dave42

Howdy, folks.

I am fairly new to road cycling, coming back after many years. As a child/young man, I put many many miles on a trek 800 mtb, both road and off road.

I have recently acquired an 89 trek 400, 42/52 14-28. It still has the downtube shifters and suntour components. only new stuff is a 14-28 7sp shimano freewheel and a set of new wheels.

I want to do group rides and I want to race.

Y'all think this thing will hang in there?

what matters most, me or the bike?

thanks,
dave

Brian Ratliff

The shifters will hold you back a little, but it shouldn't be fatal... I did my first group rides on a downtube shifting bike. It wasn't all that bad.

aramis

I'd get a nice set of tires and ride a bunch. The gearing sounds pretty tough to deal with if you have any hills at all, but on the flats it should be fine.

StephenT 

Got a guy in my club that rides an old Centurion Ironman Dave Scott Expert for fun. He can ride rings around us. Ride it until you feel its holding you back in some way.

chasm54

What matters most is you, of course. There's no doubt that the gearing (more the steps between gears low on the block than the downtube shifters imo) is less ideal than a more modern set-up, but if you are uncompetitive it is much more likely to be a lack of fitness/experience than mechanical disadvantage.

Ice41000

It is not about bike.
At all.

big chainring

Go for it. I do group rides on an old ten speed. 5 speed freewheel, steel cottered crank, and rat trap pedals, no clips. A bike is a bike. The rider makes the difference.

wheelreason

Kids say the darnest things....

sloar

i still ride vintage steel, and i have new carbon, not much difference in speed, but downtube shifters can be a hassle if in a race. practice, a lot.

the_tool_man

About a year ago, I started riding in group rides and events on my 25lb, steel, '83 Fuji tourer, with 3x7 wide-range gearing, bar-end shifters and toe clips. I got a few funny looks, but had no problems keeping up, for the most part. The wide-range gearing helped with my lack of fitness starting out (the terrain here is hilly). I have gradually improved to a C+/B- rider. Once I upgraded to the 17lb, carbon Masi, I expected to be much faster. I wasn't. I did back-to-back rides, commuting on each, and found less than 1/2mph difference in my average speed.

All that to say, it's not the bike that matters. It's you.

Go on some rides with what you have, and see what, if anything, needs to change. Wider ratios might be in order, depending upon the terrain where you ride. Then, pile on the miles.

topflightpro

I know several people who ride and race, successfully, on older steel bikes. You'll be fine.

rpenmanparker 

The low 42/28 combination is exactly the same as the 39/26 that many folks ride today to get them up moderate hills. Your high end is a bit limited, but not anything I would think you would object to when just starting out. I wouldn't sweat the gearing. And hey, anybody with any age started out on downtube shifter and did just fine. That isn't even a real concern. Go with it.

spectastic

on my first few group rides, I rode my steel vintage with down tube shifters. Every time I put my water bottle back, I would smack the lever, and my chain would rub. It was frustrating. I would say upgrade to STI, or buy a bike that has index shifting. I have no problem with steel frames. It's just that the older bikes have friction shifters, lower quality wheels, old brakes, and shorter crankarms. Today's bikes that are my size have 175 cranks. My vintage has a 170-172.5 crank. That'll turn into a fitting issue when you switch between bikes. It's a lot easier to just match 2 bikes to the same dimensions once you get your fit done

Bob Dopolina 

Riding DT shifters vs STI should be the only issue for racing.

Learn how to shift into the right gear for exiting the corner as you enter the corner and you should be ok.

There will come a point in hilly rides or races where you start to find yourself in situations where you can't match gearing. If it really matters that would be the point to look at a new bike.

For group rides you should be fine.

Welcome back and ride it like you stole it.

rpenmanparker 

Considering the 1989 vintage of the bike and 7 speed gearing, OP's down tube shifters ARE likely STI, not pure friction, no? At least that would be my guess.

rearviewbeer

Group riding should be fine. Racing will take much more time, and really a bike with brifters will help. I, too, just got back into riding after about 23 years, and I could not go back to DT shifters. I was shocked at how much easier brifters are to use, like that is the natural way to shift...

The rest are correct about it being more the rider though.

grolby

That's because you were doing it wrong. I never had that problem.

They are probably indexed, that is, SIS, not STI. I know, too many acronyms. But Bob's advice still holds, indexed or friction - you need to shift in anticipation of needing a different gear coming out of the corner, not wait until the moment you need it.

I've ridden plenty on an old steel bike with indexed DT shifters, and it's really just fine. Definitely not as good as STI, but it's not as big a deal as you might think. On group rides on the road in particular, the shifting is not a big deal; you have so few cogs anyway, with such big gaps between them, that you're not going to be able to shift as often as anyone riding STI anyway. There's no reason you can't start riding and racing with this bike. I think you'll want a new one with modern parts eventually, but you can have a lot of fun and go plenty fast with the bike you have.

Edit: I have in fact raced technical crits on a 1987 Schwinn with indexed 6-speed DT shifters. I did this in 2009. It blew my competitors' minds a bit, but it wasn't actually that big a deal. Like Bob says, I had to downshift coming into the corners, that was pretty much it. I much prefer my modern bike, but I was not at a massive disadvantage.

Homebrew01

Ride it, get fit, then if you stick with it, decide later about getting a newer bike.

OldTryGuy

DT SunTour Edge Accushift Indexing system on the original '89-400.

I built my '83 Paramount full Campy except for the superb Simplex DT friction shifters. Best DT shifters ever produced. At least IMO.

thehammerdog

Y-O-U......I once got spanked in a mt bike race by some dude wearing sneakers, riding a rigid bike with panniers and no toe straps.....guy was a GOAT!

OldTryGuy

If the guy was trying to hold a conversation with you as he rode by, it could have been Million Mile Freddie. An awesome friend of mine from River Edge, NJ.

pallen

In the fastest group I ride with, there are a few guys riding vintage steel bikes that school us all regularly. The bike is not what will hold you back. Racing might be a little different where quick reactions to dynamics can make a difference, but if you want to race, I wouldn't worry about the equipment. Get out there and have some fun, then upgrade if you want, when you want.

caloso

You'll be fine.

island rider

Everyone here is wrong. You will be unsafe and dangerous without the latest in bicycle technology. Carbon fiber, electronic shifting and compact cranks were all designed for a reason. Carbon wheels are optional, so at least you have that going for you.










....

island rider

Seriously, one piece of advice. If you "recently acquired" it, it may need some work to bring it back to top form. If that is the case and you go to a shop be careful, you can easily spend up into ride-able used bike territory just for odds and ends. That would probably be a bad investment and money better spent buying something you can ride without too much overhaul.


But I still think this is fiction.