A bike shop in Louisville, Kentucky, we have over 300 quality vintage lugged-steel road bikes from the 1970s and '80s available for restoration, including Schwinn, Raleigh, Peugeot, Motobecane, Ross, Masi, DeRosa, Puch, Astro Diamler, Nishiki, Atala, Zullo, Concord, ItalaVega, Dawes, Fuji, KHS and Trek. Sizes from 47 to 63CM. The inventory is constantly changing and there's always a wide selection available on our website. www.vicsclassicbikes.com
Well it just would not do for Bentley to spend all day at home alone. So off we go to Feeders Supply. Bead, collar, leash, Nylabone; from the basement a rug and a couple bowles for food & water. Then off to the shop.
Clear out a spot under the work bench and Bentley has made himself at home. Stop by and allow him to introduce himself.
My Surly Long Haul Trucker, with knee-high rubber boots and stand-up bicycle pump strapped to the back. 200 pounds all together.
The thumbs-up is really popular in
Since I discovered road bicycling after high school, I have always ridden steel racing bicycles from the 80s (during high school I rode mountain bikes around, slowly). High in quality and low on price, chromoly cycles are made to last.
Unfortunately, many consumers today purchasing new low to medium-end aluminum bicycles might find themselves paying more than twice what I would spend on a bike that will only last a few years. Trek, Raleigh, Schwinn…these are companies that people associate with quality because at one time they made a popular quality product, but most popular brands today make the bulk of their money selling low-end, overpriced, poorly manufactured (that is, Chinese) bikes.
For instance, Schwinn is now owned by a Canadian company charmingly called Dorel Industries. They got it a few years ago from a company called Pacific Cycle, Inc. who had acquired it during bankruptcy proceedings a few years before. Pacific Cycle, Inc. also owns Mongoose, Roadmaster, InSTEP, Pacific Outdoors, and Powerlite (story). These are NOT bicycle enthusiasts.
Through the sometimes terrible roads of Hungary, Macedonia, and Turkey, the landslides and flooding in Colombia (that even four-wheel vehicles could not get through), and carrying the extra weight that comes from touring with one’s girlfriend (yes girls, it is worth it to travel with you, but you do tend to pack more but carry less), I have had no problems with the bike at all.
(Scroll all the way down for more pictures from the road)
When I finally made it to
MORE PICTURES FROM THE ROAD...
Carrying two people, milk, and food. Way to make it work in
Lived here, in
From inside
Mom and daughter out and about in the 
Kids all bicycle to school, and no one wears a helmet, ever.
Awww. Bike together, stay together.
by John Wade
This 48cm, pristine example showed up on the Louisville CL site with an incorrect price. Seller was deludged with replys and pulled the add. I was able to contact seller, make a fair offer, and bring this bike into our collection. This bicycle originally came with the controversial "moustache" handlebars, as you can see here,
How it looks now, with bar-end shifters,
As soon as it arrived at the shop everyone seemed to want to work on it. Perry inflated the tires and did a quick tune up. It is in Beth's size so she took it out for its maiden ride. All went well but on its second outing it blew a tire. Back into the shop where it sat for a day or two before Justin and Beth started dismantling it.
A thorough inspection revealed a bike that had seen little use. All bearings in like new condition. Wheels trued up nicely. There was some evidence of some rough shifting with a few broken teeth on the chain rings. A complete set of Salsa rings was ordered as well as a set of stainless steel Giles Bertoud fenders. Panaracer Pasella TG tires were installed.
Bike is back together, next we will install the fenders and a vintage Jim Blackburn rear rack to increase the usefulness of the bike.
It is my personal desire for Beth to take a shine to this bike and make it her commuter. That way it will be a part of the shop into the future.
If Beth doesn't lay claim to this Bicycle it will be available for purchase for $1000.00.
More pictures to come with fenders & rack...
"Having first emerged as a supplier of frame tubing to French bicycle manufacturers including Peugeot, Motobecane and Gitane; the Vitus name began to appear on our own bikes in the 1970s and 1980s when we pioneered the design and manufacture of lugged and bonded aluminium frames made from our Dural tubing...
We continued our tradition of innovation throughout subsequent decades with frames include the 1991 ZXI monocoque carbon frame.
Today the spirit of the ZX1 lives on the monocoque carbon frames in our Dark Plasma, Venon and Vitesse road bikes as well as our Optimum platform of XC race bikes..."
What a bike!
by John Wade
Restoration of vintage bicycles is a rewarding endeavor. Transforming an undesirable cast-away into a prized jewel is very satisfying - restoring a precious heirloom even more so.
To satisfy my own curiosity I started to clean one of the fenders and was surprised to find the original triple-chrome plating still in good condition. What a testament to American quality in the 1960's! It took plenty of chrome cleaner and elbow grease, but the the fenders started to shine. The underside of the fenders required a coat of silver zinc oxide paint to keep any future corosion at bay. After a thorough cleaning of the entire bicycle, I was ready for reassembly. The Pixie now looks and handles beautifully, and the integrity of the personal value of this bicycle was maintained.
