90's road bikes

GaryGkn

I have been borrowing a Peugeot Course for commuting this week. It has down tube shifters and 14 speed indexed gears. It was quite sprightly and with a good turn of speed. It got me thinking. In the 90's I saw a few steel framed bikes with 8 speed blocks, down tube shifters and steel forks. These bikes now must be either in the hands of people who have upgraded or somewhere else? I saw a LeMond today in Richmond Park which was as described above. LeMond Alpe-d'Huez was another that I remeber in orange. Are these bikes a good deal if bought on the used market? How much would one pay for a respectable example?

Or does anyone have a story about a 90's model that they would recomend.

rustychisel

Each bike is different, of course, depending on its orignal spec and its history. A nice bike which has been well looked after, not ridden much, and stored in a nice dry shed could still be a good thing. The problem is of upgrading, however. A bike of that vintage (say 14 speed with DT shifters) is likely to be a little more difficult to upgrade if that's planned. the rear wheel measurement is likely to be 126mm rather than the current 130mm - to accomodate the current 10 speed cassette. A steel frame can be widened to fit, but it's often a bit of a bodge... etc etc

GaryGkn

I see what you mean. Best thing to do would be 8 speed or 9 as it should be possible to maintain them. The rear drop outs also should be wider on these bikes at 130 and not 126. Or have I missed a trick?

rustychisel

Well, 7 or 8 speed cassette, actually, which will fit in 126mm OLN spacing (Over Lock Nuts as measured). In Shimano, for example, both 9 and 10 speed use 130mm OLN, due to slightly slimmer cogs on the 10sp. This is the current road bike standard, but who knows how wide it might get in the future... to confuse the issue, current standard for mountain bikes is 135mm OLN.

To summarise, you're likely to be able to fit up to 8 sp cassette without problem, and I've successfully used 8 cogs of a 9sp on a similar frame, using 9 sp STIs and careful adjustment to lock out one of the 'clicks'. It's a bodge. I've also spread thr frame slightly to accomodate a 9 sp but that also can cause issues.

Conclusion: yuor problem is the same as many people face. To spend the money and attempt the upgrade, or buy the current standard. I say ride it and maintain it until you love cycling so you just have to spend the money on a new bike!!!!!!!!!

PS: I think you omitted the word 'buy' between "would be" and "8 speed"....

chunkytfg

you could of coures just use 7 speed stuff.

correctly spaced 8/9 speed wheels will take a 7 speed casette and STI 7 sped levers are avaliable. The rest is pretty much not an issue as from what i can gather it's the sti levers that give the indexing and not the deraileurs

rustychisel

Correct, as mentioned, and correct. Part of the point is that things like 7 speed is now redundant and is likely to be harder and harder to come buy, even as NOS (new old stock).

fluff.

7 Speed is still widely available at the moment though, and given 5 and 6 is still easy to get I'd imagine it to remain so for a good few years yet.

portuguese mike

Can't really add much on the technical front but what i do know is that for many years i had a 90's Colnago Master Olympic (similar to a Master X light i think) which my brother now has and i built it up with campag chorus with a 9 speed block.

it's quite heavy by todays standards but it's not slow, it rides beautifuly and looks fantastic IMO, shame my brother never seems to ride it - what a waste.

Monty Dog

126mm OLN went out in the mid-1980's, when 8 speed become commonplace, so a frame from the 1990s is almost certainly going to 130mm OLN. You can find decent bikes from about £250.

acorn_user

90's stuff is great. Deep section alloy rims, chains that don't wear out in 5 minutes and nice steel frames. Campag 8 speed is quite cheap, and very good. Miche still make the cassettes, so spares aren't too bad. Campag 9 speed is better news

GaryGkn

It sounds as though a 90's frame will have 130 spacing and would probably be steel. I think 8 speed looks the best bet as you can run a standard chain. There would be little or no need to upgrade unless forced by the depletion of relative components and indeed with 130 you could go up to either 9 or 10. Down shifters could also be on offer which should keep the costs down a little.

Anyone got any specific models in mind?

DavidBelcher

acorn_user wrote:

90's stuff is great. Deep section alloy rims, chains that don't wear out in 5 minutes and nice steel frames. Campag 8 speed is quite cheap, and very good. Miche still make the cassettes, so spares aren't too bad. Campag 9 speed is better news

I think BBB also make a Campag 8sp cassette. In fact, I've a feeling that Campag themselves still make Record 8sp cassettes but they're tucked away in an obscure corner of the spares catalogue. Certainly, here in the UK they can be bought if you know where to look (Cycles Clements in Ledbury, Herefordshire, for one) - they're still selling 8sp Record cassttes and haven't mentioned any supply problems that I know of.

David

Jajacp

What about 8 speed hubs, are they still available?

DavidBelcher

Sadly not - other than trawling the S/H market, I can't think of any 8sp Campag pattern hubs (though for Shimano users, current 9/10sp freehubs of that spline type will accept 8sp Shimano cassettes), though you can still get the chains, cassettes, etc. to keep them going. I got my 8sp Record rear hub from Parkers about 6 years ago as NOS, and stocks were pretty scarce back then.

David

Jajacp

Thanks - I suspected as much. I'm runniing some 8 speed record hubs which are now so worn they are impssible to adujst properly. I don't know whethe to replace the cups and cones or take this as a cue to switch to nine speed (I've got some spare shiifters and rear mech). Cassette chain and chain rings infuriatingly are all hardly worn at all.