Advice on buying first vintage road bike?

[SteelNipple]

I wondered. I think a couple of factors are at play: the original owner is selling, and 500 is in the high-mid range here for classic road bikes with good tubes (around 300 or below is either a good deal or needs some tune-up/repair).

It's a really clean looking bike but if the tubing sticker is original then it't tretubi aelle and in my opinion 550€ is too much for aelle and shimano 600. If you could get one from Germany, Italy or France the prices might be low enough to make it worth (or atleast from what I've seen drooling over the offerings on subito/kleinanzeigen/leboncoin).

 

[Swelo]

A bit more sleuthing has me thinking the seller might go for 450—is that more reasonable, or still high?

 

[ChromeChainstay]

i ride 25c on all my bikes, but i have a hole in my noggin' and am partial to 95psi

nice bike btw

 

[Nob]

i ride 25c on all my bikes, but i have a hole in my noggin' and am partial to 95psi

nice bike btw

I’ve stuck on 23c & I’m happy with that but then on my rides these days max is 1hr. Will see what it’s like here once in set up & drive outside the city then ride as a few years ago the road were well paved..for a third world country

 

[Canuk]

If you're not too far from the French border, you could find dozens of bikes like this on Leboncoin. You can restrict your research to say '100km around Grenoble'. You'd be able to find a quality steel Columbus or Reynolds bike for around 150-200 euro. Well worth the drive over the border to pick one up, and a nice lunch in a French restaurant! A lot of people are now happy to ship in Europe with Relais Colis, who will ship a bike for 50-65e.

All you need to open an account is a French SIM. You can pm me for details on how to get one super cheap. For 500 you could pick up an artisan built randonneur like this Columbus tube Cyfac (they made the Tour de France bikes for Raleigh Castorama in the 90s). Cyfac are considered one of the most prestigious builders still operating in France.

https://www.leboncoin.fr/ad/velos/2978028557

Or this Bernard Carre:

https://www.leboncoin.fr/ad/velos/2969748613

If you need any help setting up an account or sourcing a bike, feel free to get in touch. I'm based around Toulouse.

 

[hamster]

I've happily and comfortably ridden 100+ mile (160km) days on my bike with 23C. That's on UK roads, not smoother European tarmac.

 

[pigman]

If you're not looking for 25s, you won't want them. it will cost you confidence at speed.

Grip on corners and braking is massively reduced over 32s, and it turns out the benefit of air- and rolling resistance, lighter weight are way smaller than the disadvantages.

Pros are faster now on 32s than they were on 19s.

I've got several lovely bikes only take narrow tyres, I love them, but not in fast descents or corners.

Trouble is, beautiful vintage racers, 28 is huuuuuge!

A few comments I'm going to add

Tyre size alone hasn't made pros faster. There's a raft of reasons, many relating to bike technology, others relating to biology/diet/bike fit/riding style

At last years ToB there was a 50/50 mix of 30mm tyres at 70psi and 25mm at 100psi so I'd say the jury is still deciding

I'm quite settled on 25mm gatorskins. A couple of years ago I tried 28mm. I found them relatively energy sapping so relegated them to a winter bike

I don't do tubeless. I've seen folk puncture on tubeless and it's done the job well. I've seen just as many failures down to a variety of reasons. For me to ride at 70psi with tubes is asking for pinch punctures.

I suppose what I'm saying is don't take what the pros ride (they're paid to do so) and what the internet tells you is best as gospel. The marketing men need to sell kit

 

[Woz]

My advice - "don't pull the trigger with any sense of urgency".

Get your want list together. Check adverts local and neighbour countries. Buy the right thing. They are out there.

And if you have to travel for the right thing, try to enjoy that too.