New or used, old or modern

traco

I'm thinking about buying a bike to see how I like it. Used to cycle lots in my younger days not as exercise but out of necessity and always like it.

The current bike store is mad and all techy jargon and I've found myself leaning more toward used and 80's steel frame racers.

So given that this is a trial of sorts would I be mad to consider an older steel frame of a decent brand as opposed to all this new fangled stuff. I doubt I'd be into long distance treks and if I was to use it for exercise it would be sprint type intervals and would imagine no longer that 40-60mins. Power type training, HIIT stuff.

Also I think an older steel framed might be a safer bet to leave at a dart station and around town or does the average bike thief not care???

I've also no problem taking things apart and servicing stuff so not afraid to do some work and get greasy. Do it on my cars and motorbike.

BTW, I'm nearly 6'4" and 110kgs so saving a few kgs on bike doesn't really bother me as I'd be better served by dropping 10kgs myself and maintaining muscle.

So €100-€200 steel from 80's or more modern €300 - €400 sub 5 years old??

Cee-Jay-Cee

I'd personally go for the more modern €400-500 bike but it seems you would prefer an older steel frame bike so you should get what you want however parts are harder to find and generally more expensive for older 80's steel frame bikes and considering you want it for interval training/power type training then I think a newer modern bike would be more suited.

hesker

Nice idea but if you're thinking it will save you money I have my doubts.

I have a few old steel frame bikes of really good quality. The cheapest cost €250 but that was a few years ago and the same bike now would fetch about €500. This is the price region for good quality tubing (531, SL, SLX etc) and higher tier components.

It's down to personal taste really. The advantage of a good quality older steel bike is that it will hold it's value much better than a new bike, at least while the market lasts.

For me I like working and riding the bikes that were around when I was a kid. I don't think any bike would be safe at a Dart station.

Miklos

If you want to be sure your bike will be safe at a Dart station, stand next to it with an automatic weapon.

hesker

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

parts are harder to find and generally more expensive for older 80's steel frame bikes.

Not sure I'd agree fully with that. Although the top tier Campag from that era can be pricey in general components are quite cheap and readily available

smacl

traco wrote: »

BTW, I'm nearly 6'4" and 110kgs so saving a few kgs on bike doesn't really bother me as I'd be better served by dropping 10kgs myself and maintaining muscle.

So €100-€200 steel from 80's or more modern €300 - €400 sub 5 years old??

Older bike is more likely to have a much narrower range of gears which could make hills a struggle at 110kg. A newer bike with a wider gear range might be kinder on your knees and give you more scope for some longer rides.

traco

Cheers - so consensus is newer then and I'm OK with that. Any opinions on this. Reviews are OK ish but at the discounted price it might be a good starter?? Components are at the entry level but perhaps good enough to start on and if its for me move up if not then its not a fortune to have for random use.
http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3286&g=906241&p=913512&awc=6411_1495375627_490b9c82153e70740ac76ce71cf21392&utm_source=Affiliate_Window&utm_medium=Discount+Code&utm_campaign=118327

TooObvious

Hey Traco,

For what it's worth, any post 1990 (or thereabouts) frame should have 130mm rear dropout spacing, this is the same as modern bikes and thus you could use any modern gruppo on it. I've seen a few Reynolds 531 and 531c frames on adverts lately and they are all in and around the €200 mark.

They ride great and like a previous poster has said, won't lose value to the extent a modern aluminium frame might.

All that said - I'd never park mine outside a train station...

Cee-Jay-Cee

I think for your budget you'd be better off going second hand/used. You'll get a much better spec bike for your money. €450 will get you a 2 or 3 year old bike which would have cost closer to
€1000 when new. Find out your ideal size and keep an eye on the classifieds.

archer22

Would you get much or any average speed difference between a quality 80s bike and a modern bike.
I ride a good 80s steel bike, but the modern bikes look to have bigger stiffer frames.

traco

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I think for your budget you'd be better off going second hand/used. You'll get a much better spec bike for your money. €450 will get you a 2 or 3 year old bike which would have cost closer to
€1000 when new. Find out your ideal size and keep an eye on the classifieds.

Seems like a good idea. The main reason I was old steel was in the hope it might be possible to leave it locked and not have to worry about some scrote robbing it but that appears to an impossibility.

I reckon its a 58-60 I will need, must try a few and see whats comfy.

benneca1

Within reason the type of bike has very little influence on your speed. If you buy an older bike you will have a more limited low gear range and you will be killed on the hills as you will not have a sufficiently low gear and you will burn. Modern bikes with compact chain sets and long/ medium cage dérailleurs with wide range cassettes will allow you to spin up all bar the steepest of hills. To be honest the bike you posted looks fine to start but id say you need a 58 or 60 frame if you are 6 4. Other thing to consider is that you are a big lad so make sure you get a decent set of wheels if you are 110 Kgs cheap badly put together wheels last no time under you. Id go onto wiggle or the likes and get a rear wheel built with 32 spokes you can keep it if you sell the bike on but until you get to sub 95 Kg at least you wheels will stay under you.

traco

benneca1 wrote: »

Other thing to consider is that you are a big lad so make sure you get a decent set of wheels if you are 110 Kgs cheap badly put together wheels last no time under you. Id go onto wiggle or the likes and get a rear wheel built with 32 spokes you can keep it if you sell the bike on but until you get to sub 95 Kg at least you wheels will stay under you.

Cheers - I think?!?!?!

Never thought about the durability of the wheels to be honest. 95Kg is highly unlikely to happen, sub 100kg is a challenge. I like throwing brabells around too much to become a serious road cyclist.

However the cyclocross stuff does catch my eye especially as races seem sub 60 mins. The CX bikes are all pricey though and too big a step at the moment I reckon.

cdaly_

benneca1 wrote: »

Within reason the type of bike has very little influence on your speed. If you buy an older bike you will have a more limited low gear range and you will be killed on the hills as you will not have a sufficiently low gear and you will burn. Modern bikes with compact chain sets and long/ medium cage d?railleurs with wide range cassettes will allow you to spin up all bar the steepest of hills.

There were long cage rear derailleurs and low gear ranges available when I started out back in the '70s too. Still available...

Chuchote

If it's possible for you, don't forget that the Bike-to-Work scheme can cut the cost of the bike by half

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money_and_tax/tax/income_tax_credits_and_reliefs/cycle_to_work_scheme.html

Get a really good lock/s if you're going to leave the bike at Dart stations, etc, and use a good locking method - eg a Kryptonite U-lock through the back wheel inside the frame and another lock holding the front wheel to the frame.

One possibility (though not if you're going the Bike-to-Work way, as that only covers new bikes) is that you could get a good old steel frame (eg Dawes 531 tourer) and then put new wheels, groupset, etc on it to make it as light as a modern bike, but not as attractive to our foxy light-fingered friends.

To give you an idea of weight, an old Dawes women's model with its original heavy wheels, handlebars and so on is 20kg, where a modern bike the same size is around 11kg.

Miklos

traco wrote: »

I reckon its a 58-60 I will need, must try a few and see whats comfy.

I'm 6ft2 and ride 58 so you'd definitely want to be looking at 60. There's a benefit to that in the second hand market, not so many buyers looking for that size frame so you have a bit of bargaining power.

traco

Well after a bit of tyre kicking, visit to a few bike shops. Lots of time on DD and adverts I went for a newer hybrid. It's nothing special but thought it a good starting point for a small outlay. So bike (used Felt QX65), new lock, new marathon plus tyres and tubes and a good clean up I'm on two wheels for just over €220 lids.

Hopefully get a decent spin over the weekend and find any other bits that need tweaking etc. So let's see if this was a daft idea that will gather dust or become a regular use item locally and maybe develop into something more.