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.