Just getting into biking, been going for 20-30mi rides and hoping to up that to like 40-50 in the future. I am moving and will probably be biking to commute. I want to find a bike that I could use to commute and take out on rides so I want it to be kinda bad such that I don’t have to worry too much about it getting stolen but also want to be able to ride without too much of a hassle. Found something like this on marketplace. Could I get away with this for longer rides? I could also put new wheels, seat, cranksets, etc. if necessary.
by Expert-Tension7327
2 Comments
This is a beautiful bike but it might not be ideal for your use case. Steel is great, rim brake is great, second hand is great, but if you wanna get into the sport and do some longer rides, down tube shifters are not. My first road bike had them and they’re totally usable when you get the hang, but I think the (very significantly) smoother experience of modern shifters will just have you wanting to ride more. DTSs are a pain, and I think with a first bike you want a decent “taste of how good the sport can feel”, and this bike will be a bit of a barrier.
I recently bought an old steel frame and put carbon wheels/finishing kit and modern 105 on it and I love it too bits, but I think with this bike there are just too many things you’d need to mod/swap to get a decent riding experience for it to make sense with your budget.
That saddle will be very uncomfortable over 50 miles, you’ll have much better time with modern thicker, more compact handlebars, the hoods just won’t feel as comfy/strong/nice as a modern bike. The list goes on. At this price, I’d trawl fbm every weekend looking for a deal in an old Specialized Alez or similar. I’d also maybe save a bit more if you can because the jump in what you’ll get from 150 to 3/400 is massive.
It’s a shame cause the bike you’re looking at is utterly beautiful and I bet it will ride really nicely, the frame will probably be nicer than whatever more modern aluminium you get instead even. It’s just that everything around the frame will be a barrier to your quality of life on the bike and you want your first to suck you into the sport, not make it a pain in the arse.
Edit: alternatively, if you wanted to save up another chunk of money, you could buy this now, ride it, and then whack on a new saddle, bars and eBay modern (ish) groupset. Maybe wheels too, later on. Building it would also teach you so much about bike maintenance and you’d end up with the tools to fix anything. Imo that’d get you a really amazing bike for not loads of money and it’d be beautiful and you can get this one that you like.
That’s a nice bicycle, I’d be upset if it got stolen, though it is very cheap.
If you’re going to put all new parts on it then consider just buying a frame. Really opens up a lot more options. I don’t think you’d be able to build one like that for the same money though.