Sometimes we get a little nostalgic about old road bikes and what they offered to the world. In this day and age simple steel frames brandishing local names and aluminium wheels feel like a far cry from what is available to buy today. So, tech writer Simon Smythe took a trip down memory lane to reminisce on some of his favourite things about old road bikes but also a few things which he doesn't miss as much!
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00:00In this video, I'm going to go all retro-grouch, as you can tell by my moustache,
00:04and I'm going to take a pedal down memory lane and have a look at some of the things about the bikes of my younger years that I miss,
00:10and why I miss them.
00:11I'm also going to have a look at some of the things that I definitely don't miss, and I'm glad to see the back of.
00:19Just look at this beautiful Colnago Master Olympic. Is there anything more beautiful than that?
00:24It's the traditional geometry that gives it a lovely sort of form.
00:27It has a horizontal top tube, straight down tube, seat tube, and seat stays that aren't dropped.
00:33They go directly up to meet the top tube at the back.
00:35It's just got a sort of lovely stability and integrity, even an honesty that modern bikes with dropped seat stays and funny-shaped tubes just don't have.
00:44And while I'm on the subject of beauty, have a look at the paint.
00:46I mean, this is just incredible.
00:48This is what Colnago called the Art DĂ©cor paint, and you really don't see anything like that anymore.
00:53This Colnago, perhaps controversially, but actually Team Mappe used Shimano, has Dura-Ace groupset.
01:00It's a Dura-Ace 7700 9-speed groupset, and it's just beautifully polished.
01:04I mean, you don't get polished groupsets anymore, and I think that's a shame because, you know, that just is lovely.
01:15It's not just about the shape of the tubes, but it's about what they're made from.
01:19Now, good quality steel tubing, like this Columbus Bilco tubing that this Colnago is made from, just has a lovely ride quality.
01:25It's so smooth that it doesn't need dropped seat stays or funny shapes.
01:29It just has a ride quality that's like nothing else.
01:31This bike just has exactly the right blend of comfort and stiffness.
01:34And a lot of the ride quality is down to the steel fork, which just soaks up road vibrations perfectly.
01:39A frame builder once said to me that every other material tries to emulate the ride quality of steel.
01:44And he was right, although obviously he had a vested interest.
01:47Sure, steel's heavier than carbon and aluminium.
01:49And there was a time about 10 years ago when the gap was actually pretty big, when carbon bikes were really light.
01:54But now, with the arrival of disc brakes, the gap's narrowed again.
01:57And actually, this bike weighs just over 9 kilos, or 20 pounds in old money.
02:01And really, you're getting some top disc brake road bikes, race bikes, weighing upwards of 8 kilos.
02:06So the difference is really not that massive anymore.
02:10Okay, so an Italian bike like a Colnago really was the pinnacle.
02:13But you used to see names like Geoffrey Butler, Bates, Roberts, Bob Jackson, Brian Rourke, Mercian.
02:20And all of these British names were associated with regions and local cycling communities.
02:24You don't really see that anymore.
02:26Once you got to a certain level in your cycling, you went to see a local frame builder, one of these guys,
02:31and you got a frame made to measure.
02:33And it was not only a rite of passage, but it was also supporting local industry.
02:36The name on the downtube told a story, as did the bike, which was unique, like nobody else's.
02:45I don't think anybody would disagree with me that life was much simpler before the era of the proprietary component.
02:50Shimano-Campagnolo compatibility was all you had to worry about.
02:53Properly established standards, like the ones specified by ISO, the International Standards Organization,
02:58meaning you can get parts for a bike years after it's no longer the current model,
03:02which is why it's so easy to buy a bike from the 70s, the 80s or the 90s, like this Colnago,
03:06and just restore it very simply.
03:08But there's light at the end of this particular tunnel.
03:10The bike manufacturers themselves are coming back round to the idea that there are benefits
03:14to a 68mm threaded bottom bracket, a 27.2mm seat post.
03:18Even Cannondale, the inventors of the BB30, have gone back to a 68mm threaded bottom bracket
03:23shelled on the new Synapse.
03:25Anybody could build up an old bike like this Colnago.
03:28All you might need a bike shop to do is to press in the headset, and the rest of it you can do yourself.
03:33Get a set of Allen keys and the right bottom bracket tool.
03:36Even internal cable routing didn't used to present any kind of problem.
03:40Now this is an internally routed rear brake cable that just goes straight through the top tube.
03:44It's literally the cable that goes through the top tube.
03:46It's a bit of a pain in the arse, but it's a bit of a pain in the arse.
03:49It's a bit of a pain in the arse, but it's a bit of a pain in the arse.
03:53It's literally the cable that goes through the top tube.
03:54It's literally the cable that goes through the top tube.
03:55It's literally the cable that pushes straight through and comes out the other side.
03:58Now you've got a spaghetti of cables, wires, hoses that go through the bars and the stem
04:03down in front of a head tube.
04:05Really, who's going to make any sense of that?
04:07It's all for what?
04:08For the sake of a watt or two.
04:11A clean looking front end.
04:13A clean looking front end.
04:18I think disk brakes are dominant enough, but it's possible to say that you miss rim brakes.
04:22They were just so simple to set up.
04:23All you need is an Allen key.
04:25And for this, you just need a pair of cable cutters,
04:27and there you go.
04:28The brake pads are right there, easy to see,
04:30easy to check the wear, and easy to replace.
04:33There's no bleeding necessary.
04:34There's no working out what kind of fluid you need.
04:37The brakes are just there.
04:38And the other thing about rim brakes
04:39is that they work really well.
04:41People seem to forget that they're really
04:43all you need on a road bike.
04:44I mean, ask yourself, how many times do I stop
04:46on a standard hour ride?
04:48For me, it's probably less than 10 times
04:50if I'm riding on my own, or even with a mate.
04:53I stop at junctions, and that's all I need the brakes for.
04:55If you live in the Alps, or if you ride technical gravel,
04:58then it might be a different scenario,
04:59and then there's a good case for the disc brakes.
05:01But for a road bike, for ordinary road riding in Britain,
05:04this is all you need.
05:10One of the reasons why rim brakes are disappearing
05:12is because tires are getting too fat for them.
05:14Why are tires getting too fat?
05:16Because frames are getting too stiff.
05:18It's a vicious circle.
05:19Now, with a steel frame, there was enough comfort
05:21in the steel frame itself that you didn't need balloon tires
05:24unless you were touring and carrying heavy panniers.
05:26You might think I've gone mad, saying I miss skinny tires,
05:29but the difference in performance
05:30between an expensive skinny tire and a cheap skinny tire
05:33is not as great as the difference in weight and performance
05:35between a cheap 30 or 32 millimeter tire
05:38and an expensive one.
05:40Fat tires are great if they're supple,
05:42lightweight, and tubeless, but cheap heavy ones
05:44with thick inner tubes just dull the ride and add weight.
05:47So to sum up, I'd say that a cheap narrow tire
05:49is less detrimental to the performance of your bike
05:52than a cheap fat one.
05:58Now, some people might think I'm going too far here,
06:00but I'm gonna add to the list of things I miss,
06:02aluminum wheels.
06:03Now, there used to be wheel builders
06:05at the back of bike shops
06:06who would build you the wheel you wanted.
06:08You chose the hub, the spokes, and the rim,
06:10and he built it for you.
06:12Now you buy a carbon wheel set
06:13that was made in China or Taiwan,
06:15and it's incredibly expensive,
06:17and it's the same as everybody else's.
06:18Okay, so the carbon wheel set
06:20might be a little bit more aerodynamic,
06:22little bit lighter,
06:23but really is that a priority over serviceability,
06:26durability, individuality, and price?
06:34Talking of price, the top road bikes today
06:37can cost over 12,000 pounds.
06:39Now, looking at the inflation rate in the UK
06:41over the last 30 years, it's just over 100%,
06:44which would mean that a top road bike in 1990
06:47would cost 6,000 pounds,
06:48and I certainly don't remember them costing that much.
06:51And if they had, would any cyclists
06:52have actually been able to afford one?
06:54Now, if you want a prestige classic bike like this one,
06:57the good news is that you can get one
06:58off eBay pretty cheaply.
07:00I bought this Colnago as a frame and fork
07:02off eBay for 450 pounds in 2014,
07:05and I sourced all the rest of the components separately,
07:08all the Dura-Ace 7700 groupset.
07:10All that came off eBay as well,
07:11and the whole thing cost me just under 1,000 pounds.
07:17And finally, will I be standing here in 2052
07:21praising whatever it is, in my opinion,
07:23makes the 2022 bike better than the 2052 one?
07:27Well, hopefully I'll still be here,
07:28but I really doubt that many bikes from 2022 will be,
07:31or at least in a rideable state.
07:33Even if I was able to replace the proprietary components,
07:36would the carbon fiber have suffered
07:37from some sort of galvanic corrosion
07:39from being next to metal parts, metal inserts and bolts?
07:42Would it have been damaged?
07:43You can't always see it.
07:44I'm not so sure.
07:46Whereas a steel bike will last a lifetime
07:48if it's properly looked after and cherished,
07:50as it should be.
07:51And when it does come to the end of its life,
07:53it can just be recycled.
07:54It's not going to end up in landfill
07:55or even worse, in the sea.
07:58So those are some of the things I miss,
07:59but that's not to say old bikes were perfect.
08:02I might've been suggesting that the cycling industry
08:04has been fixing things that ain't broke,
08:06creating solutions in search of a problem,
08:09and generally charging us too much money.
08:11But there are certain things about old bikes
08:13that I'm really definitely glad to see the back of.
08:16We've done a quick bike change,
08:18just to illustrate the things that I don't miss.
08:20And the first of these is toe clips and straps.
08:23Now, strapping your foot into a steel cage
08:26and then pedaling, that sounds like torture,
08:28and it does feel like torture.
08:30And it's pretty dangerous as well, I would say.
08:32So thank God for the clipless pedal,
08:34which has been around for the last 35 years,
08:36pretty much unchanged since look came up
08:37with the original ski binding derived pedal.
08:40And only Speedplay have messed with the design.
08:43And I'm really glad that they've done that.
08:45And they've really just turned the whole thing on its head
08:48with the spring mechanism in the shoe rather than the pedal.
08:50And that works really well, so thank God.
08:57For racing bikes, a 53-39 chain set
09:00or a 52-42 even was standard.
09:02That was fine as long as you had a decent spread
09:04of gears at the back, but you generally didn't,
09:07which meant that if you were going uphill
09:09and at the same time you wanted a reasonably close ratio,
09:11then you'd have to really put your back into it.
09:13And you can see that literally that's how it used to be.
09:16If you look at footage of old racers going uphills,
09:18it's like...
09:20So good riddance to big gears.
09:27Down tube levers.
09:28Now I had to think hard about whether to include these
09:30in my list of things I don't miss
09:32because some people really like them.
09:34Some people actually enjoy that you have to finesse
09:36the lever and even listen to whether the chain
09:38is on the correct cog or not.
09:39But for me, I mean, no, no thank you.
09:43I appreciate the fact that there's a really nice
09:45direct connection, just this cable running straight
09:47to the derailleur and it's lightweight as well.
09:50But really, I don't want to sit down every time
09:52I want to change gear.
09:53I just want to do it with a button.
09:54That's all I want from shifting, I don't care.
09:56Some things are best consigned to history
09:58and sadly, down tube levers, they're one of them.
10:02Or two of them.
10:04So those are the things I miss and don't miss
10:06about old bikes.
10:07If you think I'm just a nostalgic old fool,
10:10then let me know in the comments underneath.
10:12And if there are things that you miss and don't miss
10:13about old bikes, then let me know about those too.
10:16And don't forget to like and subscribe.