| A vintage tandem with Stronglight cranks, TA chain rings, Sram chain and Suntour Superbe rear derailleur. Photo by Phil Van Valkenberg |
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A hobby you can ride:
Restoring vintage bikes
by Phil Van Valkenberg Browsing eBay has its rewards. It's free entertainment (as long as you don't buy anything) and fun to see what people are trying to unload. And if your roots in bicycling are deep, you can find bikes and parts you haven't seen since bell bottoms and platform shoes were hot.
So it was with me a few weeks ago when I was roaming among the pages of ancient French bike paraphernalia. There it was: My bike. My old Peugeot. Though I've had it for over 30 years, I'd never seen another like it. The only difference was that the paint scheme was maroon instead of green and in much better condition. Everything on it was original whereas when I got mine, the paint was chipped, the
factory-issued derailleur had been changed and the lights were missing along with other things.
Still, the old Peugeot had bonded with my soul like the melancholy lyrics of an Edith Piaf song. The old French touring bike rides like an absolute dream. I've often badgered friends into taking it for a spin and they're always amazed. Amazed too by the ancient leather saddle. Leather saddles only truly fit one person, the one that applies the most hours of butt time.
I've kept the bike French all these years with derailleurs, lights and other tidbits. It's like riding a bit of cycling history that's a pleasure and a treasure. Years back, Leinenkugel came out with a 125th anniversary brew in a special 12-pack returnable bottle box that matched the Peugeot's color scheme. It fit perfectly on the rear rack. Just the thing I needed for those runs to the market.
Good old bikes do turn up. Every once in while I stop to check on one sitting at a garage sale or in a bike rack. Going to France, Belgium and Holland the chances of spotting vintage bikes is even better, but still somewhat rare. They actually wear them out over there.
It costs more to restore
Perhaps you've got one of your old rides collecting dust in a corner of the garage. If your love of bicycling
doesn't go back decades, you might still be amazed and amused by the fun of fixing and riding a vintage bike.
But keep in mind, a vintage bike is a hobby. It is not a cheap way of getting a bike that will perform like today's models. It is likely to provide many hours of fun/work. If the pairing of those two words doesn't click with you then don't get an old bike. You'd most likely feel that drudgery/frustration would be a better
description. Don't expect your prize to be an instant way of making friends with your local bike dealer. And don't expect crowds of groupies to flock around your retro wheels.
While a lot of old bikes rode great, the performance quality you'll find in today's bikes and the price you can get them at make them hands-down winners if you're looking for reliable riding. While the industry constantly produces new models and styles to make consumers lust for the latest, there has also been
consistent improvement in many aspects of equipment performance and value for your dollar.
In general bike shops need to sell new bikes – and a lot of them – to keep the doors open. Fixing up old bikes is not going to pay the rent. Most people who bring in their garage-sale finds or Uncle Bill's old bike are shocked at the cost of making them roadworthy. A bill for hundreds of dollars seems outrageous for a
bike they got for a song. Besides, most new bikes don't cost much more than an old bike costs to repair.
But these folks fail to see several realities of old bikes and the bike business. Many things deteriorate with age and use, much more so if a bike receives less than ideal care. The markup on old parts is greater than on new bikes, and installation is much more labor intensive in the repair shop than on the assembly line.
All this accounts for the "Here we go again" look on the shop serviceperson's face when a rust-bucket rolls in. This doesn't mean you won't find a shop where people are helpful and interested in your bike. Just don't expect them to fix it cheap. If money is an issue, use their services for the things you can't do yourself and spend your own spare time fixing the rest. It's an important part of the bonding process between you and your old bike.
Also, with odd projects like these, you'll probably be better received at your local bike shop if you go in during the off-season. Look for a shop with a vintage bike hanging from the ceiling. You may find a source of obscure parts and knowledge there.
Now, having been hit with a virtual 2-by-4 upside the head, let the fun of restoring an old bike begin.
Buy local if you can
Again, a great resource for old bike stuff is eBay. It's amazing what you can find. A glance at the number of listings under "cycling" showed 43,000 items the other day. That doesn't mean the receptive bike shop you found shouldn't be your first choice. On eBay you need to know what you're looking for. At a shop, mechanics will probably know what you need. Still, you can get old stuff that's new or in good condition, often cheaply, on eBay.
Nevertheless, I recommend relying on local garage sales, thrift shops, newspaper ads or friends as sources for bike and bike component purchases. Often on eBay, sellers of moderate-quality bikes don't really know what they've got and the real condition it's in. Even good photos can't tell you the things that a hands-on squeeze of the brakes or spin of the wheel can. Also, with a local bike, you may be able to have a friend
who is knowledgeable check it out if you aren't sure what to look for. Above all, look for rust. If there's more than a little pitting, keep your wallet in your pocket no matter how good the price seems.
If you find an old mid-range Raleigh, Peugeot, Gitane, Trek or Schwinn on eBay, pay $50 dollars for it and it turns out to be junk, you're not out a lot. But you're probably better off using your labor hauling it to the
dump and starting over rather than trying to turn a cycling sow's ear into a silk ride.
What to look for and replace
One of the first things you'll want to do with an old bike is replace the chain. Among the biggest advances in shifting performance in the mid-'70s came with the advent of narrower contoured-side plate chains. You'll find great chains under the Sram brand, but be sure to get one to fit 8-speed sprockets or less. Nine and
10-speed chains are too narrow. Any old shifter will work better with a modern chain.
Usually the tires and tubes should be changed as a matter of course. Often bikes from the '70s and '80s, even the European ones, were 27 by 1.25 inches. Now 700C is most common, but good tires in the other sizes are readily available even if not stocked.
Changing tires gives you a chance to check the wheel bearings, clean things and check the spokes and rims.
If any of those need service or replacement, your local professional mechanic is probably the way to go.
If you've decided to collect a high-end bike like a Schwinn Paramount, Raleigh Professional, Holdsworth, Rene Herse, Alex Singer, Hetchins or Jack Taylor, you're likely to find the eBay sellers much more knowledgeable. The prices are also likely to get bid up to the $1,000 to $4,000 range. A new American
magazine, Vintage Bicycle Quarterly, is a wonderful resource of more bicycle esoterica than you probably will ever need to know.
French and Japanese bikes
Keep in mind that the quality of mid-range European bikes slipped greatly in the early '70s when the bike boom hit America. The response of many manufacturers was to meet demand by cutting quality rather than expand or improve production methods. Japanese bikes of that era consistently improved in quality and
emerging American bikes were of high quality from the start.
One of the first quality Japanese bikes to hit our shores was the Centurion. It looked very much like the Raleigh Grand Prix. The story goes that in fact it was the Raleigh Grand Prix, but built in Japan. Raleigh had ordered them produced and when they saw the quality they decided they could never sell the English made models if the Japanese ones were alongside them at Raleigh dealers. By the late '70s many manufacturers
lost that concern and began having their brands manufactured off-shore.
I ran into a woman in Bayfield a few weeks ago on a '70s Sekai with the sticker from Yellow Jersey bike store in Madison where I worked back then. She'd ridden from Milwaukee with camping gear and was going to ride back. The paint was chipped, but this all-original early-issue Japanese bike was still riding great.
Now a few words about French bikes. There is a saying, "The French copy no one and no one copies the French." This should serve as a warning. Things may look the same, but they are not. Slight differences in frame tube diameters can cause shift lever clamps designed for other bikes, which seemed securely tightened, to slide down and scuff the paint along the way. Threads may be different on headsets, bottom
brackets, pedals and freewheels. By the '70s bike boom, the industry standard for the latter two included English threads.
Of course the plastic Simplex derailleur (Delrin nylon, actually) was the single component that did the most to tarnish the image of French bikes. Those Simplex derailleurs worked well when new compared to others of their era. The key words here are "when new." Like the Bic pen, lighter and razor (which the French also
gave the world), they were meant to be disposable. If your restoration treasure has a plastic Simplex, it is not new and that should convince you what to replace first.
There were great French shifters, notably the Huret Duo Par (my choice for my old Peugeot). You won't find a derailleur today that shifts better over a wide range. The Japanese got the jump on shifting improvements with Suntour's innovations in the '70s. The Suntour double-pivot Superbe or MounTech rear
derailleurs are excellent additions for a vintage bike.
Still, don't be instantly put off by the Simplex brand. If your old bike has a metal one, it may be worth another look. On May 24, a Simplex Juy Record 60 rear derailleur (pre-plastic) sold on eBay for $2,556. You could have a gold mine on your hands.
Phil Van Valkenberg lives in Hayward, Wisconsin. He recently celebrated 50 years as a bicyclist on his
60th birthday. He got his first bike, a red Schwinn Spitfire, for his 10th. Phil was the bicycling columnist for Silent Sports for its first 10 years and has authored eight books on biking in Wisconsin and the Midwest.
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