Good "vintage" commuter bikes - recommendations

Brian said:

Hi everyone,

What types of older bikes make good commuter bikes for daily city
travel? I was looking around on craigslist and come across many older
Schwinn and Sears bikes.

I'm looking for one with:

1. fenders
2. chainguard
3. at least 3 gears
4. upright seat/handlebars
5. rear rack for pannier
6. possibly a light (otherwise I'll add these on)

Any suggestions for cheap ways to do this?

Thanks,
Brian

Brian,

If you're looking for used bikes, your best bet is to make a list of what's
available and look at each on it's merits individually. Others may have
different views but I would avoid a "Sears" bike.

Look at your LBS (local bike shop) for deals on used bikes - some carry them
and they'll probably be able to give you advice and alternatives. New bikes
may be a better value as parts are still available and they aren't that
expensive to start. Having to replace a 30 year old set of parts may just
jack the price of that used bike to that of a new one.

All of the items you list are available as aftermarket options - don't limit
you bike choice to ones that come with those or you may end up with a less
than ideal bike.

Good luck and let us know what brands and model numbers you've found.

Cheers,
Chris

http://www.breezerbikes.com/

Well, I've been looking online at craigslist and I typically see older
Schwinn's listed...recently a "Schwinn Racer". I also saw a 70's Ross
Eurotour.

Every now and then I see a Schwinn Collegiate...

I like the Citizen...but don't think its worth $500+

In article <[email hidden]>,

Brian said:

Hi everyone,

What types of older bikes make good commuter bikes for daily city
travel? I was looking around on craigslist and come across many older
Schwinn and Sears bikes.

The short answer, in my opinion, is that almost all older (before 1985,
say) road bikes you are likely to find make good, reliable commuters as
long as they have one features: aluminum rims, as opposed to steel rims.

Here's why: all but the raciest bikes of the late 70s and early 80s had
pretty good frame clearances, which means fender mounting is possible.
Many of them will even have proper fender and rack mounts, though this
can be worked around with P-clamps or other bits of hardware.

The defining thing about aluminum ("alloy"😉 rims is that they have a
huge functional advantage over steel rims (they work in the rain), and
they were a benchmark feature that really crappy bicycles of the era
simply did not have. So any bike you find with alloy rims will probably
be a reasonable bike in other ways.

Quoted message said:

I'm looking for one with:

1. fenders
2. chainguard
3. at least 3 gears
4. upright seat/handlebars
5. rear rack for pannier
6. possibly a light (otherwise I'll add these on)

Chainguards are not easy to mount to bikes with front derailers, but
classic English 3-speeds usually don't have aluminum rims, and around
here they're less common than bike-boom 10-speeds. However, that also
satisfies your desire for an "upright" handlebar.

I do have one other evil suggestion, these:

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brake-levers-drop.html#cross
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=104&subcategory=1194&brand=&s
ku=10888&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

Those little babies are bar-top brake levers. Install them on a drop
handlebar, and you get brakes that work properly from the top of the
bars, making them just like flat bars. Neat, huh? Since this conversion
costs less than getting a flat bar and brake levers, it's pretty fun.

Quoted message said:

Any suggestions for cheap ways to do this?

The cheapest way is always garage sales, but it takes patience. If I was
still fully committed to the garage-sale lifestyle, I could probably
pick up a good 70s vintage commuter-grade bike every month, and the
going rate is $10 around here. The expensive, fast way is a used bike
specialist, where you might get charged $100 for the same bike, but it
will be in known working condition, and might even come with the fenders
and rack already.

In my experience, thrift stores and Value Villages are a perfect storm
of excessive prices and terrible machinery: the land of steel-wheeled
bicycles with $25 price tags. There must be rare exceptions to this, but
I don't seem to see them.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

Quoted message said:

The cheapest way is always garage sales, but it takes patience. If I was
still fully committed to the garage-sale lifestyle, I could probably
pick up a good 70s vintage commuter-grade bike every month, and the
going rate is $10 around here.

You might go to http://www.freecycle.org click down to your region, and
ask to join your local group. Then offer to give something to give
away and look for or ask for a bicycle.

Hey Ryan,

Thanks for the constructive information. It was right on the money.

I have a feeling, however, that many of the owners of cheapo bikes may
not know whether or not their bikes rims are aluminum or steel. I was
planning to buy a older bike that was ready to ride for about 100 bucks
as in the NYC are that seems to be the going rate. I was currently
looking online at a :

1. Old Green Schwinn Collegiate $100
2. Vintage Fugi "Bedford" Cruiser $120
3. 70's Ross Eurotour - $125

Of course, I'll test ride them..etc. Do any of these seem like decent
buys given that I'm not interested in doing lots of work to them?

Brian

I guess what I really wanted to know was a few brands that were well
designed and rugged enough for riding about 5 miles every day in the
city.

Advice like...never buy an old (_____) model while the 70's (____)
models were built to last..... That would be helpful... Also, which
ones would be easier to get fixed if something goes wrong...

Brian said:

I guess what I really wanted to know was a few brands that were well
designed and rugged enough for riding about 5 miles every day in the
city.

I'd recommend something lightweight and with an upright sitting position
by any popular brand. These bikes will last forever with minimal
maintenance. Don't buy more than you need. 5 miles isn't a long ride.
You may even be able to find something suitable at your local Goodwill
store.

-Bill H.

Brian said:

I guess what I really wanted to know was a few brands that were well
designed and rugged enough for riding about 5 miles every day in the
city.

Advice like...never buy an old (_____) model while the 70's (____)
models were built to last..... That would be helpful... Also, which
ones would be easier to get fixed if something goes wrong...

It depends on what a 70's bike has been doing for 30 years, they fall
into two groups, one is that someone has been riding it fairly regular,
now they can't ride it anymore. Things that probably need work,
headset, bottom bracket, chain, freewheel cogs, hubs. Second it has been
in the garage since 1980. Things that probably need work, tires, tubes,
cables, chain, wheels need truing. The rims could be steel, and steel
ones should be replaced with aluminum. Watch out for rust in either case.

Any name brand from the 70's is okay, the 80's saw the first Japanese
bikes that were designed well, some are makes that are not seen much
anymore, there may be some nice deals around now on some of those. I
think the '10s will be the same for Chinese made bikes. You need to be
careful though, one you buy at a LBS will be in reasonable condition,
one you buy out of the classifieds may need more work then it's worth.

W