First road bike a classic?

Skruvi · Nov 6, 2012

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a bit of advice on a road bike. I have been commuting with my hybrid bike for the last 6 months but feel ready to upgrade to something a little more sporty now.

My budget is limited to around £350 and I have found an older road bike with fairly high end components second hand for within this price range. The question is I am best off doing this or going for a lower spec second hand modern bike?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Iwasgoodonce · Nov 6, 2012

Welcome to the forum! Look for a good frame with 531 tubes through out if you can. Unless you're returning to road cycling, you may be caught out by retro brakes. I had a go on a collegue's modern Boardman hybrid and was astonished by modern disc brakes as I had never tried them before then! Nothing matches a road bike on the road though.

Midlife · Nov 6, 2012

First question I guess is how old are you and what bikes did you grow up with

Shaun

Skruvi · Nov 6, 2012

Hi Shaun,

I'm 29 and have been cycling on and off with my hybrid for the last three years. Its served me well but i feel its time to upgrade to something built solely for road cycling.

mattsccm · Nov 7, 2012

Hate to say it but I reckon a used new bike. If you go out with your mates on modern bikes you will soon wonder why their brakes work and your don't. (Well much). You will also get sucked into the new and shiny concept so maybe start that way anyway?
Old is nice but you need that certain mindset that wants to be different.
If you go old look for 531 as there should be tons about. Avoid 27" wheels, go 700c and alloy everything else.

Jonny69 · Nov 7, 2012

???

My brakes work fine, even the bendy old Weinmann ones? So you have to pull them a bit harder, but they still pull the bike up just as well.

NeilM · Nov 7, 2012

mattsccm":3pmbnnb3 said:
Hate to say it but I reckon a used new bike. If you go out with your mates on modern bikes you will soon wonder why their brakes work and your don't.

Well, I'll take my Tricolor 600's on Mavic open rims over my son's SRAM Red on Zipp 404's any day of the week thanks.

As for the OP: What do you prefer the look of; retro or recently new?

I love the look of some of the modern carbon frames, but my ability and wallet don't share the attraction

I also like to look of bikes from the 80's and 90's and love the style of some of the continental manufacturers, so that's what I ride.

Custom frames can be cheap, but are a minefield, where as more well known manufacturers or bigger custom brands (like Rourke, Mercian etc) tend to be a slightly safer bet.

Have a look in the classifieds and on the bay, and then ask questions here BEFORE you spend any cash.

Skruvi · Nov 7, 2012

Thanks for the replies. I don't mind the new builds but I prefer the older style with the thinner frames. Previously I have bought brand new so heading into the second hand market (especially an older bike) is pretty perplexing! I'm getting there through LOTS of reading though.

I have been offered a Giant carbon frame with Shimano 600 parts within my budget. I've read up on the parts and they appear to be of high quality but I'm unsure of the valuation of a 90's Giant carbon frame.

mattsccm · Nov 7, 2012

I am sure that many older carbon frames are great, I know of several but they do have a greater potential to be fragile than metal ones. Maybe something a little less controversial ? Try 531 or something similar. Of course it depends on what you call call classic. Some people just regard anything post 1980 as just old fashioned not classic. Find the right non classic classic and you'll get better value for money.

TGR · Nov 7, 2012

I read something today about the benefits of steel over carbon - it was linked from somewhere on this site but, for the life of me, i cannot remember where i saw the link. It was a USA article and advised that for the cost of mass produced carbon, a bespoke steel frame could be bought. It also mentioned the fragility of carbon frames compared with steel. If i can get the link i will post it up.

Someone here may remember it as it gave details of different types of steel - tube thickness and weights etc for 531, Columbus, Ovus? and other types of tubing - all done in a table format.

First road bike a classic?

Skruvi

Retro Newbie

Iwasgoodonce

Old School Grand Master

Midlife

Retro Wizard

Skruvi

Retro Newbie

mattsccm

Senior Retro Guru

Jonny69

Senior Retro Guru

NeilM

Skruvi

Retro Newbie

mattsccm

Senior Retro Guru

TGR

Old School Grand Master

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