I’ve enjoyed riding, restoring, and selling many vintage bicycles. Some of them are not as well known as the more popular marques or models. Here are a few of those examples.
Austro Daimler:
1976 Austro Daimler Mixte with BCM lugs
This nice A-D mixte came with a Suntour drive train, SR cranks, and a Regina freewheel. It weighed in at 26 lbs.
Centurion:
1976 Centurion Super Le Mans mixte, with Shimano Arabesque shifters and derailleurs.
The Centurion mixte, with its iconic orange paint, is one of my favorite restorations. I sold the bike a number of years ago, but miss it now.
Schwinn:
Huret Duo Par rear derailleur
1986 Schwinn Passage Touring bike – Columbus double butted tubing, forged drop outs, and lots of braze-ons. A very nice touring machine.
Trek:
A beautiful 1984 Trek 830 “mountain bike” which I converted to a city commuter. Reynolds 501 frame with lovely lugs and fork crown.
This Trek was really fun to ride, with its long wheelbase and stable geometry.
Davidson:
1984 Davidson with Campagnolo dropouts
I toured on this Davidson all over Oregon. This photo is from a trip to the cranberry bogs in Bandon, on the Oregon coast. The frame is made with Tange Champion tubing.
Rudge:
The iconic Raleigh Rudge headbadge.
This early 1960’s Raleigh Rudge 3 speed was in excellent condition. I donated it to a charity auction and I hope its new owner is having fun with it.
Peugeot:
I have worked on many Peugeots dating from the 1920’s to the 1980’s. This is an especially nice looking 1985 mixte. It is built with Carbolite 103 using internal brazing- a technique mastered by Peugeot which eliminated external lugs and brazes, for a clean appearing joint.
Peugeot Crank with built in chain guard.
Raleigh:
This 1974 Raleigh Sprite was fun to ride – very “sprightly”.
While this bike looks like a non-performer, I found myself keeping up with road bike cyclists while commuting. The bike is a conundrum, having a relatively heavy frame and components, but feeling responsive while riding.
Nishiki:
Nishiki headbadge, Dia Compe centerpulls
This Nishiki International touring bike included a SunTour drivetrain and Sugino cranks, as well as other quality components of this era.
There are more bikes that are equally worth considering for restoration, but I hope the examples above serve as inspiration for the cyclists and restorers who want to preserve and ride these quality machines.
Do the DiaCompe center pulls have quick release? If so what? I have a bike that came with inline quick release “cams’ that for some reason have been replaces with brake lever releases. I’d like to try the inline type and cannot find them. Or some other alternative.
Nice collection of road bikes from the”boom” years . The mixte’s look great and really are handy for touring . My daughter has one (Motobecane Gran Jubile’)that is from that era and she loved riding it. I still have it. Nice job on restoring and maintaining them. Those are the bikes that will be around for some time to come as they were built to last and are fully serviceable. Joe
Thanks Joe. That’s what’s missing from today’s throw away technology. These vintage bikes will last a lifetime and more.
great collection of bikes Nola, I had a Miyata 912 with Shimano Arabesque shifters and derailleurs. that I stumbled onto at a garage sale and also an 86 Schwinn Passage, really liked both those bikes and regrettably sold them both, but that just made room for new friends 😉
One must constantly make room for new (old) friends.
I have a Peugeot 10 speed bicycle from the 1970s. Good condition. I want to sell it to someone who will appreciate it. I live in Eastern Canada. Do you have any suggestions on how I can do this and how much I should ask for it?
To be honest there are many 1970s bike boom bikes selling at very low prices relative to their value. But if your Peugeot is made with higher end tubing such as Reynolds 531 and/or if it has nicer components then you might be best listing it on eBay. Even better pass it on to a friend who will appreciate it!
I have a Saint Tropez bike La Japonaise D,10 speed.I would like some more information about this bike
Hi Victor, wish I could help but I don’t have much background on these bikes.
Hello,
I am looking to restore my Raleigh Reliant. Any information would be greatly helpful. I have the original frame and gear/ brake set.
Thanks again for any advice you can offer.
Denese
There’s a lot of history in these bikes. It’s fun to work on them and see what you can find.
My Mexican built Benotto mixte road bike has Suntour derailleurs; one with a 1973 date code and the other with either an illegible code in a little circle or an “XA” code not in a circle.
I don’t think that’s the date code.
The crank spindle is by “Windsor” and has the same measurements as the Shimano spindles for Italian bikes, so it’s probably built to Italian standards. I didn’t have the right wrench to remove the right bearing cup, so I don’t know which direction it’s threaded.
The stem says to insert it to this line, but it’s hard to read because of age, and because I can’t read Japanese very well. I assume that’s also Suntour.
The kickstand is not original. That’s a chain stay mounted clamp-on that rotates into the spokes.. I have a regular frame mount which will be replacing it.
And the seat is a department store Schwinn that will be replaced with a more period mattress saddle.
I found racks and fenders that look like the proper period parts, so I can refit it as a fairly nice commuting town bike.
I am fixing up an early 70’s Nishiki Custom Sport and need a drop hanger for rear derailleur. I have a photo of that part of my frame, if you think you can help.
Hi Shellie. You’ll need one that matches the derailleur you are using. You could visit your local used bike shop and hunt through their parts bins. Or pick up one on eBay.