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OldRoads.com
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| The world of vintage lighweight's has a new web site. This one dedicated to the brand Malvern Star, the largest Australian bicycle manufacturer for the most part of the 20th century and the bike ridden by Hubert Opperman and four times World Champion Sid Patterson. You can find the site at: http://www.ctuc.asn.au/bicycle/MalvernStar/index.htm#top Malvern Star's top line racer from 1939 through to the 1960s was their "Five Star" which has its own section and Gallery on the new site. With the world's best current road and track racers about to descend on Australia for a well known sporting meet, the new web site is worth checking out. |
| I have a 1970 Peugot racer. It was my main mode of tranportation in the 1070's. So it is well cared for, but I've been given various estimates of value. I'm told it is a model U08. It's a men's, white with decals and no leather material on the bike. Any suggestions? |
| The UO-8 was the bottom of the Peugeot 10-speed line in the 70s. The frame is plain steel, although the lugs are fairly fancy, with rectangular cut-outs. They were imported in large numbers as Americans began looking to lighter European bikes as an alternative to heavier U.S. bikes. My opinion is that the UO-8 is not collectable because they were imported in such large numbers, and because it is bottom of the line. Nonetheless, it can be a fine bike for commuting or short club rides. I'd keep it and enjoy it. My shot in the dark estimate would be about $50 if it's complete and in very good condition, perhaps slightly more if it's truly mint. They show up at garage sales for about $20. |
| Both personal experience and consultation with one of my trusted local bike shops confirm that chainstays are the Peugeot frame weak spot. I recently scrapped my 1973 U-08 frame (after salvaging my rare French-threaded Sugino BB cups, etc.) when I discovered a crack in the right chainstay, between the chainwheel and rear tyre dimples. Before spending too much money to fix up the bike, make sure its chainstays are in good shape, and make sure you can get any French-threaded replacement parts you need. By the way, the U-08 isn't bad. I rode mine for several years after I broke the seat tube lug off the bottom bracket shell on my 1970 Nishiki Competition. Although the Nishiki had Ishiwata double-butted CrMo on the main triangle, the Peugeot was equally light and comfortable, and superior on climbs and sprints. To me, the worst aspects of the U-08 frame are the absurdly long front brake reach and the now- obsolete French headset and BB threading. With my retrofits of aluminum cranks, rims, and handlebars and SunTour derailleurs and shift levers, mine was quite a nice ride. (Lacking Sergei Rachmaninov's finger length, I also had to replace the original Mafac brake handles with Weinmanns, for my own safety.) |
| I've got a confession. In an effort to make more space for better bikes, I recently threw away a not-too-bad UO-8 after stripping some of the parts. Please forgive me. |
| Absolvo. Go and strip no more. |
| My cousin from Maui is going to give his Motobecane Grand Touring. The frame is too big for my little 5 ft. 4 inch body. I'm planning on trading it for a used Bridgestone 3000. The Bridgestone needs lots of work. It has the old Biopace crankset which I plan to replace. The rest of the components are Shimano 600 SIS series. The frame is made from aluminum. Do you guys have any suggestions. |
| All things being equal, a Bridgestone that fits is better than a Motobecane that doesn't. I've never used Biopace cranks, but I guess theres a reason why they don't make them now. A decent crank can run $150 ish or more new. Also, if a derailleur works, there's no reason to replace it. If you like good parts, you can find better, though. Bridgestones made good reliable frames, so it's worth improving the bike for. |
| I read an article once that attributed knee pain to the elliptical Biopace chain rings. I see guys buying them just because they are not made anymore. |
| Sheldon Brown has an article on Biopace at his Harris site -- www.sheldonbrown.com. I've heard of the knee problem theory, but I've ridden a fair number of miles on a late 80s Trek that has Biopace, without any knee soreness. A pro coach once explained to me that the reason they don't work as promised (it never led to breaking any records, a true test of efficiency) is that the body cannot change pace with the crank at the kind of rpms at which most riders ride (70-90). Sheldon Brown extols them at low rpms for climbing. The 600 SIS was one of the first reliable index systems, although personally I don't like index. I also favor steel over aluminum for a frame material. |
| If the cranks are in good condition, you need replace only the rings, not the entire crankset. However, older aluminum cranks can eventually fail, so a new crankset may still be a wise investment. |
| I was wondering if some one can help me date a nice, original Legnano which I just picked up at a garage sale this weekend. I suspect mid 60's. Bike is all original as far as I can tell with the exception of tires, saddle and grips. Color: classic Legnano green w/ white panels, gold piping at lugs and red box striping and panel at brand name. Chrome head lugs, fork crown, lower half and chain stays. Forward-facing seat binder w/ drilling for rear brake hanger at seat lug. Chrome campy early Grand Sport Rear derailleur, push rod chrome and alloy early NR (?) front derailleur, Tipo hubs w/ unlabeled 27" alloy rims. Weinman 601 brakes and levers. Unlabeled chrome brazed stem w/ vertical binder bolt and lugged styling. Unlabeled bar - not sure if it is alloy. Didn't check serial number. Famous Roman Soldier head badge. |
| Nice find, Brian! The push-rod front derailleur is a Gran Sport. The Gran Sport rear was produced from 1951 to 1963. The parallelogram Campag. Record front derailleur was introduced in 1960. By the way, does it have cottered or aluminum cranks? If they are steel (and probably half-step geared), the bike is definitely late 1950s or very early 1960s, which I suspect from the derailleurs. Check that front derailleur for bushing wear; mine had so much play I had to scrap it. (Even when new, pushrod front derailleurs were suitable only for half-step gearing, anyway.) If the frame if in good shape, the bike is definitely worth either restoring or upgrading, depending on your philosophy and personal needs. (By modern standards, the frames of that era were far better than most of the drivetrain components.) Ciao! |
| Crank looks like newer alloy - ungrooved campy with little obvious wear, winged shield logo, 52/42 (Grand Sport?). Pedals appear to be Record with white Binda straps. Plan is to save all components as found, have wheels tensioned and trued, run Campy record with Rally cage on rear, or possibly Sun Tour Cyclone, Simplex triple changer on Front, and some sort of triple crank, probably decent Shimano (the shame!). Gotta do clipless. Might remove brakes and go for Mafacs, which I like a lot, are cheap and in relatively good supply. Will also do Sun Tour ratchet bar-cons, which I have on most of my bikes - just can't get into the down tube shifters in heavy traffic. For that reason as well, I will ride clipless, in spite of what Grant P. has to say. |
| You found a Legnano at a garage sale? Very good! My word, very good old boy. Be sure to keep the parts you take off of it. |
| CR; Also got a complete, although weather beaten, Zeus and a Raleigh Gran Sport at Salvation Army. Zeus was a great rain bike but is now for sale. Gran Sport has been through a couple of variations, non quite satisfying and is currently in transition. Find some interesting things dumpster diving. Just found an abandoned and complete "Bugati" - cheap factory bike from Italy back when factory meant a bunch of guys standing in a line hacking and brazing as fast as they could. Incredibly sloppy workmanship, but neat lines, cool lugs, chrome and a great color scheme (white with brilliant blue panels. Probably late 50's or early 70's. New rain bike to replace the Zeus which was a tad too tall. B |
| The 52/42 crankset is post-1967, when Campy changed from the 151mm BCD to 144. How about using a Campy RacingT crankset, if you want/need a triple? It costs very little more than a Shimano triple, and is probably more reliable. |
| Lots of good resources for good condition, decent used 110/74 mountain bike triple cranks for a pittance - not so with Campy. Most of the cranks on my bikes are actually scrounged from abandoned junkers and polished up. Triples help me bail when my aging knees can't deal with Seattle hills. |
| Hi! I recently came into the possesion/custody of an old Ideor Super, probably late 50's/Early 60's... the (entirely chromed) frame is somewhat rusty and it was the victim of a 3 speed conversion (actually, a SA 4 speed) back in the day... but I'm just getting started work on doing some restoration. Any idea where I might find more info about Ideors? thanks! Tim |
| Nice find, Tim! (I love old Italian steel frames.) I have seen only a couple of Ideors over the years, and both were very decent road bikes. Authentic period components would probably be similar to those on a Bianchi Specialissima: Universal brakes with gum rubber hooded levers, Campag. Gran Sport or Record derailleurs, clamp-on Campag. downtube shifters, Campag. Record high-flange hubs, tensioned leather saddle, such as Brooks or Ideale, Agrati cottered steel cranks or Campag. aluminum cranks, depending on the year of production. Your best bet may be to find another old road bike of a lesser pedigree, to use as a parts donor, or to build it up with more modern equipment. Scrounging and paying for the authentic components you need for a "proper" restoration could take alot of time and money. |
| I saw a japanese 10 speed from the 70's called a REX criterium, (at first I thought it said centurion) at a secomd hand store. One of the things that interested me was a seat tube sticker that said araya 653 tubing (sort of like the 531 plain guage decal for reynolds).I have seen this sticker before but have never seen it in any of the books I have from the seventies. It also had unusal seat stays that were very rectangular and flat. Was this made by one of the japanese companies, like nishiki, fuji, panasonic or centurion. |
| How much did the second-hand store sell the bike for? |
| The rex criteriumwas around $40 at a local thrift store. O ther than the frame, (it looked weather and grayed) the components were average sugino and suntour. |
| I have what appears to be an English track bike from 1905 or thereabouts with the name "The James" barely legible on the down tube, with another badly faded emblem on the seat tube with a golden crown (looks as though it is a king's crown) just above it. Mostly all BSA components that I can see, the racer is painted black and deep maroon red. Sorry I cannot be more specific, but can anyone shed some light on this ?? It is a very handsome bike, and is something special, as the workmanship is solid, so I would be grateful for any assistance. Thank you. Please reply directly to my email address if possible, as I do not check the posts as often as I would like. |
| I have just been given a lightweight road bike by my cousin. While they lived on an Army Post in California, my cousin came across a road bike that his neighbor was going to throw away. The road bike has a chro-moly frame. On the seat tube there is a decal that reads, "LeMans". There is also a solid yellow figure that looks either like a pidgeon or dove. The rear derailleur is a SunTour VX. The front derailleur is a SunTour V. The seat post and handle bar is made by Sakae. The crankset is 52/42 Sugino chainrings. the cranks are made by Maxy. On the fork, there is a decal that reads, "Constructed by Miyata". On the Headtube there is a decal with that yellow pidgeon or dove. Underneath it reads, "Miyata". The bike is a ten-speed bike with aluminum rims, Sunshine hubs, and 700x25c wheels. Can you tell more about the bike? As far as the quality at that time and the year manufactured? Also, is it an entry level bike? No one in Hawaii knows anything about this bike. It seems like a good bike. In fact, I was at this bike shop where they sell used parts. I found a Shimano Dura-Ace rear derailleur that seems to be made about the same time my bike was made. I bought the Dura-Ace and put it on my bike. Man, what a difference! Gary A. Flores |
| Miyata is the Japanese equivalent of Schwinn or Raleigh. They purport to have made the first bicycle in Japan, for the crown prince, sometime in the late 1890s. They make a broad range of bikes, from city bikes to racing machines. They pioneered the use of triple butted, splined tubing. Miyata draws its own tubing. My wife has a top end Dura-Ace/600-equiped Miyata Pro, and the workmanship and finish are as good as any I've seen. Your bike sounds more mid-range from the components -- worth keeping and riding, but not a "collectable" bike. last I checked Miyata had its own website the details of the history. |
| It sounds like a pretty typical low-to-mid level Japanese bike, Gary. If the original freewheel is a 5-speed, is probably from the 1970s; 6-speeds, though available in the early 1960s, did not become standard on production bikes until the early 1980s. Maxi was a lower-level Sugino crankset that I would replace, for safety reasons. The frame is probably CrMo on the main tubes only. The bike would make a great commuter or general-purpose beater, but it is not a collectible. |
| I totaly agree -- it's worth cleaning and overhauling, and if it fits you, enjoy riding it. Don't sink lots of money into it or expect more than $50 or so if you sell it. |
| This follows a message of 7-24: I bought this bike from a bike shop, on consignment from the original owner, for Cdn $200. The bike is all original, even the tires. The owner bought it just after the war to ride around Europe, but he must not have gone far or used it much since. Mr C. Robin gave some info, I hope he will give some more. The bike has original tires, fenders, battery operated (fake oil) lamp, Lycett vinyl seat, alloy rims, 3 speed S-A hub, and drop bars. There is no rust, and the paint is in excellent shape. The only things it needs are cables & housing, and new bar tape (cloth tape, I guess?). It is 531, and the 531 label looks nothing like any of the ones i've seen on newer bikes. Anything I should know about this bike. How rare, what value? I think its a keeper for me, its way too cool and unusual to let go of. Thanks to anyone for any info. |
| Give yourself a pat on the back.You did ok! I sit here, going "OOHH, A CLUBMAN!" I can send you some diagrams free, but I need your address, so please e-mail me. Does this have wing nuts on the front and /or rear wheel. Those nuts go for 150.00 a pair and the front R wing nuts are sought after. You have a club machine and to find one in good shape, from the origonal owner, with the origonal alloy rims and drop bars is good luck. This has not been bothered with and is intact, nobody switched parts or altered it! Great find, a definite keeper, a light delightful little bicycle. I am envious but wish you many wonderful evening rides. Do not leave it out of your sight but if you do, then invest in a Kryptonite "New York Lock" The 531 decal went thru some changes, you have an earlier one. Questions: What color is the bike, frame size, is the rear 3 speed hub an alloy shell?" it will say alloy if so" wing nuts or not? does this have Blumels plastic(celuloid) fenders? If so be careful with them nothing is so sickening as to have one get broken. The light is cool, and sought after piece. These spokes may be Raleigh's own stainless steel spokes. The rims should say Dunlop special stainless steel alloy or Dunlop 26 X 1 1/4 lightweight. You can ride with your head held up high and with the best of us here and welcome to a elite bunch of bike folk. |
| Wow, I am a part of the elite bike collectors club now. Very cool. The bike does have the wing nuts, all four, in very good condition. It is a light green colour (a few small places the paint is flaked to a black undercoat, but the paint is generally EXCELLENT). It is the 22 inch frame. Not sure, but I think the hub is alloy (I am not with the bike right now). They are the fenders of which you speak, with Raleigh emblem on the rear. Rims are Dunlop 'lightweight'. THANKS FOR THE INFO! |
| If you e- mail me your postal address, I can send you some diagrams and some literature You would like. Free. Some of these are in the resources section here on old roads. You have been blessed with good, classic, collectible, bike fortune or luck. Good bike Karma. Do not go jumping kerbs or lend it to some-body ever. Now when someone like me asks to buy it from you you have to do the following: ask "How Much?" and then no matter what I say, you say "No!" and then you tighten up your grip on the handlebars and you look at me like I'm from another planet) you should act like you will be buried with the bike. This is how people act when I see them on this class of machine (bike) and I politely let them know I would be interested in buying it. Practice saying "No!" and "This is a Raleigh Clubman, Are you kidding?" This one teenage kid told me in amused disbelief that "absolutly not, My dad toured five states on this bike" You need not be rude or snobby just firm. Say good day and keep riding. |
| Wher can you get wider 27" tires? Most that I see are 27 x 1 1/4. I would like to run some wider ones. Any help appreciated. Thanks |
| 27" are becoming rare because of the trend to 700C. Cheng Shin used to make a 27x1.75 blackwall. You might have to hit all the older bike shops to see what they have in their back rooms. Good luck, Mike |
| I recently found some decent 27 x 1-3/8 knobbies, suitable for cyclocross and multitrack trails, at my local Schwinn shop. In fact, they are the only ones with a full line of 27 x 1 to 27 x 1-3/8 tyres. |
| Well, I guess I should have let my fingers do the walking. I called the oldest bike shop here and they keep 27" x 1 3/8 knobbies in stock. Picked up a set and some other stuff. They should work well for our dirt road. |
| I hope these are a pretty fast tire I only put one of these on the bike, on the rear. These are recent, I have never seen these before. At any Schwinn Shop. |
| I doubt this qualifies as "vintage", but I just found a Motobecane Mirage at a local thrift store for $7.17 in great looking shape but needing tires. WHY I didn't buy it is still beyond me. I'm more into older Schwinns (Stingray, middleweights, etc) and know nothing about a French bike, but it sure looked like a nice rider. As far as a value, there was one on eBay under completed auctions for $51. (Not that this is a "What's it worth" post, but it is interesting to know how much of a deal it might be). Is the Mirage a bottom end kind of bike? I may just zoom back and pick it up for a rider! Any input is appreciated! |
| Okay, here's the update: I was only dumb for a short time... the bike is now mine! I'm not so concerned about the value anymore because this looks like it's going to be a nice rider. Still curious, but no big deal. Any ideas as to how to figure out the year it was made? I'll be doing some research of course on my own but any input would be great! Now I'm off to do some cleaning........ |
| Smart buy, Adam! I am not certain, but I believe the Mirage is a low-to-midgrade model, but from a very reputable manufacturer. If the bike is from the 1970s, it will have a 5-speed freewheel and French-threaded bottom bracket (both cups unscrew anticlockwise, as on Italian BBs). If it is from the 1980s, it will probably have a 6-speed freewheel and Swiss-threaded BB (fixed cup unscrews clockwise, as on British BBs). It should be a splendid commuter and general transportation bike. If you need French-diameter or French- threaded components, contact sheldonbrown.com. I commuted for several years on a 1973 Peugeot U-08, until I cracked a chainstay this year. Enjoy the ride! |
| Thanks for the info John! Late last night I was doing some cleaning on the bike and noticed a stamping on the hubs. The back said 'NORMANDY' M 05 77, and the front says 'NORMANDY' M 07 77. So I'm going to assume that it's a 1977... I had no idea that the bike was that old, it's in pretty good shape. It does have the 5-speed freewheel so that all fits together. I'm looking forward to riding it! |
| Be careful if you ever decide to unscrew the fixed BB cup, Adam. I am not sure in which year Motobecane changed from RH to LH threads. My wife's 1974 Peugeot is French-threaded, whereas my 1980 Peugeot is Swiss-threaded. Your apparent build date falls in the transition era. I hope you enjoy the ride. (Personally, I really like these old European road frames.) |
| Adam: About a week ago I found a Motobecane Super Mirage at a police bike auction. It is in pretty good shape but needs some work and parts. Have you found out anymore about these bikes? |
| Larry, About all I've found out is what's right here. Any time I do a web search I end up with a few classifieds and some motorcycle links. I need to give the bike a tune up, brake cables, etc. I'm starting to feel guilty because I haven't ridden it yet! Sorry I wasn't much help. |
| Sorry Larry... you're Larry, I'm Adam (I put your name where my name was supposed to be)! Duh Adam! |
| I'm probably going to drop the bucks and get something completely new before long. I'm sticking with lugged steel, however. Any recommendations? I currently favor Waterford, Rivendell is beautiful but pricey, and I don't have a feel for any of new products offered under the older names. Mercian still makes 531 frames -- many of the same models as 30 years ago -- do they still hearth braze? Are names like Cinelli and Bob Jackson still worth considering (I've heard negatives about both). I see a lot of less expensive Italian steel imported -- any names stand out as great, or to avoid? (there's a website that carries a lot of them, and I see the Tommasini in Colorado cyclist). The last Colnago I looked at was not so good -- I like to look into the bottom bracket shell and see the mitering -- the tubes ends were not clean -- they were downright ragged. And the chrome lugs that looked great from 10 feet had noticable tool marks on them. I also know there's lots of one-man operations -- any favorites there? The bike would be used for fast club rides and centuries. Gimme some ideas, please! |
| Naturally, I share your preference for lugged steel frames. If I were in your position, I would look for a nice late 1980s or early 1990s frame, preferably with English or Italian BB threads, and outfit it with a personal mix of newer and older components. If you insist on a new frame, do consider Rivendell. I saw one last month, and it was gorgeous, including the gold-trimmed British racing green paint job and impeccable lugwork. |
| Waterford makes beautiful frames, as does Rivendell. You would do well with either frame. I cannot comment on new frames from some of the "old" names, but if you are in the US it may be easier to get service from a US builder than a frame builder overseas. I did hear that Bob Jackson at one point had sold his name and other people were building Bob Jackson frames and he got frustrated with the poor quality and bought back the name and is once again making his own frames. Of course, if you look around there are high quality used road frames dirt cheap-I bought a British Knight bicycle a few years ago for $140 complete with full Campy Nuovo Record components. Put another $150 into it in repairs and repainting by the original frame builder (Knight Cycles is in Wolverhampton, England, and don't do many road frames anymore). So for less than $300 I have a handbuilt high quality full Reynolds 531 bike. Granted a new Rivendell or Waterford with more modern oversize tubing would probably be a bit lighter, efficient, and comfortable, but there's quite a difference in price! If you can test ride the bikes and look at them, this might help your decision making process, but be cautious because the difference in components can make a big difference in the feel of the bike. Good luck. |
| Anyone out there know how the Peugeot Competition ranks among the lineup of old Peugeot bikes, particularly the PX-10? Neither the Peugeot website nor PX-10 website have any info on the Comp. Thanks, Mike |
| Via sheldonbrown.com, check Russ Fitzgerald's Peugeot PX-10 website. My Peugeot Competition, a 1980 PKN-10E, has d.b. Reynolds 531 tubing in the main triangle only, unlike the costlier and more valuable full-Reynolds PX-10. It's a very comfortable commuting and long distance touring machine, with enough clearance for 27 x 1-1/8 or 700C x 30mm tyres, but the frame is a bit soft for optimal sprinting or climbing. (At the risk of offending the Francophiles, I replaced the Peugeot/Simplex rear derailleur with a SunTour Cyclone.) I really like the frame, although the Swiss BB threading restricts one's crank replacement/upgrade options. |
| Here and elsewhere John has suggested upgrading the components on better vintage machines. Purists may howl, but if it's not a mint rare collectable, and you plan on riding it a lot, and you're absolutely set on going "modern," then I agree (though not wholeheartedly, I really love the old friction equipment). I recently worked on a friend's early 70s PX-10. He upgraded to Campy triple, with indexed bar cons -- it's a great bike, and still has a lot of retro character, but he loves the way the new stuff works (to each his own -- I'm fine with the old Nouvo Record stuff). He even added the 7-speed Sachs freewheel, as John has suggested. |
| Hi Keith, By the way, I use friction downtube shifters (Campy are still my all-time favourites) on my three road bikes and SunTour thumb levers in friction mode on my mountain bike. I convert older bikes to 7-speed freewheels and/or triple chainwheels, because I cannot get both the gear range and the close-ratio spacing I want with a 2x5 setup. The higher the quality of the original components, the less likely I am to make changes. An overlooked, but vital, classic bicycle issue is safety. Having broken two cranks (as well as two rear axles, three frames, and a hub flange) while cycling, and having read Sheldon Brown's warning regarding French AVA stems and handlebars, I now replace old cranks, handlebars, and stems as part of my regular preventive maintenance. All the best, JAE |
| Does anyone know the value of a never riden nishiki linear |
| I'm not familiar with the Linear model, but would restate the general proposition that the garden variety Japanese bikes of the 70s and 80s -- Fuji, Panasonic, Nishiki, etc. -- are neither rare nor collectable, even in mint condition. If it's equiped with generic friction shift Suntour V or equivalent Shimano (unless it's early Shimano Dura Ace), then it's not worth much -- $20 to $50. Exceptions would be full-blown touring bikes with cantelever brakes, or the very top-end models made by those manufacturers. And even the top-end models are not valued as much as their European counterparts. But they are well-made bikes and worth fixing up to ride. |
| I picked up a Centurian 10 speed Friday at a local thrift store for just over 5.00. Alloy rims,hubs,bars,campy brakes, ect. Pretty clean really. Where can i get some general info on it. Looking for your comments. Thanks Robert |
| If I'm not mistaken there is with Centurion bicycles a company lineage that connects them with the Diamnondback company. There is some historical interest with these bikes for people who are interested in Diamondbacks. There is a Nervex lugged version of this bike which I believe is the high end Centurion. |
| Robert: I have a Centurion Iron Man, Dave Scott edition bike. If you go to my website, it is described in the "various makes gallery". The site URL is: "http://members.tripod.com/'fredhaj/index.html". Note; the character after com/ is a tilde which unfortunately displays here as a single quote '. Get back to me after you look at my bike and do follow up on the links in the writeup. |
| Thanks for the info!!! Robert |