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 Décor 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.
02:38As 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 to a 68mm threaded bottom bracket,
03:16a 27.2mm seat post.
03:18Even Cannondale, the inventors of the BB30, have gone back to a 68mm threaded bottom bracket
03:24shared on the new Synapse.
03:26Anybody 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 just pushes straight through the top tube.
03:47And it's a great way to get the most out of your bike.
03:51It's an internally routed rear brake cable that just goes straight through the top tube.
03:54It's literally the cable just pushes straight through, comes out the other side.
03:58Now you've got a sort of spaghetti of cables, wires, hoses that go through the bars and the stem
04:04and down in front of the head tube.
04:06And really, who's going to make any sense of that?
04:08And it's all for what? For the sake of, well, a watt.
04:10A watt or two.
04:12A clean looking front end.
04:14I think disc brakes are dominant enough that it's possible to say that you miss rim brakes.
04:18They were just so simple to set up.
04:20All you need is an allen key.
04:22And for this you just need a pair of cable cutters.
04:24And there you go.
04:25The brake pads are right there.
04:26Easy to see.
04:27Easy to check the wear.
04:28And easy to replace.
04:29There's no bleeding necessary.
04:31There's no working out what kind of fluid you need.
04:34The brakes are just there.
04:35And the other thing about rim brakes is that they work really well.
04:38People seem to forget that they're really all you need on a road bike.
04:41I mean, ask yourself, how many times do I stop on a standard hour ride?
04:45For me, it's probably less than 10 times if I'm riding on my own or even with a mate.
04:49I stop at junctions and that's all I need the brakes for.
04:51If you live in the Alps or if you ride technical gravel,
04:53then it might be a different scenario.
04:55And then there's a good case for the disc brakes.
04:57But for a road bike, for ordinary road riding in Britain,
05:00this is all you need.
05:06One of the reasons why rim brakes are so important
05:08is because they're so easy to set up.
05:10One of the reasons why rim brakes are disappearing
05:12is because tyres are getting too fat for them.
05:14Why are tyres 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 in the steel frame itself
05:22that you didn't need balloon tyres
05:24unless you were touring and carrying heavy panniers.
05:26You might think I've gone mad saying I miss skinny tyres.
05:29But the difference in performance between an expensive skinny tyre
05:32and a cheap skinny tyre
05:33is not as great as the difference in weight and performance
05:35between a cheap 30 or 32mm tyre
05:38and an expensive one.
05:40Fat tyres are great if they're subtle, lightweight and tubeless.
05:43But cheap heavy ones with thick inner tubes
05:45just dull the ride and add weight.
05:47So to sum up, I'd say that a cheap narrow tyre
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 going to add to the list of things I miss
06:02aluminium wheels.
06:04Now there used to be wheel builders at 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 that was made in China or Taiwan
06:14and it's incredibly expensive
06:16and it's the same as everybody else's.
06:18OK, so the carbon wheel set might be a little bit more aerodynamic
06:21a little bit lighter
06:23but really is that a priority over
06:25serviceability, durability, individuality and price?
06:34Talking of price
06:37Top road bikes today can cost over £12,000.
06:39Now looking at the inflation rate in the UK
06:41over the last 30 years
06:43it's just over 100%
06:45which would mean that a top road bike in 1990
06:47would cost £6,000
06:49and I certainly don't remember them costing that much.
06:51And if they had, would any cyclists have actually
06:53been able to afford one?
06:55Now if you want a prestige classic bike like this one
06:57the good news is that you can get one off eBay
06:59pretty cheaply.
07:01I bought this Colnago as a frame and fork off eBay
07:03for £450 in 2014
07:05and I sourced all the rest of the components separately
07:07all the Dura-Ace 7700 groupset
07:09all that came off eBay as well
07:11and the whole thing cost me just under £1,000.
07:17And finally
07:19will I be standing here in 2052
07:21praising whatever it is, in my opinion
07:23makes the 2022 bike
07:25better than the 2052 one?
07:27Well, hopefully I'll still be here
07:29but I really doubt that many bikes from 2022 will be
07:31or at least in a rideable state
07:34If I was able to replace the proprietary components
07:36would the carbon fibre have suffered from
07:38some sort of galvanic corrosion
07:40from being next to metal parts, metal inserts and bolts
07:42would it have been damaged, you 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
07:52and when it does come to the end of its life
07:54it can just be recycled, it's not going to end up in landfill
07:56or even worse, in the sea.
07:58So those are some of the things I miss
08:00but that's not to say old bikes were perfect
08:02I might have been suggesting that the cycling industry
08:04has been fixing things that ain't broke
08:06creating solutions in search of a problem
08:08and generally charging us too much money
08:10but there are certain things about old bikes
08:12that I'm really definitely glad to see the back of
08:18We've done a quick bike change
08:20just to illustrate the things that I don't miss
08:22and the first of these is
08:24toe clips and straps
08:26Now, strapping your foot into a steel cage
08:28and then pedalling, that sounds like torture
08:31and it does feel like torture
08:33and it's pretty dangerous as well I would say
08:35so thank god for the clipless pedal
08:37which has been around for the last 35 years
08:39pretty much unchanged since look came up
08:41with the original ski binding derived pedal
08:43and only Speedplay have messed with the design
08:45and they've really just turned the whole thing
08:47on its head with the spring mechanism
08:49in the shoe rather than the pedal
08:51and that works really well, so thank god
08:57For racing bikes
08:59a 53-39 chainset or a 52-42 even
09:01was standard
09:03that was fine as long as you had a decent spread of gears at the back
09:05but 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
09:15if you look at footage of old racers
09:17going up hills it's like
09:21so good riddance to big gears
09:24Down tube levers
09:26Now I had to think hard about whether to include these
09:28in my list of things I don't miss
09:30because some people really like them
09:32some people actually enjoy that you have to finesse the lever
09:34and even listen to whether the chain is on the correct cog or not
09:36but for me, I mean
09:38no, no thank you
09:40I appreciate the fact that
09:42there's a really nice direct connection
09:44just this cable running straight to the derailleur
09:46and it's lightweight as well
09:48but really I don't want to sit down every time I want to change gear
09:50I just want to sit down
09:52I 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
10:00they'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
10:08if 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
10:14about old bikes then let me know about those too
10:16and don't forget to like and subscribe
10:22you