Re: [CR]Vintage Bikes, skis / reliability

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From: "David Snyder" <dddd@pacbell.net>
To: "Classic Rendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <615831.25044.qm@web31806.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Vintage Bikes, skis / reliability
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:45:09 -0800
reply-type=original

I'd have to disagree with all this.

What was "ultralight" back in the day? 753 tubing? Jubilee front derailer clamps? Super-Record ti spindles? Ti axles? Aluminum freewheels? Drillium? Nylfor? Simplex? Teledyne? Viscount?

THAT stuff was not so durable.

Now that the supply pipeline has matured past 1990's CNC craziness and first-gen bonded frames, today's testing standards for feathery-light wheels, frames, forks, seatposts, cranks and bb's are, for the most part worlds better than the lightest parts from earlier times. The stuff that fails nowadays is recalled, and we hear more about it through improved communication.

Going further off-topic, a 1990's Trek OCLV frameset or bicycle, while seeming to me, now, entirely un-collectable, should be able to provide years of hard service to the guy who finds one at your yard sale in 2020, and the most current stuff should fare even better. It all comes down to testing standards and quality control, which were shortchanged by too many vendors even in the good old days but which was seemingly neglected entirely by some vendors in the '90's when major design experimentation too off.

Having said all that, I'm still very impressed with the reliability of on-topic vintage bikes and parts that I ride some 6-7k miles per year. Occasional bad batches of cheap(?) spokes, grumpy chains, suspect bb spindles and some poor decals and brake pads are about all that I care to complain about!

Some of today's very light bikes will make great finds for future generations of thrift-shoppers, while some 1st-gen "modern" stuff will need to be recalled and rejected. Considering the faith that many of us put in parts with unknown usage history, the future can't be much worse with regard to today's fleet, as long as indexing components aren't randomly mixed and low-count wheels are looked after.

The day I find a thrift-store Colnago C-50, I hope I'm still young enough to ride it!

David Snyder Auburn, CA


> John Wood wrote:
>
>> "If you re-read my original post,
>> you'll find that I wasn't dumping on new, just merely making the
>> statement
>> that the new ultralight stuff is not as durable."
>

Eric Meddaugh replied:
> Couldn't agree more. I don't own a carbon frame because I don't trust
> them. Mark Petry put it to me quite eloquently when he said "There will be
> no vintage carbon frame bikes - they don't last".