more info suggest you post on the classics forums here.

BTW....I buy all my bike goodies for the old bikes from Nashbar with no worries.

Most of my bikes are from the 70's other than the occasional problem trying to find an older NOS part they are fine. Most 700c fenders should fit a 27" wheel with no issues. I much prefer the friction shifting over the indexed (I guess I am just a retrogrouch ) As long as you can do your own wrenching you will defintely come out ahead of the game. A lot of LBS want to sell you new stuff not work on older quality rides.

Aaron

You shouldn't have any problem at all. If you're determined to keep the components the same, you might find you have to wait a while for a suitable derailleur for instance, but if you're happy to simply slap on a high end Suntour or Shimano that works fine but isn't the same as the original, no problem AT ALL, and very cheap to do.

I agree with everone else so far. There are no problems with older bikes except maybe those that used cottered cranks-cottered what? Anyway in fact I believe from a newer bike that I have and all my riding buds in California where I use to live that my old mid 80's friction bike is more reliable then the newer stuff; considering that I have over 145,000 miles on the 100% Suntour Superbe components and the only problem I've had was last year the front derailleur binder snapped and replaced it with one I've had new in a box since 85; then I found another exact same derailleur new in a box on E-BAY so even the parts are easy to get!

Plus since the older stuff is friction they rarely go out of adjustment then the only adjustment you do is the high and low so the derailleurs can shift into either the highest or the lowest without falling off the gears or not making it onto the gears...simple! The single pivot brakes are also simplier and these even allow you to ride a bike with a slightly bent rim whereas the dual pivots won't. The older wider chains last at least 3 times longer then the newer thinner chains and their less expensive.

The older stuff is a lot more simple thus less to go wrong. You may have some problems with parts but E-Bay and some web sites have resources for most if not all the parts you would ever need.

As far as the wheels and fenders go, I'm not sure about fenders for 27's but I would assume that since 27's were made for a long time there would have to be fenders somewhere for those. Problem is due to road bikes geometry a fender may not clear either the forks or the calipers. I do know that when I switched to 700c wheels there are fenders from Planet Bike that fit my rig.

By the way the Suntour stuff you have even if it's middle grade stuff is still better in quality and shifted better then even the top of the line Campy stuff of that era!!!! And you got the top of the line? Superbe or Cyclone? Either one way out performed either Shimano or Campy or any other brand back in those days.

What brand of bike did you find?

I agree with all of the above !
'Progress' in the bicycle industry only means unecessary
cost and complication !!
I think the pinicle of bicycling was the 70's and 80's era.
27x1.2 tires, lugged steel, friction shifting with 10 useable
gears and horror of horrors, comfortable riding positioning
I would highly suggest any 70's 80's era steel bike as a fast daily rider.
Funny how what was everyday ordinary back then is the hi-$$$$$$$
boutique bike industry now !!

The only problems I've had was finding decent rubber. However, I found 27" x 1 1/4" Continental UltraSports at MEC.ca this year. ($14 each) They've worked well, and I have had 0 flats in 2000 miles. I also found some 27" x 1 3/8" Tioga Bloodhounds at MEC.ca for my CX setup. ($18 each)

I killed the back rim on my commuter this year. The rim selection at my lbs was slim but we found a decent one to lace to my hub. I'm considering changing the CX setup to a fixie/SS next spring. All FlipFlop hubs (Paul) come in 32 hole. Most common 27" rims are 36 hole. Finding a decent 27" 32 hole rim has been difficult but my LBS is willing to order whatever they don't have if thier supplier has them in stock.

T.J.

Non-hooked rims (common on late 20th-century rides) can be incompatible with tires that need high PSI.

1. Just put a pair of Planet Bike fenders on my 27" commuter, no problem at all with fit.
2. Delta Universal rack or similar will have no problem fitting. The Delta even comes with P-clamps if you don't have the upper braze-ons for a rack.
3. Parts are generally pretty easy to find... There are still a TON of these bikes out there. I even found a bike shop here in Denver that carries tons of used and new parts for older bikes.

My Peugeot commuter was a whopping 5.00 at a yard sale......
25 dollars for tires and tubes.....
A great bike for the price of 1 tank of gas !

I'd say my biggest problem commuting on a 27" is the rims. The ones that came with my old bike are crap (especially when wet) and I just don't like the cost of replacing them relative to the value of the bike.

As for rubber: Gatorskin Ultras are great commuter tires, and available in a nice fat 27x1 1/4.

+1

Make sure you find a bike with Aluminum rims, if possible. The steel rims don't stop so well when wet!

I picked up an '88 Raleigh Technium off of Craigslist for $50.

18 speed, 27" wheels, mounts for rack and fenders front and back, and aluminum rims. VERY happy with the purchase.

I have no problems with half a garage of 70's and 80's bikes thansk to the internett. I recently re-built some 27" track wheels for less than $80 shipped (to AK). 27" stuff is getting harder to find (I don't even bother looking locally anymore), but if you are internet savvy, it should be no problem. Depending on what you have, swapping over to 700c in a pinch might be an option.

Good point on the rims. Back in the 80's stopping was always a weak point on my bikes. I always said that I hated side pull brakes because they stopped so poorly. Now that I think on it, all my bikes used to have steel rims which was probably the problem.

Become good friends with at least one LBS. They can order a surprising variety of parts if they like you well. I never had problems getting parts for a '70's 10 speed.

I have similar questions, as I'm looking for an older steel roadie to fix up this winter & ride when the good weather comes back. How hard is a 27-700c conversion? What about brakes, can newer brakes be retrofitted onto older bikes? Any particulars I should stay away from when buying an older roadie?

^^^^ Almost any long reach brakes should work fine....its really only
less than 1/4" difference. I have a few old Peugeots I really like
but realisticly they have complicated fitment issues with replacement
parts so I wouldnt recommend one unless you are very patient .
Any old name brand would be a great project.

It depends on your frames geometry has to whether or not medium or long reach calipers will work. My switch from 27 to 700 worked with the stock Superbe brakes with no alterations.

Yes newer brakes will work but why if your old brakes work? The newer dual pivot brakes DO NOT stop your bike faster then the old single pivot design; the only advantage of the newer ones is that the brake action feels lighter and smoother- though I dispute that with mine