Show your 50+ bicycle?
 

Forgive me if this has been posted before, but the thought just struck me; was there a post for your 50 + rides. I don't have any per say to start with other than this one. It was at least 30 years old when it was given to us. Our daughters are 26 now so I guess it qualifies, sort of. ;)

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=236795

Well, this is what I was riding 50 years ago. But it got stolen, so I have no idea whether it exists still.

http://www.pointhappy.com/gcf/Gordons1stBikeSm.jpg

The oldest bike I do have is a mere 38.

http://www.pointhappy.com/gcf/AmEagleNishikism.jpg

Sneaking this one in a little early. It'l be 48 this year.
http://i41.tinypic.com/2ynjgjk.jpg[/QUOTE]

The bike is not 64, but, now , the rider is
http://www.cyclofiend.com/working/20...clark1008.html

also not brilliant enough to post a picture , so You have to go look ..

This is a really cool thread. I wish I had a picture of the Schwinn Stingray I had when I was a kid. Good idea yugdlo!

Here's my Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix. It's manufacture date is somewhere between 1955 and 1961.

Fifty this year, my 1962 Follis, a French road bike made in Lyon. Got it when I was 14 and was the first kid on my block to have a ten speed bike, along with my 11 year old brother, who received a slighter smaller version).

http://www.davewyman.net/Follisylw.jpg

Frame, forks, bars, stem, brakes, break levers, and front "suicide shift" derailleur are original.

Suntour cranks, SR seat post, Phil Wood hubs date from 1975, Super Champion rims from about 1999. Shimano rear cluster and Simplex derailleur are of unknown vintage. Serfas tires, Brooks saddle and saddle bag recent acquisitions.

I've since added yellow brake/rear de cables and a yellow accented saddle bag in place of the Brooks saddle bag. Brake hoods, as best as I can remember, were not on the bike when I got it (from my wealthy uncle who owned hotels in Las Vegas) weren't there.

Original cranks were cottered and heavy. We lived in the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles, and my dad asked the owner of the shop where we picked up the bike to put on low gears, so my brother and I could climb he steep hill. The Westwood Cyclery shop owner, 1948 U.S. Olympian Ed Lynch, put on "alpine" chain rings, 52/36, which the from derailleur never could handle well. Now I have 48/39 on the bike and it works well.

Old Columbia
 

This is the 1936 Columbia I got used when I was about 11 years old, in 1951.

Fixed that for you.

I purchased this in 1974;

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...tfullfview.jpg

This is one of those threads that makes you want to say, "Oh why did ever I give that bike away?"

I can tell you why--Modern machinery is lighter- made of better materials and work better:innocent:

Saying that- Some of the older bikes were quality and streets ahead of their time. Unfortunately-I never had one of those. I had a Raleigh Trent Tourist and it was heavy- and slow. Mind you- It traveled miles with the group of friends I had in the summer when we used to go on bike rides in the local area. Good group from the village and we had allsorts of bikes from Single speeds right up to a 5 speed racing bike. I can remember one of those trips when we went on back roads to the Thames to see a Sailing ship come into Rochester. 50 miles there and 50 back. Not bad for a bunch of 14 to 16 year olds on bikes that probably weighed as much as them.

1920`s Drysdale track bike with wood rims

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/c...n/P9030373.jpg

Very nice!

Two of my bikes are now in the 50+ category.

I love the water bottle on the bars.

Wow! You guys have sure got me beat! I traded my 40yr old in for a couple 20s a long time ago!

That was where they all used to be but what is missing is the straw coming out of the top so you could drink whilst riding. Only worked with racing bikes as on an upright the straw would have been too long.

I have a lot of old bikes but one like yours, original owner is a sight to behold. Nice work man. I salute you!

My only 50+ bike right now, and it is not rideable at this time. 1954 Schwinn Varsity.

http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/s...tysiderear.jpg

http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/s...chainguard.jpg

http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/s...Kraterear2.jpg

Not quite 50 yet (1968 model) but restored and rideable.

That is part of the updated-but-consistent look I tried to cultivate w/ the red-with-white Capo. The water bottle holder system comprises modern components. The sprint, or half-bar, tape style was popular in that era, as were the white brake cable housings and the stainless steel gear cable housings.

Sometime after the picture was taken, I discovered a crack at the spindle eye of the left Campagnolo crank and put the Nervar Star crankset back on, with a 47-38 combination which represents a 10% reduction from the popular 52-42.

The wheelset came from my Bianchi, and high-flange Campagnolo Record hubs would admittedly look better on this bike. My trusty old 1972 Brooks Pro saddle is right at home on this frame, along with another upgrade, a Campagnolo seatpost.

In contrast, I am keeping Capo #2 as original as possible, including the adjustable reach Ambrosio stem, Gran Sport derailleurs, and high-flange Record hubs. I have admittedly replaced the 58(!)-45 ringset (original would have been 52-48) with aluminum Simplex 49-46 rings, and I have sneaked in a 6-speed ultra freewheel (14-16-18-21-24-26) to replace the original Caimi 14-16-18-20-22. I am inclined to do a similar handlebar mount for waterbottles on this bike, because I am so pleased with the setup on my other Capo.

Ftwelder, thanks for your kind words. I'm amazed I have the bike. And I'm sorry I don't have a few more original parts and/or more period appropriate components. Of course, the stuff I added in 1975 is a lot closer now to 1962 than 2012.

Keeping a bike that long - well, there's no rational reason for it, except to say I probably picked up the trait of keeping "stuff" from my mom, who lived through the Depression. I'm glad I still have that old bike, though.

When I ride or even think about my Follis, I can connect with my past half-century of personal history. I think about my wonderful Uncle Sid, who gave me the bike and paid, I believe, $145 for it. My uncle was a legendary hotel owner in Las Vegas, and later gave me my first car, my second and third cars, too (and all of them new)! I might have been better off if he'd stopped with the bike, but he didn't and I remember my uncle and how good he was to me, every time I ride that bike.

I can remember that bike turned me loose to explore Los Angeles on my own terms. It gave me the desire to climb the steepest hills I could find in the Santa Monica Mountains, where I lived, when I was in middle and high school (solo riding, no one else I knew wanted to torture themselves that way). I remember taking that bike with me to college in Northern California, pedaling to class, and the wonderful rides I made around and up into the Cascades with my friends. I remember riding over to the apartment of the girl I was in love with. And I remember bringing that bike back to Los Angeles with me.

With no little sadness, I recall how much I abused that bike, leaving it out in the rain when I was in college, not keeping it clean, letting it rust and go out of adjustment. And I remember how I tried to make up for it, having the bike repainted (but losing the chromed forks and chain stays in the process, which perhaps I'll rectify this decade or the next), purchasing the new components to go along with the paint job, and keeping the bike reasonably clean and under a roof for what is now 37 years.

It's been a wonderful relationship, a link to who I was and who I am, now. I've purchased several other bikes over the years. None, though, mean as much to me as my Follis.

Man, that's some lovely eye candy. Guess I'm a just little jealous.