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Advice on vintage bike shopping

3K views 22 replies 10 participants last post by  hfc 
#1 ·
Hello all,

I'm in the market for a vintage bike. The bug for vintage has never really bitten in my 20+ years of riding, but I'm considering riding L'Eroica next year. I started shopping around a little and I'm getting into it!

Anyway I'm eyeballing a couple of bikes on flea bay. Ideally I would love to stumble on a $50 Colnago frame at a yard sale and build it up from there, but I'm not holding out for that miracle. Both of these bikes are a little outside of what I was hoping to spend, which was about 1K but not having any experience in the vintage market, that might be unrealistic.

Bike #1 Colnago - I think this is a Superissimo based on the SLX tubing, looks like Super Record gruppo to me. Downtick on the 105 brake levers, those would have to be replaced/ Upcheck on panto features on the components.

1987 59cm Colnago Team Custom Build Columbus SLX Steel Road Bike w Full Campy | eBay _trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Bike #2 Tomassini Super Prestige - Looks like a C-Record Delta gruppo to me. The Delta brakes are a big plus, but not real excited about the wheels. Not excited about tubulars on the other bike either though.

Tommasini Road Bike Made in Italy Super Prestige Campagnolo Groupo | eBay

I have a soft spot for Colnago as I own an E1 and C40, but my sense is the pricing on the Tomassini is more fair. Also my wild guess is the Tomassini is an '89 or '90 and I'm not sure if that would fly for L'Eroica.

Thoughts, opinions? Let 'er rip!
 
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#2 · (Edited)
I did Eroica in 2013, and had a blast. A couple of thoughts about the rules and the bikes.

Yes, the organizers will look at you bike. They like them to be built prior to 1987, but what they are primarly looking for is whether the bike meets the "spirit" of the rules. The "must haves" are lugged steel, downtube shifters, quilll stem, clip and strap pedals, non-low spoke count wheels (i.e. 32 or 36 spoke), and non-aero brake levers. No updating with carbon forks. So the fact that the Colnago has 105 brake levers isn't a deal breaker because you will have to swap those out anyway to do Eroica.

The other option is to rent a bike in Italy - the organizers of Eroica can arrange for this. We had some folks in our group who opted to do this, with mixed results. The bikes are mostly mid-level Italian bikes from the '70s and '80s. No Colnagos, etc. Varying states of "preservation." One guy got a real dud, while the others loved their bikes. YMMV.
 
#5 ·
Delta brakes may or may not be a plus.
They work extremely well if set up right but very few mechanics can do that.
I would not take them on L'Eroica, they are a pain to clean up after a messy ride, pads are hard to find, the cable is annoyingly difficult to adjust.
Colnago vs Tommasini: all I got to say is Colnago outsourced a lot, as far as I know Tommasini almost never.
 
#6 ·
I'm a bit surprised if you've been riding for 20+ years you aren't already in possession of "classic" or "vintage" bikes. It seems is if mine has turned vintage without even trying.

I suppose the ultimate choice of a bike is up to you. I think of the "classic" look as being solid color, but those bikes you picked out look quite nice.

If you're considering a race that is a year in the future, you have a lot of time to hunt for the perfect bike. If you expand your search to 100 miles away, you should be able to get to the DC area where a lot of OLD bikes should show up on Craigslist for under $1K.

A vintage Italian bike would be nice for an Italian race, but I'm sure the race showcases classic bikes from around the world.

Quickly browsing some of the DC bikes, here are some that looked interesting.
Classic Casati Road Bike
Rare Vitus Bike
Road Bike 50cm frame
Italian Basso Coral - Columbus/Campagnolo/Carbon - 61

Oh, and a Bianchi in Charlottesville.
https://charlottesville.craigslist.org/bik/4702204357.html

You might have to change around a few components, but if you save $1000 off of the bike, that gives you quite a budget to play with. And, you could probably sell brifters for more than the cost of downtube shifters if you wish.

I think the Vitus had some special exceptions in the regulations for the race.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I'm a bit surprised if you've been riding for 20+ years you aren't already in possession of "classic" or "vintage" bikes. It seems is if mine has turned vintage without even trying.
LOL this post resembles me. My old 1988 Columbus SLX Battaglin (Stephen Roche World Champ decals and all) had been sitting outside (!) under my deck a few months. Was going to throw away.

Then I noticed there is a small resurgence of interest in old bikes up to the 80s. Now that new bikes look so different, with carbon and aero and hollowech and such, the old ones really take on a new glow. Mine has a mix of some campy but mostly 600 and 105. So ordered up some vintage Campy Athena bits for it :thumbsup: The tubulars not holding air though, LOL
 
#7 ·
The Tommasini went with BIN within hours of my original post. It looked a little small for me anyway. The Colnago didn't sell and I sent an offer to buy off eBay but haven't heard back.

Clifford you make a good point about never having owned a vintage bike. I started out mountain biking in the late 80's and had a couple of steel MTB's but have never owned a quality steel road bike. I rode a beater steel Fuji for a year or so around 1990 before "upgrading" to an aluminum Trek 1000 which was like getting beat with an aluminum baseball bat. My 1994-95 ish C40 probably qualifies as vintage in the eyes of many, but not, of course in the eyes of L'Eroica.

Anyway, thanks for the advice. I've been keeping an eye on C-vile and Richmond CL, will expand up to DC. Time is on my side, but when I get the bike lust on I get an itchy trigger finger.
 
#8 ·
If you miss L'Eroica there is a 2 day ride in Montana in the summer with the same vintage bent. Cino Heroica. (not affiliated).

I have found that with sufficient patience an appropriate bike will turn up. Don't limit your options to one or two brands there are many. But if you want to be picky, you can always post a "Bike Wanted" ad on this and other forums. Try to hit the amateur collector crowd - those guys buy frames that don't fit and usually sell at a fair price.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Yes, look here. The frame doesn't fit pass-around game
For L'Eroica you'll need a pre '87 road bike with DT shifters. DE Rosa, Ciocc, Tommassini are some nice ones.

MAN, F'IN SPELL CHECK. JUST REALIZED HOW SCREWED UP MY POST WAS.
 
#12 ·
I scratched that itch by buying a frame and building it up with new silver Campy Athena and some custom silver wheels. Modern components, but still have the classic look.

Campy Delta brakes --- no way would I mess with those. That has to be the poorest brake design in history.
 
#13 ·
Campy Delta brakes --- no way would I mess with those. That has to be the poorest brake design in history.
I agree, but so iconic and romantic they are. I am amazed the prices they are asking for the on eBay too. Like $400-$600 or so. More than they cost new back in the day (I once had a full C-Record custom Marinoni w deltas ... stolen, sadly)
 
#20 ·
Update

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm sure all of you felt a little empty this holiday season wondering if hfc got a bike.

Well here's how it turned out, used Fleabay and got a Tommasini frame/fork. It looks like a Prestige - Columbus SL with internal top tube cable routing. Doesn't have a Prestige label but has Tommasini Racing on the chain stay and a torn up "Professional" sticker at the front of the top tube. It's in the mail (from Holland) and I'm excited to get a close look at it and try to learn more about it's pedigree.

Once I got the frame I started looking around for gruppos, wanting to stay Italian. NR and SR. groups are more expensive than I anticipated so I resolved to buy a lower quality bike with good components, then re-sell the frame. Well, Lo and behold, yesterday I get a decent deal on what looks to be a decent F Moser in my size with super record. As my closets full of bike parts and wheels will attest, I wouldn't be surprised if I end up keeping the Moser, but we'll see.

I'll post pics in another thread when the bikes are here.
 
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