10 Things We Miss About Road Bikes (And Some Things We Don't!)
Sometimes we get a little nostalgic about old road bikes and what they offered to the world. In this day and age simple steel frames brandishing local names and aluminium wheels feel like a far cry from what is available to buy today. So, tech writer Simon Smythe took a trip down memory lane to reminisce on some of his favourite things about old road bikes but also a few things which he doesn't miss as much!
00:00 - Intro
00:17 - The Classic Looks
01:13 - The Feel Of Steel
02:11 - Local Names
02:47 - Standards
03:32 - Simplicity
04:15 - Rim Brakes
05:09 - Skinny Tyres
05:56 - Aluminium Rims
06:33 - Price
07:17 - Longevity
08:17 - Toe Clips And Straps
08:55 - Big Gears
09:27 - Downtube Levers
10:04 - Outro
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I don’t miss these things because I’m still riding one. I’ll never give up my exposed cables, rim brakes, and threaded bottom bracket! Great video.👍🏽
have you ridden a modern bike?
@@silence-humility-calmness I have and no thanks. Souless. Grossly overpriced and if damaged good luck. I have been riding for over 65 years and the joy is still in it with a proper steel, lugged bike such as my 1982 SOMEC, 1961 Miyata AERO PRO, Rivendell Hunqapillar, Rivendell Cheviot as well as a 1992 Specialized 940 Mountian Bike. I have a few others. I applaud those who wish to ride on plastic, and wear synthetic fabric pseudo racer clothes, that's style; I prefer class. Ditto on the excellent video.
@@jeffhildreth9244 Us e-bikers pity you.
@@silence-humility-calmness I have. didn't care for it.
@@silence-humility-calmness I've ridden old and new. I didn't notice any significant difference.
I love the simplicity and ease of servicing rim brakes.
I'm considering a new cyclotourism bike, but they only come with cable + hydro brakes. Which rim brakes would you recommend? It would be equipped with Shimano 105...
@@DR_1_1 Look at brands like Soma, Crust, Rivendell...they make rim-brake versions of bikes that can accept larger tires.
@@Silidons91 Thanks but too late, I just got a CX, and as you can guess, it's mounted with... disk brakes! I'm a bit worried about servicing this stuff, but considering that I'm only replacing the rim pads on my older bike every few years, I suppose I've some time left to learn about that!
@@DR_1_1 well if it makes you feel any better, cyclingabout has basically toured the world on hydro disc brakes and has never had an issue. It’s not very hard to change the fluid. It’s just annoying when the pads rub, and it will happen.
@@Silidons91 I like some tinker, but I find these little cups to replace the oil so ridiculous... not that I'll need them anytime soon, I have yet to finish running-in my brakes! I just hope these disks won't ask for more maintenance than rim brakes (less than 10.- online for the 4 of them, fitted and aligned in a few minutes only)...
I'm a youngster, but I love vintage bikes and tech. The beauty of these bikes is their simplicity.
Same boat as you mate... I love my fixed gear is fun
Like Walter used to say 😁
You hit the nail on the head bro.
They are the epitome of elegant engineering. Done properly, there is nothing on them that doesn't serve a purpose, and those parts have been made as light as possible for the strength required.
It confirmed that it is not a generation thing. Simpler bikes are more entertaining.
Agree with all of this. The single greatest innovation in cycling over the last 30 years is effective LED lighting. Good modern lamps on a steel road bike makes for the perfect machine.
Spot on!
So true! Remember those Never Ready front lights with rubbish connections and a rating of 3 glow worms
Probably tire quality is next - the compromises between grip, durability, puncture resistance, and ride quality is in a much better place, that makes a real difference. I'm more of a transportation cyclist, and the early 90s rigid steel mountain bike on good tires is close to a pinnacle of the fast, practical, capable urban transportation. A rugged, comfortable, fast commuter, sub 30lb fully equipped, mid 20s stripped down!. There's not even much to be gained by "upgrading" the 3x7 drivetrains.
LED is trah, they are bad for eyes. You are the problem.
@@coolboy5428 there's nothing wrong with LED light. It's pretty good quality light. The problem is with cheap bike lights with bad optics that shine the light indiscriminately. Lights that use the German StVZO standard, which are quite easy to find, have a horizontal cut off like car lights so they light up the road but not other people's retinas.
One thing I miss about old bikes is cone & ball bearings. Serviceable, adjustable, and when properly maintained they are ultra smooth and last a lifetime.
True, but tearing apart the drivetrain was a pain in the derriere. The sealed units seem to last close to forever if you purchase units of reasonable quality. I will admit that a perfectly-adjusted cup and cone bearing is impossible to beat.
What do they use now? I'm ignorant re bearings unfortunately!
@@dasreicht Nowadays it's mostly press-fit cartridge bearings.
Shimano, Campag and higher end Fulcrum wheels still use cup and cone bearings and are great.
I just hate those skinny locknuts.
You hit every nail directly on the head. Too many casuals trying to emulate the pros and the big companies benefiting from their indulgences. Enjoy your ride and understand that you don't need to go 75km/hr to do so. Ride on your budget. I still have mechanical, cable actuated components and i love them
It's actually to the disadvantage of consumers that the pros are not allowed to ride prototypes but must use what's commercially available. So almost everything is designed with the pro rider in mind such as all the silly aero gadgets. Now everything on your new road bike is totally integrated so the extent of being unserviceable with regular tools. That integration, if it does fulfil all its aero promises, might save you a few minutes on your weekend ride with your friends. But what the hell do you do with these minutes if they don't win you any price money? They're too few to have a second post-ride beer which you could not afford anymore anyway since all your money went into your new fancy aero equipment.
@@einundsiebenziger5488 take your bike to the bike store to have it worked on?
Completely agree on the standards. When I built my road bike in 2008, I chose a titanium frame from Moots with standard tube diameters and so on so I could pick and choose my components at will. Love it like the day I brought it home.
I had a bad cycle accident way back in 1990 which has left me with some movement problems so on-bar indexed gear changes are a blessing for me - I now ride with flat bars for the same reason. Also, as a one time very enthusiastic tandemist the gear ranges now available, coupled with indexing is a pleasure. Gear change mechs are much better now. On our Cannondale tandem I can change front and rear gears simultaneously and reliably. Rim brakes are OK on a touring bike - provided it's dry! Disc brakes work so much better and mechanically operated ones are much cheaper than high quality rim brakes; The one on the back of our tandem will lock the back wheel whilst still being controllable - I've never been able to achieve that with any type of rim brake (including cantilevers) Steel is certainly comfortable. I have a 1949 Mercian 531 frame with a bottom curve fork on which I managed 400km in under 20 hours with no aches and pains pre-accident. The greatest improvement to cycle safety after dark was the LED rear light - supremely reliable. Unlike the Never-Ready battery lights they replaced! Wheels? Couldn't agree more. I build my own and I know I can fix any problems when far from home. Very rarely get a problem because I always use top quality components. The big improvement I've made to my wife's and my bike is fitting electrical assistance - well we are in our 80s :)
About a dozen years ago, did I meet you and your wife, outside the Co-op supermarket in Bourton On The Water, Glos?
@@johnnunn8688 It's possible. There have been Tandem Club events in that area but I don't remember. I have a beard (my wife is clean-shaven :) ) and we could have been wearing Derby Mercury jerseys.
I love old bikes especially. I'm still happily pedaling along on my Sturmey Archer three speed equipped Raleighs and Schwinns.
I've acquired four bikes over the last 10 years or so, all very different - and having learne to live with them, I find that my favourite is the the one I bought as a cheap commute ride (because it had full muguards and a pannier rack) - a '79 Claude Butler tourer. Now fitted with (1) vintage-look pedals, useable with flat or MTB cleated shoes, and (2) vintage-look polished alloy wheels to replace the rusty old ones. It's gorgeous, comfortable, practical, and of little interest to thieves. It gets more use than the others combined.
My favorite is my old Guerciotti--my first racing bike that was properly fitted. It now sports mudguards and a "triple", set up for randonees. Not "fast" any more (nor is its owner), but rock-solid stable with good vibration damping. Cannot beat Columbus SL tubing!
Interesting to see how a number of things like steel frames, rim brakes and unified standards still applies to a lot of cheap city bikes today.
I'd add to the list "Old Brakes" they really seem to have jumped up in quality since the 90s. When I pick up a vintage bike, usually the first things to get replaced are the brakes.
1990 RX100 brakes were perfect. Ultegra and Dura Ace were as good but lighter. By the time I tried Campy (1997) Record brakes were amazing too. Disk brakes work better than rim but rim brakes have not improved at all. (I’m on 2020 Dura Ace). In fact, 2016 SRAM Force rim brakes are the worst I’ve ever seen and much worse than my “bottom of the line” from 1990. I’m wondering if you rode single pivot rim brakes after dual pivot brakes were released. It’s true those were awful but dual pivots were out by 1990.
The Avid Shorty cantilevers on my Kona are just as powerful as discs in the dry. I haven’t had to adjust them literally for 4 years. Whereas the hydraulic disks on one of my commuter bikes constantly require attention, and after about the same four years due to corrosion of the pistons, perform very poorly, and sound like a city bus coming to a stop. Like anything the applicability of the tool depends on what you’re doing with it, but if you’re talking about riding a road bike in the country in dry conditions, you don’t need discs.
I've ridden single and dual pivots. While not every new brake is good, and not every old brake is bad, I'd say on average, rim brakes have gotten better since the 90s and onward, wither or not it's simply a case of better rubber compounds for pads, or better dual pivot designs. I'd assume it's a bit of both. I'm also not saying rim brakes are old. I'm saying old rim brakes are old. But more modern rim brakes are modern.
The Campy side pulls from '78 really are weak compared to more modern offerings. They sure are durable though.
@@davidburgess741 yes that’s true, had them on my 80’s Bianchi Veloce…. rode and raced for years and never had to replace the brake pads… they didn’t stop you very fast, but they were good enough for racing and fast group rides…. If I had ever taken the time to look at better pads maybe they would have worked better, but I just left it as is…
I was riding casually in the late 1970s and riding regularly with a club in the 80s. I never got on with toe cages and never bothered with old-style cleats. For many years I preferred pinned flats, but was eventually converted to SPDs which I now love. I liked down tube friction levers for their simplicity. Indexed gears are great but a pain to set up and keep adjusted. I never struggled to find the down tube levers. I was perfectly happy with 5 or 6 sprockets at the back, but I always felt that the 1980s chainrings were too big for real world riding. One of my 3 current bikes has discs: far better than rim brakes in the mud, but otherwise, nothing but needless complexity. I very much prefer the look of a classic lugged steel frame - I had a Mercian which I bitterly regret getting rid of. The silly prices for top spec bikes these days are just pandering to the egos of affluent middle aged riders. £1,000 or so gets you a decent brand new bike. Most expensive bikes are far better than their riders can justify in terms of need and performance (unless of course you're competing). One thing I certainly don't miss is 1970s cottered cranks that always worked loose. Can't go wrong with square taper for most real world riding.
Nothing worse than cottered! Square tapered if you want no problems. Marginal gains be dammed!
Indexed gears are really easy to set up and require very little maintenance, just a ten-second tweak a couple times a year. You just set the cable tension and limiting screws, which you do with non-indexed, and you're good as long as the indexing matches the cassette, which it should.
@@kurt1391 I maintain the 4 bikes in my garage which have indexed gears. 3 are almost trouble free, but for some reason, 1 of them seems to require constant minor adjustment, which gives me a jaded view of the whole thing. On a friction shifter, you don't even need to readjust the cable (within common sense limits) because you can just move the lever a bit further. Maybe that's a nostalgic view.
Good point about regular SPDs for real world, non competitive cycling. My commute used to include a very tall and long bridge over a major river. My regular SPDs with recessed cleats allowed me to shoulder my bike and take the stairs halfway to the top of the bridge instead of looping all the way around and ride up the entire slope. I'd have struggled to walk up the concrete stairs in SPD SLs, and would probably have worn out a pair of cleats a month doing so. I'm sure that being able to take that shortcut was more than enough to offset any marginal speed increase from improved power transfer that SPD SLs may offer!
Square taper is very good.
Very very proper evaluation of what non pro and not "racer"- road cyclist of certain age really need to care about in order to enjoy and appreciate never ending road, beautiful location, nice (or bad)) wether and pure peace of mind. Thanks for that.
I used to race bikes in the 1980's and they were all either reynolds or columbus steel frames, or the Allan frames made from aluminium. There was also a japanese tube called Ishiwata, some of which was so thin, you could squeeze it between fingers. I had quite a few from local builders but always longed for a Colnago made from Columbus sl. Could never afford one though. The best bike I ever had was after my racing days, in the 90's, a Dave Lloyd reynolds 753 with Campag super record throughout.
Great video..... I confess though that I'm one of those people that love the tube shifters with their smoothness and feeling out the gears as opposed to just clicking a button. I personally have a 1995 Japanese/Taiwanese Bianchi that I bought for $50 at a thrift shop that's in immaculate shape. Love love love this bike.
Amazing buy.
i love the friction downtube shifters on my '88 Univega Vivo Touring. love the cockpit as is & find myself using less gears & being all the happier for it with less wires
Downtube levers are simple, reliable, and much more crash resistant. They very rarely have problems and if they ever do they are simple to fix.
i have the first SIS in the 105 series, which worked fine, but going back to friction shifting was actually mindblowing, and the transition was very smooth. i got my cassette up to a 12-32 sprocket and where indexed shifiting does not handle it well, I can climb all the hills using friction downtube levers
Yes, but for me, stem shifters and bar-end shifters offer so much more comfort while riding. Being able to shift without taking hands off the bars is a luxury worth having (friction is A-OK).
I don't mind them, except if I ever have to shift while out of the saddle. For that reason, I've installed bar-end shifters to both if the vintage bikes I've restored for my own use.
Really depends on what you do though.
I have a 1989 Fuji Ace with the original friction shifters and even front shifter cable. Never changed it, I give it a smear of lube every couple of years. When a system works flawlessly for over three decades, 20k miles, and too many crashes it's hard to criticize it. Rear cable outlasted the rear derailleur, too.
I do miss being able to walk into a small cycle shop and get any spare parts I needed with no built in obsolescence
That's one big reason why I don't use disc brakes. With rim brakes you can get replacement parts anywhere (even a small town hardware store). Comes in handy for touring when the closest bike shop is over 100 km away.
I’m still riding late 80’s steel bikes with rim breaks and down tube shifters. Work great, and are easy to maintain, easy to use. I should switch to step in bindings instead of toe clips and straps, but never wanted to break up my record group sets.
I understand the sentiment, however, fiddling with downtube shifters can be distracting and thus dangerous. Personally, I dont think it is worth it.
You dont need to fiddle once you know how to use them. However if you want to be more safe in certain situations you might spend a little extra energy riding it out instead of shifting if you come unprepared into a busy intersection etc
@@veglord4481 nah. I've ridden them for many years. They're useless. Nice on a retro bike, but it's good that they're gone from regular use.
@@daszieher What kind of “dangerous fiddling” are you doing? Indexed down tube shifters are lightning fast…”click” and you’re in a different gear. Friction shifters take a bit more “feel”; but I’d hardly call it “fiddly” and certainly wouldn’t call it dangerous…you don’t even need to look down!
@@johns3106 you don't understand, because you missed an important point: I wasn't talking about indexed shifters.
Here are a few more: proper drop bars. There were more hand positions and the tops was upright and drops racy. This meant less need to slam the stem. Bar end shifters are a good compromise. Some are indexed and others can be modified to work with 9, 10 and 11 speed. Not so good, loose bearing BBs. Which fits English, French or Italian threads? But they did allow adjusting the axle width to fit different cranksets. Short top tubes. Traditional frames were usually much shorter, requiring a longer stem. I used to ride a 62 or 63 cm frame with a 58 or 59 TT. A more modern 58x58 makes more sense. Finally, brake levers. New ones may not be pretty but work well and are comfortable. I recently had a Gitane TdF with original Mafac brakes including the levers. Too small, no padding just torture to use. And speaking of odd standards, French stem and seatpost just enough different to not work. My "new" road bike with fenders is a 1970's Raleigh International with modern 105 11 speed components. A set of Shimano aero levers and bar end shifters work well. And it fits 32c tires with fenders. The feel of a vintage frame with some modern tech. Gotta love the chromed lugs.
There were also no tire clearance issues back then. Put bigger tires on and do cyclocross in winter.
Basically, you are riding my dream bike
@@MHH3180 Finally some nice weather this week. I went for a 30km ride on it Wed afternoon. Works well, but just getting to know the bike. There likely will be a few tweaks. It makes a good all road bike. Suitable for some exploring but I have a gravel bike for the bumpier stuff.
Gitane's TdF were heavy, unforgiving frames, Astro-Daimler made some supple, well made roadbikes.
No doubt. Love steel frames. The ride and beauty and the craftsmenship
I love the aesthetics of the old bikes, especially when running campagnolo. The older shimano levers with the cables coming out the sides was a bit unsightly.
Right on brother. 1973 Raleigh International rider here, since new. I’ve avoided sampling a modern bike, so can’t say if the riding experience would please me or not, but I remain delighted with my purchase of the Raleigh!
Great video. After 30+ years I still have my Schwinn 10 speed and love it. Besides the basic maintenance, it's been absolutely flawless in my opinion. I've rode some big races in it over the years. I'm the second owner and paid $40 USD for it. It may be gaudy and heavy, but it can hold it's own against the new stuff without a problem.
Chicago made Schwinns are fantastic. I'm still angry my Dad threw away mine thinking it was "yard sale junk".
I agree. I have 2, 1971 Schwinns. Both Sierra brown. Super Sport and Sports Tourer. Round Badge. Pretty Killer rides and get a lot of attention with all the Bling!!
I miss the standard tools. I used to have a small set of tools that worked on every bike. Now every bike has proprietary pullers, spanners, chain tools, etc.
In total agreement.
100 per cent agree
Don't forget the tubeless stuff, and an oven for waxing the chain...
With almost these same thoughts in mind I decided to build up my own retro bike last year :). I tried to get the best of both worlds: it's an old steel frame, aluminium rims and some nice looking details like an aluminium Stronglight crankset and a Rolls saddle. However, shifters are SRAM Rival and I've got SPD pedals. The toughest job was to buy all the new components in a matte or polished aluminium, since all you can buy these days is black, black and black. I got the parts from all over Europe - it costed me 3 months to find everything in the exact look I wanted it!
The only thing I miss from rim brakes is the direct feedback of vibrations. You can feel the exact spot when the wheel is on the verge of blocking up. With disc brakes there is a slight flexing due to the spokes which covers up almost all the feedback, and causing some delay in action.
Nice to read I'm not alone clinging to two steel bikes, a DeRosa Professional, the last bike Eddy rode in his racing career built by the guy who helped him with his own brand, fully Campy Super Record, bulletproof for about 75,000 and counting. So stricken with love, built up a custom steel "beater" for commuting. Every time a new tech came about, I worked through lust, then balked. Look pedals were too small for many racers. Keirin racers stuck to clips and straps for the longest time. Greg Lemond was known to use toe straps in addition to Look cleats, as they kept the shoes from stretching or unclipping on the upstrokes. I can ride on errands in street shoes in clips and straps, walk without ruining cleats, and the feet won't come off the pedals. I ride the same pedals on laced cycling shoes with slotted cleats that hold the feet on the pedals as well, if not better, than any clipless system. I can reach down and loosen or tighten the toe strap with a buckle designed for that purposes. The rat trap pedals are as light as clipless, but they have the largest surface to push down on, no "hot spots." Pulling out the feet backwards always works just fine. I've never fallen over after stopping. Steel tubing is still a preferred diameter for resilience, shock absorption, strength, and comfort: 1" top tube, 1 1/8" down tube. Modern carbon frames are trending skinnier to approximate this feel. Steel forks absorb shocks as efficiently as carbon, but don't give up the feel of the road. Steel holds up very well in a crash, and if the fork bends, a frame builder can straighten it without giving up "modulus of elasticity," the magic that seems to return energy on every pedal stroke. And forget about "lawyer lips," those stupid flanges that pervert the whole idea of quick release. I've known guys who've filed them off. Now with disc brakes on beefy forks, riders have to carry a wrench to undo the thru axle when repairing a front wheel flat or throwing the bike in the car. How cool is that? 42-21 [or 22] on a 6 speed freewheel is a bit stiff on the climbs, but back in the day, we all trained up and could handle them just fine. Third chainrings were "granny gears." 42-28 gearing was for touring and recreational wimps afraid of pain. The trick, so intuitive on a steel frame, even out the strain turning the crank around, spread out the energy around the stroke, thereby using the slow twitch aerobic muscle fibers. Just below anaerobic threshold, the intensity becomes tolerable, and the legs can recover from those inevitable excursions into anaerobic. Sure, lower gearing evens out the pain, but rider slows down, loses momentum, and has to work his ass off, while the other guys attacked in a higher gear and are already recovering at the top! Nothing quite like a 32 spoked aluminum rim laced onto a cup and cone bearing hub. Adjust the bearings to roll silky smooth, true the rim, tension the spokes evenly, and don't look back for miles and miles. 68mm threaded BBs are making a comeback because they don't creak. How about that? Yes, these old '80s bikes were simple, effective, reliable, easy to fix with a few tools and a bike stand. They lasted forever, didn't cost as much as a used car, affordable without sponsors, and survived the inevitable crashes. Wannabes like me could ape our heroes. You couldn't say that about motorsports back then and now can't say that about bicycles. That DeRosa , top end frame in '84, Campy components far above the competition, tubular tires to boot, cost me $1300 set up in the bike shop. I cringe to think what it would cost today. I also collected Campy parts from Nashbar sales, upgrading a mid-priced Puch, and then transferred the components to a nice custom steel commuter from a local builder. I put on rack and fenders, a 13-28 freewheel, 28 mm tires, and it is now my principle ride. The car stays undercover in the driveway on trickle charge. I try to drive it once a month. It's now a conceit, a status symbol. I can go anywhere within a 30 mile radius of DC Metro on bike paths free of auto traffic, on two exquisite examples of the craft. What other sport offers that pleasure?
Agree with pretty much with most of your statements, except gears. I have always been a spinner, not a masher. Even my 39-28 was not low enough for me in my 20's. Yes, I trained and managed 3000 foot ascents up grades in excess of 10%. But why? I have never liked triples, Q factor is too large, and some how shifting seems to suffer...
@@robertwyland7770 Yep. Compact 46/34 and 12-28 freewheel makes perfect sense. With the slowest gear being 42-22, I have to ride hard all the time! That's pretty much what racing is all about, though. And heck, everyone is now obsessed with watts, directly related to speed, no? The game hasn't changed!
I also recall I had a 12-21 six speed rear with 42/52 on the front and I wonder how the hell I ever managed on the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains... And then I remember:18-24 year old legs and knees. Now I have a 12-32 10sp with 50/34 in the front. Coming up on 50 and I barley feel it.
True that! All of it.
@@dpwellman I recall installing a 13-26 six-speed on my bike back in the '70s, because I thought the 42 x 24 just wasn't quite low enough. The next time I showed up for a group ride, I was ridiculed to the point where I remember the sting to this day. Today I did a short, 30k ride that had a couple of good long climbs, though nothing over 12%, and my 42 x 27 was just the ticket.
I agree wholeheartedly with all your likes/dislikes except downtube shifters. Perhaps it’s because my 1970’s Campagnolo Record components on my Colnago Super would just not be proper without the downtube shifters. As you mentioned, I also like the tactile “trimming”of the front and rear with friction shifters as opposed to click detents. I should say, I also have a C64 Colnago with Campy Super Record 12- although here I maintain my cable controls and rim brakes. Nice video!
Bar-ends are also lovely, and so much easier to replace cables than the all-in-one units.
Absolutely right. Thank you for reminding us that bikes have been pretty perfect for decades. I totally love my 1980 Schwinn Paramount. I have other bikes, but this one gets all the compliments. The shift levers are indexed, and they never miss. As a bonus, i can just look down at their positions to see what gear I’m in. This is not as important if you have a 1x 11 or 12 setup on a modern bike, but just a glance down takes just a split second to check. Although i always keep a spare set of brake pads, I can’t remember when i had to change them. The frame is steel, (red!) and the bike weighs 19 lbs. Also, through-axels take the fun out of swapping and changing your wheels.
Still riding my Specialized off-road bike I bought back in 2007, after 17 years and three continents still going strong, the older the better!
Silk tubulars have an ethereal ride. I miss the readily available sew-up. Gluing them sucked but worth it for the ride and weight savings. Flat changes are faster too. Frame mounted pumps are also awesome. Good dog weapon too. Steel Campy pump heads were bulletproof and you can inflate an unlimited number of tires.
Good modern cotton sew-ups like Veloflex 23s (and I assume 25s) aren't at all shabby. I never got to ride Clement silks back in the day, so I can't comment here.
I had one silk tire put it on the front . It was definitely a nice ride . But then I discovered the Clement Griffo 61s. Never road anything smaller than 26mm again. It was those and other paves. I can easily get a 30mm tire to fit with my 853 Lemond Zurich. Just love those paves . The irony the fat tires are more common. Now the original irony is I've been riding a recumbent since smashing my acetabulem through my pelvis. Gotta find a better saddle maybe I can ride the Zurich again.
Still fit a Zefal HP to every bike I ride. It has saved many mates whose CO2 or mini-pumps have failed them (and I can still get 90-100 lbs in with it). Pumping up a tire with the Zefal is also my only upper-body workout (other than hefting my older, heavier vintage bikes). Remember when 22 lbs was a "lightweight" bike??
I'm still loving my 1986 Tommasini Racing! It is a work of Italian Art and is fast as hell. As for the gearing...never could figure out how those expensive new bikes could never keep up when i decided to put the hammer down (even in my 50s)
Same with my 1982 SOMEC... Yes I still ride in my 70s.. love to blow off the new age Spandex Mafia bikers in the hills and curves.
I am kind of old too and well remember steel bikes and downtube shifters along with clips and straps. I honestly don't miss steel frames at all. They can still be had if that is your thing, but they don't have the beauty of the old ones. I do miss the beautiful lugs and the paintwork of those old bikes. I also don't miss the old 18 or 20c tires pumped up to 120 psi. But, we can have a steel frame and still take advantage of new tire tech. Another thing I don't miss is downtube shifters but they do teach you to shift when you should and to predict when to shift. It was much harder to recover from a wrong gear with downtube shifters. Especially if your were going into a steep climb.
Many years ago I bought a traditional steel framed Carleton Road bike, and though it wasn't a true lightweight, it was a real beauty. Ornate frame lugs, a light blue-green metallic paint job that looked perfect, alloy rims and 10-speed. It was a real eye-catcher, and it felt good to ride. I just don't see bikes looking that good in the showrooms now.
Totally agree
Excellent points and I agree with nearly all of them. I don't miss looking for 1/4" ball bearings under the fridge, but sealed square taper was better than the current external bearing systems. I also don't miss chowdering up the threads on the top of my steerer; threadless headset systems a bit uglier but a much more robust design. Lower gears ✔️ yes please but we don't really need more than 7 or 8 sprockets at the back with the compromises that having more entail.
I ride my 1975 Mercian with a triple chainset, (28, 42, 50) and a six speed 28 to 14 freewheel. Gives me much the same ratios as my Cannondale with 32/50 chainset and 32 to 12 ten speed cassette. I've got the same 27 inch lowest gear on both machines, and I almost never use the smallest sprocket on the Mercian, never mind the even smaller sprocket on the Cannondale.
Sealed bottom bracket a God send😅.
Great cycles and logical arguments . It’s not just nostalgia; simplicity is beauty . I still miss my Dawes Echelon 😂
many great valid points in the pros and cons, especially the downtube shifters, for the rear derailleur especially. I modified my early 1980's Koga Miyata Radonneur to be my touring bike and I changed the handlebar from drops to flat with bull horns. I change from a 6 speed Shimano "Golden Arrow" (early 105) to a 11 speed Deore with a 11-36 cassette and MTB handlebar shifters and 50/34 front (using the original front derailleur and I maintained the use of thedown tube shifter for the front deraileur.). The benefit of using the downtube shifter for the front is that when I do the occasional cross chaining for a short stretch of hill climb or short high speed spring which doesnt warant a change to the other chain wheel, I can easily and in a fraction of a second micro adjust the front derailleur to avoid chain rub. However, the advantages of the indexed shifting for the rear are so great especially coupled with the higher number of gears and the split second shifting without taking hands off the handle bar are so great that there is no question in my mind that this is one of the biggest advantages in modern cycling technology. When I started the conversion I used for short time the downtube shifter also for the rear to save some money which kind of worked but the differences between the gears were so fine that it was sometimes a bit difficult to hit the right position of the gear lever for a smooth running gear. When I then changed to the Deore MTB handlebar shifter my eyes ere opened and I could not go back. By the way, would you dare to widen the rear stays of a carbon or an Al alloy frame to take a modern and wider rear hub to accommodate the 11 sped cassettes, I would not dare to do this, and this is one of the beauties of steel frames, the level of "abuse" they take without blinking an eye.
It needed to be said. I still have an use regularly a classic Carlton at age 67. Had one at school in 66
While I have a nice selection of vintage steel bikes, my favourite is much more modern, sort of-- a custom Tommasini Tecno built for me in 2014. It has all the glorious aesthetics of a lugged steel frame, with beautiful paint and polished stainless lugs, engraved quill stem, and bombproof Mavic Open Pro wheels. I was fortunate to find a new set of alloy Campagnolo Athena 11-speed parts, including brakes far better than on my 1980s bikes, and it has Speedplay pedals and a handsome Selle San Marco Regal saddle with copper rivets. Modern steel is much lighter than it was in the old days and in a sea of endless black carbon frames you will really stand out with classic steel. There are lots of craft framebuilders who can build something beautiful for a lot less than high-end carbon and you can take the savings and go ride in Italy! Ordering a custom steel frame and meeting the people who will make it is one of the best experiences you can have in our world of mass production. By the way, Mercian can do some really gorgeous stuff in the UK.
wow! I have a 1986 Tommasini...I really want to travel to Grosseto to have a new one built for me!
I never had the honor of meeting my builder in the flesh, but I got to talk with him a lot on the phone over the course of four bikes. I think the relationship with your builder (and painter) is one of the great parts of going bespoke. Of course having a beautiful fitting, riding, and looking bike that is unique in the world is the main benefit. Sadly, my guy has hung up the torch, and the last I spoke with him, he said "if you're looking for a new bike, I'm not your guy." I was happy to be only looking for the right size for a Zefal HPX pump.
I just got a set of rat traps for a 1983 Guerciotti Campy race bike I'm restoring. They are certainly not inherently unsafe, and you can wear normal-ish tennis shoes, not clompers. I used to train European dressage horses, your safety with horses, and yes, bicycles, is a mix of your training, skill, and talent.
Agreed on tennis shoes and like w/ traps, but the pedals tend to chew the soles unless it's a very hard rubber composite.
im always tennis shoes + rat traps!!❤❤❤
For winter riding i still think disc brakes are essential in the UK. They're more consistent in the wet. But for summer, rim brakes are enough. Have a 2001 bike which is a blend of old and new, it's a lively bike - but not as fast as my 2016 (aluminium) bike. The 2001 bike never fails to put a smile on my face- that and classic Campag is lovely to use.
Good reminder to keep my steel bikes since 1982. I still enjoy riding them until up to now. Thanks I am so motivated to ride my Cinelli Supercorsa tomorrow!
32 year old, Specialized Allez Carbon. Rebuilt three times! It’s got the original brake pads! Aluminum lugs meet carbon tubing. It’s not heavy either. I got rid of the super low gears. It’s just a really nice bike.
I own the exact bike, with exact amount of rebuilds! Touché! ’
I think you got most of it correct. I still ride a steel MTB from the 80's with thumb shifters. I have upgraded the brakes to linear pull brakes and the BB to a hollow tech/ external bearings. and I do like a 1X with a wide range cassette. Those are all upgrades. I still think all things carbon are better left for racing pros and the same with disc brakes for specific types of riding. It is a point of sadness that I can't go down to my local bike shop and get parts or service. The mechanics are literally not trained in how to fix them nor do they even have the tools.
I enjoyed hearing your take on old steel road bikes. I am an original owner of a 1986 Nishiki Tri-A with Dura Ace components. Everything is original except tires and the pedals, which were upgraded many years ago to Look clips. The biggest complaint for me is the gearing which, as you pointed out, makes climbing difficult. Last year, I purchased an entry-level Trek Domane SL 5. It's pretty heavy for a carbon bike and only a couple pounds lighter than the Nishiki. The biggest difference between the two bikes for me is Domane's superior stability and maneuverability - probably due to the wider tires and frame geometry. I love riding the Domane, but have come to really appreciate how well built the Nishiki is.
I have a Japanese made 1983 Nishiki Prestige. Rides like a dream and fits 32c tires.
My sentiments too, I still have a number of classic steel road bikes which I love.
You have said exactly what i tell everyone for the last years and everybody thinks i’m crazy. Just the simple feel of riding a bike like it used to be. I have a Koga Miyata Prologue and i wouldn’t trade it for the top of the market in today racing bikes.
Yep, totally agree. If anything on a bike should be in a museum or hung, to be gazed at nostalgically, on a living room wall, it's down tube shifters. The things we had to endure to get where we're at now. Btw, I ride a genesis with external cabling and cable brakes. If it works why change it.
Bar end shifters were a bit easier to deal with than the more fragile brifters that came later. Hydraulics are a bridge too far. If you're going to use electronic, why not just have the shifter blips and do away with brifters? KISS!
Mercian were the bikes of my youth back in the 60's and they are still going strong today.
Mercian bikes were very beautiful with fantastic paint jobs, I had a mercian made from reynolds 653, superb racing bike.
The barbershop pole seat tube decoration is drool-worthy. If I ever have one of my customs repainted, I just might have to ask for that touch.
Funnily enough, I was riding my admittedly Titanium bike the other week and thought I could get away with a pair of narrow tyres which might make the ride more exciting. The frame is very compliant. The bike shop has a decent pair of 23mm Vittorias on sale in scruffy looking boxes for ages, so picked them up for a song. Glad I did, feels nice a lively and quick, I was previously using 26mm and prior to that 29mm and swapping from those to the 26mm made a big difference. Rim brakes have been brilliant for me, although I could see an advantage to discs in mountainous regions. #23mmfor23
could not agree more - perfect description of reality. Thank you!
Back in the early 90s when I club raced, our team bikes were steel Columbus SLX Scapins. They were beautiful riding bicycles. I didn't like gluing on the tubular tires to the rims though but clincher eventually made things better. I even had the first generation LOOK clipless pedals after using toe strap pedals for some time.
I just did an initial gluing, and I didn't glue much after that. I cornered pretty hard on them and never had a roll-off. I'm not recommending this, but it was my experience.
I sniffed glue and promptly crashed into a parked van. I was rolling with my boy Huffhead Herman who has sadly inhaled his last breath. The memories......
The names of the traditional frame builders were a mark of quality in themselves. That's something you could rely on.
And you never had to ask that stupid but seemingly all-important question... Was the bike made in Italy or in Taiwan??? (if that really matters)
Well, then the featured Colnago frame, or more precisely the straight fork, is a bad example. Colnago just skipped the process of bending the fork to save cost. The "added quality" of the straight fork only existed in their marketing gibberish to justify their enormous prices.
@@marcushyacinthe9331His list didn't include Falcon cycles, made in Lincolnshire!
I had an old school, double-triangle, hard-tail Trek, with half-step-plus-granny gearing that I custom designed to fit my 150-210 cadence riding style, Bar-Con bar-end friction shifters, and Shimano quick release pedals. It was stolen decades ago. I think that is the only one of my material possessions that i have ever truly mourned the loss of. I still miss it to this day. Due to the complications of life, I haven't really been on a bike much since then. Now that I am in a situation where I can have a bike again, I've been debating what I want to get. This video has convinced me to simply rebuild that old Trek from scratch.
Well one of the most honest bike videos I watched in last year. I am very happy I bought one old steel feame road bike in decent conditions and restored it to it's full shine, and yes you are right, it is so confortable and much nicer to ride than aluminium frame bike which I usually ride. It simply absorps cracks on the road and feels much better for my hands and I feel comfort while riding.
Well presented and extremely accurate. I’ve been riding bikes since the mid 80’s and have seen many changes, some good and some not so good ✊🏾👊🏾👏🏾
Loved the video and I love my old Austro-Daimler Super Leicht. I also like shifting gears with the down tube (friction) shifters. I think it somehow makes me feel more connected to the bike. (I also prefer manual transmission in an automobile). I did opt for aero brake levers, since I always found exposed brake cables to be a nuisance, and and I can't imagine ever using toe clips and straps again.
Totally agree. I bought a secondhand steel frame Genesis bike in 2020 because of reading and hearing so many positive comments about ride quality of steel, and has proved absolutely right. The ride is really fantastic and a total joy, so much so I ordered and have just had delivered a new Condor Classico Road steel frame bike - really stunning! Would definitely recommend steel.
I have 8 steel bikes, all italian and a Colnago like yours. All of them have been upgraded to 7800 Dura Ace groups and C24 wheels. Restomod style. Best of both worlds
I like down-tube shifters as long as they are indexed. I have Dura-Ace 9 speed down tubers on a '93 lugged steel Allez. They work slick.
Non indexed is where it's at, my Vilar Maze Modelo De Luxo has them and they never need to be adjusted lol
@@Fred_the_1996 Absolutely agree - i recently mounted friction downtube shifters on my 80ties bike and they work flawlessly. And part compatibilty is a non-issue. Just slap on a random derailleur and you are good to go. No need to worry about proper cable pull. Set and forget 👍
Agree. The 9 speed indexed downtube shifters are SO CRISP... I have a set that I'll never let go of; they've been on several bikes now. Big plus for downtubes is that should your brifters fail, or you're just playing with a new setup, you've still got a shifter without shelling out many hundreds of $.
I'm with you about standardized parts, steel frames and aluminum wheels. I miss 27" wheels that were popular here in the U.S. They seem to me to have livelier and smoother qualities than the 700C used on modern bikes. I would also be happy if I never had to hear another composite wheeled bike come down the road and can't imagine riding one with all the racket they make.
I just got a set of Hunt carbon wheels and they are LOUD and annoying. I love the wheels otherwise, but I have got to change out the grease to see if I can quiet them. Some people love that racket for whatever reason I don't get.
The 27 inch wheels didn't fit high end steel frames. Until 700c it was tubular or nothing.
@@kurt1391 I use dura ace hubs for the quiet. Silent
I adopted toe clips again after using clipless for about 30 years. I found a set of double strand, double strap I guess track toe clips. Using logic from the great 'power grips' straps which I also used, I threaded a single strap at a diagonal on my double clips, for angled entry, easy twist release, using uncleated cycling shoes that have sturdy traction and tread that naturally grips the pedal. So, now I'm walking in shoes that are not hazardous slippery tap dancing shoes and my pedals are secure and comfortable. I'm on a pair of campagnolo record steel and alloy quill pedals. All good. The diagonal strap eliminates the discomfort of the strap binding the wide part of your foot. And the double tongue clips don't bother the centre of your foot which is more sensitive at the top. I wish I had a diagram to illustrate it but words will have to do. Over the years, clipless pedals started getting painful, giving hotspots, numbness, no freedom to fine tune my foot position. Less is more. People have made such an obscene delicacy of the sport. Pretty much only used frames appeal to me nowadays. I own a Raleigh, a Peugeot, a deKerf, a Cannondale, a Kona, a Lovell, a Hase kettweissel, a Rans, a Miele, and a Ritchey. All at least ten years old, and the Peugeot is a 1971. Proprietary, absurdly over designed, flimsy minimal little castings and plastic moulded pieces that snap and break, batteries (!?) weird shaped things that don't fit any other parts... I've said this on many rants, but what has happened to cycling this century is very much like what has happened to democracy in United States. It's priced beyond prayers, doesn't hold up under pressure, thinks so highly of itself that any humility is out of the question, and in the final end, millions are duped and swindled .
Miss the shiny parts of old bikes! Now they are almost all black wheels, stems, cranks, etc... look at that chromed fork on the Colnago in this video 🤩
This videos is awesome! Great points! When it comes to wheels a set of dual pivot brakes and machined sidewall aluminum wheels stop very well when set up properly. I'm also under the impression that a ton of mid to high quality bikes where pumped out in the 80s and 90s from Taiwan and Japan and make great resto-mod projects!
absolutely! I put a new set of Shimano R7000 dual pivot rim brakes on my old steel Allez bike and now I wonder why the industry went for heavy disc brakes (marketing scheme to buy new bikes!). Dual pivot rules!
So much of this is so true. It's so easy to fall for the marketing hype when bikes of this generation (80s-90s) are cheap, fun and often look better than more recent attempts. Aesthetically and functionally the classic frame + polished alloy components is hard to beat.
I am surprised that no one has mentioned the beauty of the traditional (SR) handbar stem
I recently found a Benotto mixte (from their Mexico City factory) in the thrift store. High quality steel frame, 27" wheels, stem mounted friction shifters. I had to replace the cables, but after adjusting the derailleur limit screws it was ready to go. No fine adjusting the indexing. Although the 40/28 tooth low gear is a lot of work on hills. I wouldn't mind a front triple.
100% in agreement. My TI frame will last a lifetime though !
Great look back. I've still got my late 80s Raleigh 531 which I cleaned up last year and found it still fun to ride. Like you say, 30 odd years I'd like more gears, and the downtube shifters are hard work, even though my bike had first gen SIS indexed shifting. My main upgrade back then was just to add Dura ace clipless pedals, which then used the Look system. I very different rise to my fancy carbon bike. And always gets comments, when I'm out on it.
The more sprockets you have, the more you need quick convenient shifting. In days of old gears were often widely spaced making the decision to shift more of a commitment.
Spot on with all of this. I own two vintage bikes, one steel one titanium & while I have to concede that if I need/want pure flat-out speed-per-watt (race) I ride my 2yr old carbon aero road bike. However, if I am willing/able to sacrifice just a mile or two per hour on my average speed (for a ride) I MUCH prefer the ride of my old bikes. They are simply more comfortable & in so many ways better (not the least of which is style). I think you also understated two things: rim brakes ARE fine/great/p'bly-better for 99% of road-based cycling; and the life expectancy of these carbon frames is not good (& mostly misunderstood by most cyclists). I do appreciate (& use myself) new technology. I owned one of the first mass produced carbon bikes on the market back in the '80's. I have always had a "current tech" bike. But I agree w/everything stated in the video, that there are without a doubt, things of old bike tech that are now gone, which is too bad. A current "entry level" or especially intermediate bike, with heavy/poor-quality componentry now costs as much or more than what you used to be able to buy a high end production bike or even a custom frame. Great video.
Thanks for a great video Simon. Well presented as usual and really enjoyable. Your down to earth logical view on the core items such as tyre width, brake choice etc. is brilliant. Although I may not have access to a vintage, the video does further encourage me to go for a Fairlight Strael for that steel experience.
Thank you Razeem - glad you enjoyed it! The Fairlight looks lovely - do it!
I do like my downtube Shimano SIS levers. They have a very satisfying positive snap when shifting gears and the gear change is quick and precise. You can also go all the way from high to low and back with one single throw of the lever in either direction. The short cable leads and robust shifters make everything feel quick, solid and snappy with a satisfying kerchunk into your chosen gear. Modern shifters don’t give you the same type of positive feedback. And e-shifters all feel like some robot is performing the shift for you which in essence it is.
Same. Only downside is the Ghost effect when i ride my modern bike. Can't count how many times my hand has reached for the downtube when there's nothing there. Not as bad as switching between automatic and manual car transmission though. Once I was driving I accidentally slammed the brakes when I was approaching an intersection to gear down, luckily nobody was behind me.
Spot on. I even empathize with the preference for rim brakes. That said, that's a very "sport"-centric viewpoint. Anyone using their bike for actual transportation, including those who prefer a road bike (indeed, probably _especially_ those), will appreciate the better stopping power and reliability of disc brakes in wet or snowy conditions. I commute in a region that is rainy 9-10 months out of the year and have had too many close calls waiting those couple of seconds for the rim brakes to clear the water from the rim and actually start braking. After switching to disc brakes, I am a lot safer riding in inclement weather. (There's also the fact that not all rim brake designs are actually that easy to get adjusted. I still have awful memories of wrestling with my old road bike's brakes, trying to get the caliper to operate evenly, stay centered so that they have a short pull with good stopping power but still neither pad is rubbing on the rim. Some newer designs, canteliever/center-pull/etc. are admittedly easier to maintain, but I don't miss the old days one bit in that respect.)
While rims, even with good Kool-Stops, can have an alarming rotation without much braking, I've been surprised that I've found disks far from immune. They're distinctly down on power in active rain for the first rotation. And then the squealing! Disks are definitely better, but compared to really *good* rim pads, nowhere near as much better as I was led to expect.
I love my non-indexed friction shifters. I never have to adjust cables, and it just works.
Campy Ergos introduced in the early 90’s makes bikes of that era the perfect balance between comfort, performance and looks.
and some were STILL using DT shifters back then!
I miss a clean looking quill stem. Definitely polished parts though. Great vid.
I love old steel frames. Just need newer components on them.
...and with the standards mentioned, it's easy to do!
Same. I am riding my 1986 steel frame, but didn't go the vintage route. I had it powder coated because my sweat was what devoured the paint and braze-ons in the first place. Then I put Simano 105 11-speed on it. Stretching the stays was weird, but "steel is real."
When my 2005 trek broke a chain, and ripped the drop out at the derailleur, I put most of the 105 9 speed parts on my 1983 Fuji, now I have indexed gears and newer rims that don't flex and hit the chain stays. Win win! Only thing I haven't changed is the handlebars and i really don't like the 38cm width, time to buy a quill stem adapter!
I love the New Age plastic stuff. So much better. I love riding on some Made in China plastic fantastic prefab'd "aero" bike with Made in China Shimano. It's so now. So wow! All the pretty black. Black everywhere. All these gears. Wow! Can't say enough about "aero". "Aero" is so the bomb. I go much faster because of "aero", even "aero" chain lube. Look at me, Mr. Hipster bikie on my Made in China plastic "bike".
@@death2pc 😅
Very good points about steel frames and the effect on tyre sizes
I'm still riding one of these today and I will never stop writing one of these These Old steel bikes are some of the best out there and for those people who still have them hold on to them
I loved downtube shifters, but only due to my lack of gears making it relatively easy to find one. It would be a nightmare with an 11 or 12 speed setup! So precise!
I remember thinking I didn’t need STI levers bc my downtube shifters were fine. Then I got them and quickly found myself shifting much more often. Before I would suffer with a slightly wrong gear thinking it was close enough. With STI levers I would shift on short rolling hills. Before I would keep one gear and stand on the short uphill and sit for short downhill. The plus side of downtube shifters is that I’d work outside of my comfort zone.
I thought it would be a trimming nightmare as well but I was completely wrong! With 11 speed downtube friction shifting, there's very little room for the chain to go other than onto the next cog so it actually requires the least amount of trimming compared to my past experiences with 10, 9, and 8 speed friction setups. I can't endorse it enough, honestly. I have found though that Sram 11 speed cassettes are way less smooth than Shimano cassettes when it comes to friction shifting, so if you try it, stick to Shimano parts. Beyond 11 speeds with friction shifting, I'd imagine pull ratios will be the biggest limiting factor. You'd simply run out of room for the lever to move. For instance, I'm using bar end friction shifters on a 2x11 setup, but I'm using a 9 speed Deore rear mech because modern 11 speed rear mechs require more cable pull than what the bar end lever is capable of pulling.
@@andrewturner943 that’s fabulous news! Thanks for the info 🏆😊
They are terrible.
I miss downtube shifters like I miss having COVID. I have STI as well as Di2, and I prefer Di2, but not by much. It works perfectly, but I'm not sure it's worth the price difference.
Agree 100%. I love steel frames. Carbon frames are like McDonald's when good steel frame is like Michelin star restaurant
Aint no way you say steel is better than carbon💀💀 its the other way around dude
Performance wise, carbon is better. Durability wise, steel still is the better choice.
@@mcdonnell-douglasdc-1056 Carbon fiber is five-times stronger than steel and twice as stiff. Though carbon fiber is stronger and stiffer than steel, it is lighter than steel. How the fuck are ya’ll saying carbon is like mcdonalds?💀
I love the look and feel of vintage bike but don’t ever say that the steel frame is better than the carbon frame. Carbon is a lot superior.
@@roald577 Carbon isn't as durable as steel if it suffered impact in a way that it wasn't designed to withstand. Carbon fiber is usually engineered to be compliant in the way it was designed, optimizing for power transfer. That is why you can push down and sprint as hard as you can, and the bike can take it while also yielding better results. That being said, if the carbon fiber takes impact in any other way than designed (e.g. crashing or collisions) the frame either develops micro cracks that accumulate over time, or just disintegrate catastrophically. This is why carbon fiber bikes are a rarity outside of the racing aspects of cycling; even Red Hook Crit fixies are built with aluminum, since the frame can take crashes. And repairing carbon fiber is expensive and unfeasible, when you can just buy another carbon fiber bike instead of repairing it. Steel can take punishment without failing catastrophically. Frame will usually bend before breaking. And unlike carbon fiber, steel frames can be repaired, bending the frame back in place or welding the frame. And this is why I said that steel is better durability wise. You are correct about the analogy being somewhat nonsensical, though.
I've got a Serotta frame with a Mavic crankset, Campagnolo front derailer, Dura Ace rear derailer and a mish-mash of other worthy components. I've been riding since 1974 and have weathered all the sales campaigns! My steel bike weighs about one full water bottle heavier than a carbon model - so THERE! Currant keyring is an old Campagnolo friction shifter lever.
I found a neglected 1971 Schwinn La Tour that was being tossed out on garbage day... I decided to clean it up and fine tune it as a present for a friend ... The local bike shop laughed at me and said it wasn't worth fixing up and that I should just buy a new one... I took it all apart and cleaned - polished and replaces all of the cables - brake pads - handle bar tape - tubes and tires and lubed it up - it was looking and riding great ! I was told that this bike was actually made in Japan for the USA bike racing team because Schwinn wanted them made to WIN ! It is still one SWEET RIDE and my friend Loves riding it
Longevity, simplicity, price and standards are all relevant points. However carbon allows modern bikes to ride better as stiffness doesn't mean lack of comfort any more. My modern carbon bike blows my old steel racing bike out of the water in this regard. Also, modern shifting is much better, carbon wheels are much stronger and basically never go out of true, disc brakes mat not be completely necessary but they do work better in all conditions. Lastly, fat, low pressure tubeless tires are far less likely to pinch flat, far more comfortable and offer more grip than old skinnies at high pressures.
That is absolutely true. His comments on super stiff frames requiring larger tyres is dead wrong. I ride steel and carbon both, and I love both, but I am not taking my steel frame bike on a 70-mile ride like I used to. The carbon bike is vastly more comfortable. Anyone who disagrees has a bad or very old carbon frame. I'm not crazy about disc brakes. I love them when they work, but about every few weeks, I am fiddling with them. Just think of oil and you've fouled a pad, which requires polishing with a Dremel or a metal sanding pad.
I miss the forks without safety lips. They’re unnecessary and it absolutely sucks to have to unscrew your qr levers to remove a wheel.
Easy to file off.
@@thenazz724 not always. Chrome plating, etc. Blame the Consumer Product Safety Commission (U.S.). In the '70s they decided bicycles were toys (which was their mandate to regulate), and since a kid could climb on any bike, that *all* bikes were toys and subject to their regulations.
@@robertmyers5269 I've never had a problem filing off the lawyer tabs.
I quite like them, I've had a qr lever come loose from vibration while going fast and they saved me
@@ashleyblack327 the lips were added at some point between 94 and 97, before disc brakes. Also these days disc brake bikes come with thru axles. What happened was someone didn’t tighten his qr correctly and it came loose. Instead of that being a teachable moment for an irresponsible rider, now everyone has to deal with the inconvenience.
Still riding a 1980s De Rosa (upgraded to Campagnolo Record groupset in 2005) and I would never want to change from steel to carbon. I hired a carbon De Rosa during a training week in Italy a few years ago and found that the road really punished me! Steel absorbs everything the road throws at you. My first racer in 1965 was a Spanish BH which I was given for my birthday. It cost 2000 pesetas (about twelve pounds in those days) and I crashed it into a pavement café terrace in Ibiza in my first junior road race. Happy days.
Great Video. I am so upset about the new crappy 105, I have no more doubts that cycling industry is making everything it can to stop people from getting into the sport. I will revisit this video to call my nerves. I'm glad I've bought myself a steel road bike in 2019 and then got another custom steel gravel amids corona in 2020. I am stocked for life with awesome stuff and loads of mechanical components, aluminium rims, sitting on a heap of chains and cogs like a King. I do regret not getting a steel fork for the gravel though. My 7900 still holding up and working like a dream. Quo Vadis?
Very good video. To prove I agree with you, after owning several carbon bikes the one I have now and plan to keep riding is a custom made Ti frame from a builder here in the US. Let the young and dumb have their modern day koolade because you're just wasting your breath trying to convince them they are just throwing money away. I like how you mentioned "Polished components" because I really feel that look and quality needs to come back. I actually installed a 37 year old Campagnolo crankset from 1985 NOS on my bike and milled it to work with Di2. Looks beautiful and works pretty damn good. I can't believe how much of that vintage era stuff is still available even new but it can be had.
Good skills with the milling the compagnelo to di2! It sounds great. Good engineering know how.
Love the feel of a good steel frame. I don't like being constantly on the look out for rust, but the ride quality is wonderful. I do like modern handlebars, and while running tubular were fun, modern puncture resistant tires can't be beat.
Tubulars got a bad rap. They really aren't hard to repair, and they used to be quite reasonably priced. I ran puncture-resistant tubulars for years. Now tubular wheels are expensive as are the tires, so I run tubeless, which have the wonderful feel of tubulars and a messy shower of latex that takes an hour to clean off the frame.
Still riding tubs and the corrosion on that fork looks bad.
I like standard tube type clinchers, easirer to fix a puncture
I have to agree with everything here. Riding my 1982 Cramerotti in a fund raising event in 2007 or so before Lance Armstrong’s fall from grace he leaned over and complimented the integrity of the build. My big gears made it tough to keep up when the climbing started though. Or at least that’s what I told myself. Haha.
You can get down-tube shifters indexed. And for toe traps and straps, use the woven straps, much stronger and compliant, and use delrin clips, half the weight, much more spring to them, and if they break, they're not razor sharp edges like the steel ones. If you set-up you straps and clips optimally, they're much faster to get into and out of than clipless. And in an accident, you're next to never stuck in them. I notice you had Shimano type pedals, looked like 600s. Along with the 105s and the Dura-Ace (which I have) they share the same clip geometry, which is a flat mount, not butt-mount to the pedal. This allows set-up to slide back and forth for reach, and also adding a touch of yaw if needed. Finding replacement clips is difficult, but check bike shops that rebuild bikes, often the first thing they toss are the pedals, and I've got a box-load of the clips. I've got a pair of PD-7400 that have been the only pedals I've used for well over 30 years, triple bearings, one bearing being needles. I've only used oil in them the last 25 years or so. I used to repack the grease every year the first decade, realized that judicious oiling every season seemed to work fine, but might repack them with grease this year and replace the balls. Dura-Ace requires a special wrench which I have, 600s and 105s just use standard wrenches. The back plates on the Dura-Ace, being very light alloy, do wear easily. You can mill them down flat a few times, but I eventually replaced them with 600 plates, which are steel. They weigh a lot more, but in the big scheme of things, are still negligible. They are much harder, and wearing well.
A year later...I *did* regrease my Durace 7400s. Bit of a trick to it, I use a freezer to thicken the grease so much that the balls stay in place during reassembly. On the 7400s, a special wrench is needed (which I have) to lock the rings against the cones. Something I didn't mention above is that the plastic clips are actually far better than the usually preferred steel ones. Half the weight, much more giving laterally, and when they snap, don't present a jagged sharp edge like the metal ones do.
What I definitely do not miss, is the lateral flexing. I had some lovely steel bikes (e.g. Bianchi Caurus), at the same time with some alu-carbon modern bikes, and could compare them on the same roads, sam types of rides. The modern bike's rear triangle has much higher lateral rigidity, which makes them more stable downhill.
That was part of the lightweight cult. I had custom built bikes with broader tubes in the rear triangle than most racing bikes. I think they were the thickest ones Reyolds made. I figured the lessened flex compensated for the extra weight and slightly rougher ride. Today we have gone in the other direction with a stiffness cult.
Very hard to beat a Colnago Master for downhill stability, on any frame material.
My 1995 Harry Havnoonian HH Racing Group custom has Vitus steel tubing (yes Vitus made steel tubes too) and has lugs with sort of flying buttresses or webs between the connected tubes. It is VERY stiff laterally - it really jumps when you stand up on it.
I agree across the board! I've got a compact crankset, and 12-30 dura ace 7800 on my 80s peugeot. It's really made the bike so much more livable.
100% agree .. I ride an eighties 531Reynolds frame from a west-mids local brand called Poyner of Wolverhampton .. just had the frame stripped, checked, few minor repairs done at a B'ham cooperative and repainted. I have a road and touring crank-set and drive-train. The only things I get done are welding, paint work, wheel truing and crown race installation. The more you ride the more the bike setup can be refined and personalised to requirements. I got the frame 4 years ago. Rides really nice. So many great steel frames still out there. 👍
I love this video! Don't know how I missed it up to now. I'm 68, and bought a pair of '98 Basso 'Gap' 56cm sprint frames in January '99, $425USD each. Gave the red/silver one as a birthday present, built the TdF yellow one as my '20 year bike'. It's still my favorite road bike, still rocking Shimano D-Ace 7700 grupo and Mavic Cosmic Elite aeros. Since moving to the mountains of West Texas, I solved the 'big gears' problem by swapping to XTR derailleur and 11-34t cassette. Sadly, road and mountain shifters from Shimano are no longer cross compatible with the derailleurs, but back then...😊😊
The best thing about riding fixed gears is that so many of the bikes are older framesets, and even with the new ones the parts are all super simple and legacy fit. They're a dream to work on, so much simpler than the $10k bikes I see crunching along the roads here. Most of the things listed in this video are still commonplace on fixed gears!
And they will stay commonplace! Because frankly, that's what the fixed gear market wants
I would add cloth handlebar tape, although I'm undecided on whether I miss it or not. I guess it would depend on the ride quality of the bike, which is directly related to the steel frame & fork argument. Also, although not part of the bike, I miss the old stringback light brown leather gloves you could get in the 80's!
I just bought a pair at my LBS. What's old is new, again.
I agree with most of it, however not everyone can ride clipless pedals. I actually developed a neuroma in my ankle from them and went back to clips and straps. For me indexed downtube shifters are my favorite. The advantage of working both with one hand and they're clean looks combined with having brake cables buried beneath the handlebar tape have less clutter.
I never thought of using both with one hand. I’ll have to try that. I still have the Suntour shifters mounted on the downtube, set for friction shifting so they’re compatible with my 7 or 8-ring gear set (can’t remember how many).
I ride an 80s frame with Tiagra 4700 rim brake version on it and I agree with all your observations with regard to what you miss and don't miss. I think in my opinion the greatest innovation is the development of STI, thanks shimano. 😊