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Daily riding a vintage bike: 1 week in

I’ve been daily riding my new Schwinn for a week now.  I’ve put nearly 100 miles on it,  rode it to work, rode the local bike trail, crashed it, tinkered with it and have generally had a great time with it.  I thought it would be useful to share my thoughts on riding such a radically different bike than my previous daily bike (08 Giant Sedona if you missed the the older post).

• I’m loving the steel vs aluminum frame.  Even with a road fork instead of a mountain fork and high pressure tires, the vibrations of the road are much less harsh.
• Drop bars… Took getting used to, I like them now.  Being able to get out of the headwind is very nice.  I’m finding them just as versatile as the trekking bars I have on my Giant.
• Handling is different,  I learned this taking a spill on a simple turn.  Some things I cant do as well as with the old bike.  Other things much better,  It certainly corners faster and feels better at higher speeds.
• The gearing is different,  it lacks a real granny gear compared to MTB gearing.  I have to work a little harder, but that’s good, improved fitness is always good.
• The classic look and chrome frame stands out. A coworker commented that when he would see a bike parked in town, he would try and figure out if it was mine or not,  now it’s no question,  it just stands out from every other bike on the road.  Hopefully this fact wont get the bike stolen!

All in all, I couldn’t be happier.  The only major changes I’ve made have been swapping over my Brooks B17 and Shimano Clipless/Platform hybrid pedals.  If you are interested in getting something simialar, you can get some great deals on older steel framed bikes from Schwinn, Trek, Miyata and more on eBay and Craigslist.  For much less than you would pay for a new bike, and often times less than a new Wal-Mart bike, you can get an extremely high quality bike which will last for years.

Taking a rest during a late night ride