How do today's bikes compare to the 80s and 90s?

Hi all, i am coming back to bicycling after 25 years and i'm wondering how groupsets today compared to those in the eighties and nineties, value wise.

So in the late 80s and early ninety's i had a bike costing around £800 which was a 531 professional bottechia frame with campagnolo chorus groupset, with mavic ssc rims.

What would be a comparable groupset quality wise, today and how much would i have to spend to get a bike of a similar quality?

I have read 1 or 2 posts around the interweb, which suggest that today's shimano 105 is better than campagnolo record back in the eighty's. Somehow I find it hard to believe, or is it true?

Thanks in advance, for any suggestions or advice.

Re:

Hi. I can't say I've ever ridden a bike with eighties Campagnolo on, but I have 3 modern road bikes with Shimano Sora, Tiagra and 105. The Sora is fairly good, needs adjustment from time to time, but the Tiagra and 105 are both excellent. The Tiagra is the current 4600 version, 10 speed with a triple chainset(on the bike I have). The shifting is spot on, all of the time. Never needs adjusting, I just check the tyre pressure and oil the chain. Obviously the 105 is even better, only the brakes are unbelievable. More than enough power to lock both wheels(unless it's really hot and dry), but plenty of modulation too. In short, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Regards

Marge

Hi,

Thnx for that.

Well back in the day the best stuff was pretty good, but Sh 105 was pretty much regarded as entry level.

As for gears, well except the Shimano SIS 600 stuff, we all relied on manual shifter levers on the down tube !

Really after smooth hubs and crisp changing like with my last Campag G/S.

The other problem is that back then, groupsets included hubs, and you had the wheels built around the hubs that were included. It seems nowadays, that all bikes seem to come with "training" wheels - at least below £2000 - making it all even more confusing as to "where to start" !

A few years ago, before I began to admire retro road bikes, I looked at some middle-range road bikes in the high street shops, and I was looking at about £1,500 to £2,000 worth. Maybe it's just my age, but I began looking at some absolute classic 80's 531 steel bikes (Cinelli, Pinarello, Mercian etc.) on eBay. Comparing the absolute aesthetic beauty and components of a classic 2nd-hand steel frame against today's carbon nonsense - there was no contest.

I would have happily paid £2,000 for a top-of-the-range 80's vintage, campag-equipped classic and rode it every day in total preference to anything I could find at Evans - and the bonus was these bikes are available for about half the price.

I agree the framesets were really nice back then. My Bottechia had chromed dropouts and hand-painted trim around the chrome !!!

Anyhoo, I digress.

I really just need to know that buying a £1500 bike with say 105 or Ultegra, will match the quality of C Record / Chorus 25 years ago. Or... do I need to spend more.

Clearly, 25 years ago £800 was equivalent to say £2000 today, but tech has rapidly improved, especially in terms of "bang for buck".

Re:

105 (modern) is perfectly functional, precise and needs little intervention apart from being kept clean and oiled. Not really sure you can compare it older iterations of Campagnolo's high end groups from eras past. They are two different beasts, particularly in terms of visual impact. Given the price of a new 11 speed 105 group (circa 300-350 gbp on what seems constant sale price) versus the equivalent group price for Chorus suggests that they aren't of the same quality. In saying that I am not put off the new 105, contemplating it for a touring bike where function and robustness is far more important than aesthetics.

Opinions will differ,but i'd suggest 105 is entry level for a modern bike, by hierarchy Ultegra will be better. A friend has just bought a Giant something or other with Ultegra, the price tag started with with a 2 with three more digits before the decimal point. He got that in a sale and had to upgrade the wheels. At that sort of money I'd be after and 80's icon with full C-Record

Re:

I'd go for something like this - half your £1500 price point and an all-metal campag gruppo

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=94154

I've been out today on my modern Basso with cheapish Campag Veloce 10 drive train with Microtech finishing kit and it works "better" than my retro Campag \ Dura Ace stuff.

Just like my Citroen Picasso is more sophisticated than my 1987 Toyota MR2. Guess which car is my favourite though.

Shaun

My fave ever Campag Rear Mech had a knurled finish - was built like a torque wrench. Never slipped and I could shift up a cog, going up Winnats Pass.

Guess I'll just suck it and see.

Canyon do a full carbon with Ultegra for £1500, and I'll probably upgrade the wheels when there's a bargain in the sales. A 17lb bike for £1500 is pretty impressive.

I also notice that some wheel sets come in at £2000. WTF ? My 'carbon footprint' will never stretch that far.

How times change.

It depends what you mean by quality.
If you mean durability and finish, not much will compare to 80s/90s campag (or Shimano for that matter).
On the other hand, the operability is at least an order of magnitude better.
The latest and greatest groupsets will do front shifts up and down and multiple shifts across the block, either way, all while under power. The shifts will always be right, click, shift, done. You won't need to ever give the lever a little nudge to stop the rattling of a slightly misaligned rear mech. (The downside to this is when you don't look after it, the shifts go to crap after a few months of abuse, and you have no option to easily adjust on the go)
Brakes, well, you can get the back wheel in the air with one finger on the front brake in the dry. Two or three fingers will have the same effect in the wet. If you have enough grip.
"Training" wheels are pretty much comparable to race wheels of the 80s, lighter, stiffer, more aerodynamic, longer lasting. Race wheels, it's just budget dependant, and a lot of the £2k+ wheels, you are paying for exclusivity and the development budget (most expensive I've seen are knocking on the door of £4k)
Frames, except for the weight, there *really* isn't a huge difference except the fashions of geometry and fit. I've ridden a lot of the current crop of carbon wonder bikes, and I've still not upgraded from my 90s made to measure steel frame. It has however got this year's ultegra 11 on it (which outperforms the D-A 9 I ran on the same frame when I raced, and the chorus/record 8 i had on it before. When it was new.
If you'd asked the same question comparing a bike from the mid/late 90s. A lot of it is incremental changes. So you *might* not notice a huge difference. But if you are if the down tube shifter era (as I am) it's night and day.