# Vintage Road Bike Companies



## FVSURFER (Feb 13, 2008)

I want to get a road bike pretty soon but was wondering what were and are some good vintage road bike companies? (e.g. Bianchi, Fuji, Peugeot, etc) I ultimately want to rebuild it to my future needs.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

Good question. There are LOTS of them. Some have that high-zoot appeal like Colnago, some are "most people never heard of em" but they're still darn nice.

In this context you're likely talking about a lugged steel frame. Some places for background reading and inspiration:
- http://sheldonbrown.com/bicycle-links.html
- http://sheldonbrown.com/vrbn-a-f.html
- http://oldroads.com/
- http://www.classicrendezvous.com/


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*????*



FVSURFER said:


> I want to get a road bike pretty soon but was wondering what were and are some good vintage road bike companies? (e.g. Bianchi, Fuji, Peugeot, etc) I ultimately want to rebuild it to my future needs.


Not sure what you're after, or what you mean by "good vintage road bike companies." Are you looking for an old frame to build up with more modern parts, an old bike to restore with old-fashioned parts, or a new bike from an old company? There were good frames made by lots of folks, some of them big and famous companies, some of them smaller but known among fans, some of them very small local builders. Are you looking for a name that's known among old bike fans, or are you looking for a bike with some specific characteristics?

If you're looking to fix up an old bike, and you don't have some affection for a particular brand name, it's best to be flexible about things like names, and just find a good quality bike that fits you. If you go looking specifically for, e.g., a Peugeot, your options will be much more limited.

And if you're mainly concerned with function, you may get more bike for the money by buying an entire new bike than by fixing up an old one. If you're into tinkering, the fix-up route can be fun, but it's not necessarily a big money-saver.


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## FVSURFER (Feb 13, 2008)

Thanks for the links!


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## FVSURFER (Feb 13, 2008)

What I should have said was an old frame to build up with more modern parts and looking for a name that's known among old bike fans. 

I just want to fix up an old bike and ride it around for fun and hopefully later on buy a better bike for actually road biking and maybe entering in triathlons.


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## Dave_Stohler (Jan 22, 2004)

FVSURFER said:


> I want to get a road bike pretty soon but was wondering what were and are some good vintage road bike companies? (e.g. Bianchi, Fuji, Peugeot, etc) I ultimately want to rebuild it to my future needs.


For the most part, MOST Fujis sold here were touring bikes, and not very good ones at that. Most Peugeots were likewise cheapos, as were most Motos. There was a lot of [email protected] sold in the 70's, even some with otherwise stellar names (such as Bianchi and Gitane).


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