Vitesse I've got a chance to buy one of these brand new for £100. I know it's no top-end jet, but as an intro to drop handlbar road cycling, and as a stand-in alternative to my current commuter bike, is it worth it?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff
Taking a punt...
(27 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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"Handle-Bar Mounted Rotational Gear Shifters"
That would be a bit weird on drop bars. Possibly even weirder than going back to downtube-mounted shifters would be after getting used to STIs or their equivalents, where everything can be done from the hoods (or the drops, if you have freakishly long thumbs).
At that price it's very possible that all the nuts and bolts are made of cheese, though it would still be a bicycle and therefore not to be sniffed at. Do you get to physically inspect it first?
Posted 12 years ago # -
15.5kg according to one reviewer on amazon, that's (really) heavy for a road style bike.
Also says it suits inside leg 33inch to 39inch - which means it may be pretty huge.
The gripshift gears are a bit wierd for a dropped bar bike - you would have to change grip every time you wanted to change gear (yes, I know you had to do this with old style shifters, but the position was more natural when you were no the drops).
Agree with wingpig - if you can have a go then I would do it before committing any dosh.
Posted 12 years ago # -
There's a very good reason it is being sold for £100...
7 speed will be a a headache when it comes to trying to replace / upgrade with anything reasonably more modern
Gripshift on a drop-bar bike rather pointless and frustrating and makes shifting and braking and steering all at once very difficult if not impossible (there's a very good reason STIs caught on and became almost universal).
There's a reason that (beyond "7 speed Shimano") that none of the components carry any form of recognisable brand or supplier name.
A "deep rim" 36-spoke wheel seems an odd attempt to fudge a look at being something it isn't
If that quoted weight is correct, it's well over 50% and nearly double what you might expect a road bike to weigh. No amount of subsequent "upgrading" will trim much off that - a half decent wheelset at the bottom end of the market will set you back the same £100I'm not being a snob about this - but I would honestly look elsewhere and at a price 3, 4 or 5 times that if you want a road bike for the purposes of something that's going to light and zippy and comfortable to ride while eating up mile after mile. You don't need to spend huge amounts of money, you can get a nice older road bike with a good quality steel frame for not much more than that price and it will look better and ride better. It just will.
£100 for something to gather dust, unloved in the back of the shed doesn't seem a wise investment.
Others may and are welcome to disagree, but I'm fairly confident that Amazon will still be turning a profit on that bike even at £160.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I would say DON'T DO IT!!!! They sell these in Tesco and they are a huge steaming pile of S***E. You'd be better buying a semi decent second hand bike for that money.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Agree all previous posters - I know a guy who owns a bike shop in aviemore, and he says all these cheapo (tesco etc) bikes start falling to bits in 3-6 months in normal use.
You even struggle to maintain as any pressure will round all the bolts as the steel will be garbage.
I was in The Bike Station yesterday dropping off my old mtb.
They had an old 531 carlton (raleigh?) touring bike including full guards and rack for £130.
Dont think thats what your after, but it is a better bike, and probably weighed less than that 'road bike' if you took the guards/rack off.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Heed taken...purchase abandoned.
Anyone out there got a similarly-priced second hand road bike that would fit the bill...?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Soul cycle had tall men's Raleigh and Peugot (one each) listed recently for around £85, I think? didn't look that carefully.
Posted 12 years ago # -
IMK for a giggle I looked on gumtree.
http://m.gumtree.com/mens-vintage-raleigh-sun-gt10-road-racer-bike/v?adId=93220829
This is 40 years old, has only done 154.3 miles (!)
Also has original tyres - a few cracks !Dearie me, perhaps your heavyweight was good VFM after all....... (it wasnt, that was a joke).
You dont need to spend a lot, but for ~£100 you will probably also need same again in chain, cassette, brake cables, blocks.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@SRD: do Soul have an online list of available bikes? I've been on their site but confess I've never seen one...
Posted 12 years ago # -
on FB they have a 'bike of the week' and also an album of pictures of bikes for sale
Posted 12 years ago # -
FB it is then! Thanks.
Posted 12 years ago # -
This is not an Edinburgh shop but the prices might be a useful comparison (fully serviced and guaranteed so not Gumtree/ebay).
Posted 12 years ago # -
Good advice as always on here :)
I don't know much about "road" bikes (or racers as I would call them ;-)) but I found a second hand Giant OCR (basic type) which has subsequently had pretty much everything but the frame and fork replaced, it was ok (and cheap) when I got it, and is now lovely (to me anyway!). The advantage being that it's relatively standard so almost everything is upgradeable/replaceable.The short version of that is what about a secondhand Giant OCR/Defy or the equivalent from other big names maybe?
Posted 12 years ago # -
I was in The Bike Station yesterday dropping off my old mtb.
They had an old 531 carlton (raleigh?) touring bike including full guards and rack for £130.
Sounds like a damn good price if you ask me!
One problem with old Raleighs is they use a proprietary thread pitch of 26tpi on all their major components, eg. bottom bracket, steerer, etc. So if you want to upgrade you need to use old Raleigh components (pre-1990s).
That said, the 1972 Raleigh Sun GT10 that Nelly found looks wonderful for that price. Especially when you consider folk will try to sell you a knackered old Peugeot 10 speed that's been left out in the rain for years for more than half that...
Posted 12 years ago # -
One of my Raleighs is 1988 and has a standard threading modern bottom bracket in it, for what its worth. Not checked the 1976 one.
In purely practical terms, I would hazard a guess that an old classic bike like that Bike Station tourer has as much hassle and hidden cost as a cheapo modern BSO of the same price. But, and like an Olympic weightlifter it's a big but, at all times the bike is on the road it'll be a zillion times more enjoyable to ride.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Yes, it depends on the age of the bike, the model, and which factory it was built in. The Carlton might have BSA/ISO standard threads, but it depends. The 1972 Raleigh Sun GT10, while built in the Worksop plant I believe, is most likely 26tpi.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Yes 1987 Raleigh frame I have has standard BB but weird head tube diameter
Posted 12 years ago # -
They upped the price on the Carlton to £180. Can't blame them since it's a gorgeous old thing.
Posted 12 years ago # -
The frame alone is probably worth at least that on fleaBay. 531 frames going for quite a bit more on there.
Posted 12 years ago # -
That's what I thought when I was looking at it. I admit I didn't look at it properly since I wasn't in buyer mode, but it looked like it had evaded dents, paint chips and rust remarkably well.
I popped into the Station after my Arthur's Seat run because I'd run into some braking issues there. Specifically I had rubbish no-strap toeclips that I couldn't haul up on to fixiebrake, no back brake and the pads on the front weren't up to stopping at the Pollock roundabout. Sorry, driver of car that was alarmed by how far I overshot the line.
Gratuitous "I believe my bike to be pretty" shot.
Posted 12 years ago # -
So then... what should I be looking out for if I want a road frame of some vintage / 531 tubing with minimal/no hassles regarding replacing components with modern bits? I guess what I'm thinking of is getting an older bike and, over subsequent months/years, doing a frame-up rebuild until I have a worthy road / possible touring bike. I know that buying a new (or newish) bike might be quicker and possibly even save me money in the long run, but it won't be as much fun...
Posted 12 years ago # -
I can't claim to be an expert, but I would have thought that most frames (even Raleighs) from the late 1980s onwards will have standard threads, and standard dimensions for the key components, eg. dropout spacing, head tube diameter, bottom bracket diameter and width, etc.
The Carlton mentioned above might have standard 24tpi threading, but the rear dropouts are likely to be narrower than most current rear hubs, limiting your upgrade choices without cold setting the frame.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Uberuce - my kinda bike, nice.
I should have said originaly re: Carlton - it had 2 prices on when I saw it, £130 and £180, didnt have time to ask, but I presumed one was 'pre service' as there was a note of a couple of minor things needing done - they must have done the work and placed at £180.
IMK, one thing I would say re taking a punt on an older bike is - Go for it, it will be fun.
This forum has a lot of people who can help/advise - Also, I wouldnt necessarily be put off by unusual sizing or lack of ability - most things can be sourced.
Even if its not on a stock list most worthwhile bike shops will fit something you buy off the web - as long as you speak to them first and get the correct part.
Plus, things do go wrong - and if so, at least its not this you ruin !
I have one bike which has a BB glued into the shell due to the wrong one (previous owner) stripping the threads - It will hopefully last another year or so, then its time to cannibalise it for decent bits and start again.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@IMK - if you're wanting something you could possibly do a bit of touring with, just remember to look for a frame with braze-ons or drilled holes for a rack - and mudguards front and rear. A lot of the more "elderly" or traditional frames have this as standard. Too many modern "road" frames forgo this practicality for the sake of "le look".
Today I "converted" my commuting / audax bike into a "light tourer" by simple expedient of a lightweight rack being added. It's not going to be a load hauler - I already have a "proper" touring bike for that, but it will make the bike even more practical and flexible for the outlay of a £24 rack.
Posted 12 years ago # -
What Kaputnik said! A good friend added racks to a 'cross bike (which already had proper mudguards) to make a medium tourer earlier this year and accompanied me on our camping tour down the country.
Imho you can't have too many rack/'guard/etc braze ons/mounts on a working bike. If you don't use them, no loss, if you need them then life is much, much easier. In the past designers knew this, now they want everyone to buy a specific bike for each and every role :-/Posted 12 years ago # -
@Its_Me_Knees: if you spy something you like you can see a fair number of problems before they arise by simply Googling the bike's exact model name. Unless my two older bikes were both flukes in this regard, you'll find a list of forum posts'n'threads from all over the place made by people who've had problems. You can get a feel for how easy issues are to resolve from the responses there.
Not so practical if it's at a car boot sale or the like(unless you have a newfangled phone), but the interweb really is a wonderful reserve of other people's mistakes.
If you see a bundle of threads where people are basically wishing good luck and giving condolences, then avoid; if each problem is answered in one post's time with 'that's fine, they still make them in that size' then you're golden.
Posted 12 years ago #
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