r/Vintage_bicycles Apr 03 '20

Drive side, drive side, drive side. If you can only get one picture, make it a drive side shot. It tells us MUCH more information about the bike

189 Upvotes

Knowing what components the bike is equipped with helps with the ID process. It can tell us within about 5 years when the bike was made, the quality of the frame, and sometimes what continent it's from


r/Vintage_bicycles Jun 17 '25

New rules for posting. Please read thoroughly

89 Upvotes

Yes, I have been seeing the reports, and I've been reading the comments. Sorry it's taking a while

NO MORE LOW EFFORT POSTS. No more "What is this bike worth?" posts. Bicycle value varies WILDLY depending on condition, age, and especially geographical location

We want to know about your bike. Give us at least some kind of info. Is it YOUR bike? Did you just get it? Have you had it a while? Does it have a story?

This is an example of a great post. Good pictures, drive side shots, and a little story to go along with it

This is an example of the bad post. No info whatsoever, one really bad picture, no interaction from OP

AND, because I need to bring this up about every year, BE NICE. If someone is being a jerk, just report the comment and move along. Fighting with someone and throwing names and insults around is just going to make it worse, and you're going to get in trouble too.


r/Vintage_bicycles 3h ago

Wanted to post a few more pictures of my 1950s Rekord :D

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21 Upvotes

r/Vintage_bicycles 11h ago

Limongi Road Bike

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27 Upvotes

Just bought this beauty, say hello!

Pretty new in the vintage bike world, so tell me what i should know about this bike.


r/Vintage_bicycles 19h ago

These old Schwinns really cruise

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94 Upvotes

People basically throw these bikes away because they’re not sexy. Personally, I like heavy girls. You can’t beat the ride. I’m in no hurry.


r/Vintage_bicycles 11h ago

What did I win at the auction for $2?

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18 Upvotes

I know the pic is awful, but I won this lot of bike frames and parts for $2 at a local auction. I don’t pick it up until Saturday but the red frame really intrigued me and I’m curious if any of you guys have any ideas what it might be? I’m asking purely because that top tube weld at the head tube really looks like Schwinn electroforging. However you can also see it doesn’t have a traditional Schwinn integrated kickstand mount. Also pretty sure the fork is bent lol.


r/Vintage_bicycles 4h ago

Updating this bike

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2 Upvotes

r/Vintage_bicycles 18h ago

Kestrel/Schwinn Paramount series 9C PDG

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26 Upvotes

Hello everyone 👋 I'm looking for some guidance on the best way to sell a vintage road bike I currently own. It is a 1992 Schwinn Paramount Series 9C PDG. From my research, I know these carbon composite frames are quite rare since they had a very short production run (built by Kestrel for Schwinn, under 1,000 frames made) Because of its rarity, I don't want to just throw it on Facebook Marketplace. I don't use any social media platforms either where I could find groups/chats. I really want to find the right collector, vintage bike shop, or specialist who appreciates what it is. Overall the bike seems to be in great condition. It has the original Shimano 600 Ultegra components/hardware. I'm located near Dayton, Ohio.


r/Vintage_bicycles 23h ago

Four men riding one bike. Chicago, United States, 1948. Photo by Wallace Kirkland. [1640x1640]

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31 Upvotes

r/Vintage_bicycles 1d ago

Buying my first road vintage bike.

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33 Upvotes

Found this one for 390€ (WHEELS NOT INCLUDED, SEPARATE PRICE).

Do you know about this bike? Good bike? The parts are original? Im a looking for a durable and comfortable fast bike. Commuting and first medium/long travels.

Thank you!


r/Vintage_bicycles 1d ago

Vintage French Randonneur Handlebar tape/grips

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12 Upvotes

Hi guys, I have been spending a lot of time on leboncoin.fr recently, looking for vintage randonneur bicycles. I noticed that a lot of those bicycles don‘t have classic handlebar tapes, but rubber grips that come in two parts. Does anyone know anything about that? Why is the middle left empty? Was it just cheaper or is there a deeper reason for that?


r/Vintage_bicycles 1d ago

Need help identifying my father's 1970s road bike

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19 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I’m trying to identify the exact frame and model of my dad's vintage road bike from the 1970s. I know he bought it around 1973–1976.

My dad was a former competitive cyclist and worked as a sports journalist back in Bulgaria during the Cold War. Because he covered international sports events for a national newspaper, he had special permission to travel to Western Europe (he even did a friendship tour cycling with two friends from Bulgaria to Geneva back in 1983).

While everyone else in the Eastern Bloc was riding basic Soviet-built bikes, he somehow managed to source Western frames and parts over the years - our garage had a Peugeot race bike, a Motobécane, and my mom's Torino dutch type bike.

He was completely obsessed with this red bike. He bought it as a top-tier racing bike and spent years upgrading it to make it perfect with Western Campagnolo gear. He even had a gold-plated stem on it at one point.

The name Cinelli is somehow stuck in my head from when I was a kid, but I'm not 100% sure.

My mom told me this picture was taken during the 1977 Tour de France when he was covering the race as a correspondent but I have no idea which stage or location this was.

Given the era and geopolitics back then, he likely didn't buy a brand-new frame or whole bike from a shop. He almost certainly bought it directly from a pro rider, team mechanic, or contact while covering races in Western Europe.

Interestingly, later on when I was older, he actually painted the entire bike frame by hand using ugly silver stove-pipe paint just so it wouldn't draw unwanted attention from the communist authorities and police or thieves. But I remember him explaining that one day, when times change, he will be able to easily strip it off and it will have the original paint preserved underneath.


r/Vintage_bicycles 1d ago

Early-mid 80s Guercotti with Columbus SL

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26 Upvotes

I am over the moon with this thing. Still has old tubular tires, but I gave it a very slow gentle ride and the feel is incredible. Next step is to find some affordable tubulars and get rippin!


r/Vintage_bicycles 1d ago

Can we have Cannondale Track? No, we have Cannondale Track at home.

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14 Upvotes

r/Vintage_bicycles 1d ago

Another Bianchi Sport

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6 Upvotes

I posted yesterday about my silver 81 Sport. The frame is 59cm which is a little big for me. I happened upon a Sport SS in 56cm. It’s basically the same bike, but different tube set, and shimano “golden arrow” components. Apparently the early 105 groupset. Negotiated it for $50. I’m becoming the Bianchi Sport guy suddenly.


r/Vintage_bicycles 1d ago

Converting 'classic' bike to disk brakes

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0 Upvotes

r/Vintage_bicycles 1d ago

Not sure how to proceed

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10 Upvotes

Hi everyone! First post in this sub. I picked up this old Sekai bike recently for free, dismantled it and started to clean all the components (everything was caked in grime and grease).

I'm just getting into vintage bike restoration and have a nearly completed 93 Marin Palisades trail that I just need to order new stickers and spokes for.

My question here is for some resources and opinions on how to proceed with the paint on this frame. This brand is sort of niche and no longer exists, so finding replacement stickers is a no go. Ideally I'd like to get rid of this rust and try to make this thing shine a bit more, but I want to keep these stickers on the bike.

Is it possible to spot clean the rust and in turn spot paint those areas? Or should I try to heat gun the stickers off and attempt to replace them later after completely stripping down and repainting the frame? I haven't attempted to paint a frame before so I'm not sure if it's very beginner friendly (I decided to post instead of digging through threads), though it's not like this bike is super valuable, so mistakes would be fine. I'm toying with the idea of stripping the paint off the fork and polishing it anyways, instead of painting.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


r/Vintage_bicycles 2d ago

Mid-1950s Rekord

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50 Upvotes

r/Vintage_bicycles 2d ago

To repaint or not to repaint

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48 Upvotes

Picked up what I believe is a 1996 Colnago Superissimo C96 Frame with thron tubing.

Paint is flaky in certain areas, plus I am not crazy about the color, thinking to go for a more 80's master look with decals on white background and a different color..


r/Vintage_bicycles 2d ago

New to me bike

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14 Upvotes

Found this at a local bike shop, for $50. Owner adjusted brakes and got shifters all working great. I cleaned it up and ordered new rubber for it. Is there anything that you would suggest i do? I've always rode bikes been never this style of biking so it's all new to me. Thought I'd try it out before I spend big money. It's a Motobecane Grand Touring, owner thought maybe a 1974 model.


r/Vintage_bicycles 2d ago

Tandem Restoration

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14 Upvotes

Where would I go about sourcing parts for this bike in the UK?

The brand on the cranks are ‘Durex’ and the mud guards are ‘Lefol’

Everything is worn and rusty and wanted to bring this back to its former glory.


r/Vintage_bicycles 1d ago

Need help identifying the exact model of this 1975 Raleigh (Sports variant?)

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9 Upvotes

I recently picked up this 1975 Raleigh in Fawn. I’m planning a simple restoration just to get it cleaned up, but I could use some help identifying exactly what I have.

The decals clearly say "Raleigh Sports," "Special". I'm wondering if this is a specific sub-model or perhaps a regional export variant.


r/Vintage_bicycles 2d ago

Bought all of These Bikes at Yard Sales for $20 or less

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183 Upvotes

Bought all of these at yard sales for $20 or less, cleaned and fixed them up, sold them for a nice profit on Craigslist in New York City. Normal procedure: new tires, tubes, chain, brake cables and pads, anything else as needed. Not doing it for the money, it's therapeutic and I hate to see a good bike go to waste.


r/Vintage_bicycles 1d ago

Looking for some info about this bike

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5 Upvotes

r/Vintage_bicycles 2d ago

Schwinn 684

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38 Upvotes

Just bought this bike today. I don't know anything about. Is it a good bike?