Second hand classic or new bike?

tenbar

What are the views from the forum users on buying new versus buying second hand when it comes to a quality bike. Now I know technology has moved on in terms of frame materials but I don't believe there have been any other major changes in the last 10 - 15 years. So, being purely hypothetical, if you had £2000 in your pocket to spend on a bike, would you consider a second hand classic loaded with compagnolo such as a colnago (I'm talking about a bike less than 10 years old) and put the change into something else, or would you always go for new? Apart from the " I've got a new bike" factor, I can't see past getting something in good nick that used to cost a fortune for a knock down, used price.
let's have your thoughts
tenbar

graham_g

There are some lovely lightweight steel frames out there which would be great built up with modern components. One of the off-putting factors for me is the whole quill stem thing now that bars/stems are largely 31mm, no-one wants to be using an adaptor on their best bike. As for equipment, most folk want ergo's/sti's so see a lot of the older kit as obsolete.
If you mean proper 'classics' as in collector's items, i suspect people would be less inclined to ride them given the heritage value.

McBain_v1

New bike - it's the future!
That said, I've got two bikes that pre-date 1993 so I am lucky to have a foot in both camps

Bugly

2000 quid to spend on a classic. BTW what is a classic bike? I have a 531 prof Peugot dating back to early 80s which I spent too much money on recentrly. Still the ride is still lively and teh geometry a lot more upright (and squirelly) than the more modern bike. The mid 80s record have been replaced with Campag chorus. The only original parts apart from the fork and frame is the cinelli quill stem and bars and teh seat post which I could not find a replacement for. Spent a about 800 quid on the parts and paint job,

Worth it - to me it was - had the bike a long time and always enjoyed riding it. Its not as explosive as a new carbon or Al frame but it is more fun to ride and it is uniqure.

If I was starting from scratch the money would probably go on a newer gen

Rob

Sea_Green_Incorruptible

You got a pic of that Rob? It sounds nice.

acorn_user

The major advantage of second hand is that you will be paying a lot less than 2000 pounds for the bike, most likely.

another jacko

If you are just riding for fun, so you don't 'need' a new bike to be a competitve racer, £2000 gives you lots of options.

On a road bike, other than STI/ergo shifters, there hasn't been much in the way of development that makes a significant difference to the quality/enjoyment of actually riding the bike. I would, therefore, go with the secondhand route, and there is no need to get anywhere near £2,000.

On a mountain bike it is different. There have been significant developments in suspension and drivetrain technology which can make a big difference to the fun quotient. Buy the latest and best you can afford.

I have, I guess, spent about £2,000 on bikes in the last 5 years and I now have 9. £1500 was on my full suspension MTB last year. £300 on my first MTB, which started it all off and iis now a singlespeed. The rest on 7 road bikes - a Colnago, a Moulton Duomatic, 2 Galaxies, 2 Carltons, an FW Evans and ALL the parts needed to make them nice to use. I've ridden (some of) them from Land's End to John O'Groats and to the top of Mont Ventoux, on touring holidays and in time trials.

The secret is to check out the council tip and doing favours like clearing out lapsed cyclist's garages. Some good bikes are 'ride away', for others it's buy 2 to make one good one. Don't pay more than £5 (my Colnago was £1 because the wheels were missing!) and enjoy playing in the workshop as much as you do the riding!

John.T

I would disagree that there have been no major changes in technology in the last 10 years. There has not been much in the way components work but there have been big improvements in the weight and efficiency. Gears have gone from 7sp to 10sp (11 coming up), brakes are better and the whole lot is lighter. Frames have come a long way also. I had a steel Colnargo that was a nice but heavy frame which I changed for a 2000 Trek OCLV 5000 frame. This rode much better and was a lot lighter. I now have a 2008 Trek Madone 5.2. This comes in at 1 kilo lighter than the 5000 and is more rigid but rides much more comfortable.
If you want to use the bike get a new one. If you want to look at it get a very good old one with top kit from the same period. Do not mix old with new, It is niether one or the other then.

iga

For £2k I'd buy an old and a new one!

Mithras

I've got an old 80's Vitus 979 frame and forks that I "found" in a garage in Germany in '91. I finally got around to refurbishing it. Still has shimano 105 groupset from the early 90s and down tube shifters. Bearing in mind I'm a 41 year old 14 stone plodder i love it. I did try finding some secondhand STi's but they just fetch silly money. It is twitchy but then again i ride in Lincolnshire and our roads are mainly straight and flat (well the bit i live in is)

Bugly

Sea_Green_Incorruptible wrote:

You got a pic of that Rob? It sounds nice.

here you go

acorn_user

I disagree with the previous poster. Drivetrain technology has not advanced that much (not to say that there has not been incremental progress). Nevertheless, a new groupset on a nice old frame is cool and good to ride. My team mate races a Cinelli Super Corsa with new Chorus. It's gorgeous! I ride a mid-90's frame with 05 Centaur, and that is nice too.

Sea_Green_Incorruptible

Bugly wrote:

Sea_Green_Incorruptible wrote:

You got a pic of that Rob? It sounds nice.

here you go

Nice. Peugots always seemed like a bit of an exotic option when we were kids. Whatever happened to them as bike builders? Was it 'Raleigh syndrome' that did for them in the end?

John.T

That bike would look a lot better with 1980s Campag record, Mafac racer brakes and Fiamme rims built on to Campag large flange hubs. Those wheels and cranks are just wrong. To look right an old bike should be all original. IMO you can not mix old ond new kit. If you want performance, go new. If you want retro (and I have nothing against retro) do it properly. I wish I still had my 1964 Woodrup with Mafac Racers, TA adapter set with Stronglight cranks, Campag Record and Fiamme sprints on Campag small flange hubs. But I bet it would be a bit of a dog to ride compared with my Madone 5.2.

markos1963

John.T wrote:

That bike would look a lot better with 1980s Campag record, Mafac racer brakes and Fiamme rims built on to Campag large flange hubs. Those wheels and cranks are just wrong. To look right an old bike should be all original. IMO you can not mix old ond new kit. If you want performance, go new. If you want retro (and I have nothing against retro) do it properly. I wish I still had my 1964 Woodrup with Mafac Racers, TA adapter set with Stronglight cranks, Campag Record and Fiamme sprints on Campag small flange hubs. But I bet it would be a bit of a dog to ride compared with my Madone 5.2.

Sorry but even though I like classic stuff I think that one of the joys of cycling is the ability to mix and match new and old stuff. If I could afford it I would kit out my Raleigh Record Sprint with modern Campag' Record groupset, Shamal wheels and just to round it off a carbon fork conversion. :P

John.T

Apart from aesthetics it is not always easy to fit new stuff to old frames. Rear drop-out width changed from 126mm to 130mm. Many older frames have bigger mudguard clearences so you need deeper drop brakes. By all means do it if you want to but the OP asked for our thoughts on this. Mine are that I would only go for a modern machine or a truly retro one. The modern one would get much more use though. A retro one would be trying to relive my past which could be a bit depressing.

Monty Dog

Having got bikes that date from 1983 to the modern day, the biggest change is probably in terms of the quality and durability of components. Older components are generally less well finished and typically require a lot more maintenance whereas a lot of recent stuff is fit and forget - and chuck it when it breaks. Gear shifts are slicker and quicker and brakes have gone from the downright scary to truly awesome. If you were to try to race on a 20 year old bike it would feel flexy, heavy and you'd get out-braked on the corners and dropped on the hills every time you fumbled for a gear. That said, for just cruising, a classic steelie is hard to beat - but there were many bad ones made too. If the classic style appeals, I'd buy an oldie off ebay for a grand and buy another modern bike for wet days and winter.

Bugly

:P Had campag nouvo record throughout before the paint job, including the original campag hubs with mavic rims and vittoria corsa tubs mounted, but looks aside modern mid price gears work better then 80s top range groupos, the wheels are lighter and the clincher tires are better and less hassle then tubs for most purposes.

This way I get the classic road feel with better controls.

Toonraid

I have 2 steel colnago's from the 90's as well as a 653 reynolds Ribble frame and a couple of new carbon ones from Look and Ridley. The ride is quite different the way I have set things up. For cruising I love my colnago altain which I have fitted with Ultegra 9sp groupset and hope hubs laced to open pro's on 25 tires. Having a modernish groupset makes things very convenient and practical as far as everyday use is concerned - the ride is very plush and comfy too. On the other hand on my Master Olympic I had a DA10 groupset which looked the part as it was bright alloy and went with all the chrome on the frame but the ride just didn't do it for me - not as fast as my modern carbon frames with Record groupset and not as comfy as the Altain so I took it apart and will be fitting it with corsa record groupset with 8sp downtube shifters but then it will only be used a few sundays a year as the groupset, bike etc are all collectors item and worth a fortune.

To sum up I like the idea of an old steel hack fitted with modernish ergo's for a practical training/touring/commuting bike or one set up with classic components for those summer sunday rides but for performance and racing the modern frames are far better. Bear in mind that ride characteristics are quite different for frames of same era - my Colnago altain is far superior to my Ribble 653 while being a lot cheaper than the Master Olympic which is a bit of a collectors item so pick your frame carefully.

meagain

Given that I'd always rather have 2 x 1000 quid bikes (BOTH second hand) than one 2 grand bike, seems clear to me! Can get a VERY nice "classic" (definition usually in the eye of the beholder) for significantly less than a grand (especially if don't mind d/t shifters) and a ditto 1-2 YO for 1 and a bit. And I see no harm in modern components - especially the brakes. While dual pivots are pretty rubbish compared with Vs never mind discs, even low budget ones are a lot better than top of the range single side pull. And yes modern gear stuff (8/9 speed is fine) superior to 5-6 speeders.

DavidBelcher

Sea_Green_Incorruptible wrote:

Bugly wrote:

Sea_Green_Incorruptible wrote:

You got a pic of that Rob? It sounds nice.

here you go

Nice. Peugots always seemed like a bit of an exotic option when we were kids. Whatever happened to them as bike builders? Was it 'Raleigh syndrome' that did for them in the end?

The Peugeot story has an odd end to it. Originally the bike and car makers were one and the same but the bike business was off-loaded at some point and eventually ended up as part of the Cycleurope group (including Gitane, Bianchi and others). However, the car-making arm of Peugeot kept the rights to the brand and lion logo; a few years ago it refused to grant Cycleurope permission to carry on using the Peugeot name/trademarks, and that was pretty much the end of that. I don't think they lost much in the way of sales or "brand impact" towards the end, even though Cycleurope preferred to promote Bianchi heavily as its flagship marque.

David

Bugly

@ David Sad to see a marque name go the way Peugot has. The bike above was a replica of the Peugot team issue from 1981 - 1982, hand cut and brazed. However the majority of Peugots were not as well made and were very much over priced for the build you got.

Rob