Confused about "value" of old road bike

[rkk01]

My old(ish) steel road bike has become my current ride of choice.

My normally preferred mtbs require some TLC after the appalling British summer weather, and the responsiveness and ride qualities of the road bike are increasingly addictive.

HOWEVER, the more I enjoy using this bike, the more I choose to commute on it and obviously becomes more prone to wear and damage.

Now, I'm not suggesting any financial value here, my appreciation of this bike is based on it's ride and aesthetics. I want to enjoy the bike, but concerned about "de-valueing" the aspects I hold as valuable.

The counter argument is that it is an obsolete 20 yr old piece of steel junk, so all use is good use.

Should I be precious or use and enjoy to the full?

 

[gregs656]

You should definitely use it, look after it, but definitely use it. The enjoyment you get out of it cannot be valued - and the monetary value is only relevant if you are going to sell it.

 

[Midlife]

Just out of curiosity what is it ?

I'd ride it on warm sunny days for the enjoyment and buy something soul less for tooling about on......

my soul less ride is a 2011 Basso, nice to ride but it wouldn't bother me if it got crushed by accident LOL (as long as the insurance paid ut and I got another)

Shaun

 

[gregs656]

Yer don't necessarily want to get these things out on salty british winter roads.

 

[terryhfs]

If it gets used as intended it's going to die eventually. But that's preferable to it being a garage queen. Unless it's really, really special, ride it. Replace stuff as it wears, clean it when you can, but most of all enjoy it.

 

[lae]

The frame won't wear out (in your lifetime) if you look after it. Wash the dirt and grime off and it won't rust from the outside; protect it with Framesaver or linseed oil and it won't rust from the inside.

The drivetrain will wear out; nothing you can do about that. People still manufacture components to fit vintage bikes (like square-taper cranksets and screw-on freewheels, and box-section rims, threaded headsets etc), though, so you can replace like-for-like without compromising the ride or aesthetics. You can still find mountains of NOS or good-used vintage parts anyway, if you were bothered about keeping it totally 100% original-specification.

The only thing you have to worry about is crash damage, really. But steel frames are rather robust and easily repairable, and a good painter will replicate the original paint job (at a price, of course).

 

[rkk01]

Just out of curiosity what is it ?

I'd ride it on warm sunny days for the enjoyment and buy something soul less for tooling about on......

my soul less ride is a 2011 Basso, nice to ride but it wouldn't bother me if it got crushed by accident LOL (as long as the insurance paid ut and I got another)

Shaun

EL-OS framed Paganini - posted pic in the Paganini / Columbus thread...

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=208639

 

[ugo.santalucia]

Unless you have a Campagnolo 50th anniversary groupset on a Curly Hetchins in mint conditions, it's not worth expecting a big profit for your grandson...
Ride it, avoid muddy roads, look after it... the joy of riding a beautiful bike is priceless

 

[rkk01]

Unless you have a Campagnolo 50th anniversary groupset on a Curly Hetchins in mint conditions, it's not worth expecting a big profit for your grandson...
Ride it, avoid muddy roads, look after it... the joy of riding a beautiful bike is priceless

Wasn't really referring to £ value. I enjoy the bike and want to continue to enjoy it

 

[Elev12k]

I use a couple bikes per season. After the season they get an overhaul and the next season there is a new couple. The various ride experiences are nice and interesting and wear is spread.