Vintage City Bikes
Renaissance Bicycles is a big fan of using the bicycle for basic transport. Utility cycling, bike commuting, city biking, cycling for transportation — whatever you want to call it — really brings out the essence of the bicycle. Sure, we Americans think bikes are for sports or recreation (or for children), but what we often overlook are all the great city bikes readily available for our use.
We are plotting, scheming, and planning our offerings for upgrades for a couple of classic bikes that make wonderful daily riders at a reasonable cost:
- Raleigh 3-speed: The venerable, timeless, and a little bit quirky do-all bike that already outlasted most bike designs.
- Schwinn “Sport” Series: More specifically, the Schwinn Continental and Schwinn Collegiate. While these bikes were never on the cutting edge of cycling tech, they are plentiful and cheap. Plus, they are pretty versatile.
- Japanese Touring: Brought from the Land of the Rising Sun during the bike boom, these bikes are the perfect platform for a urban commuter bike. They are tough, relatively light, and outfitted with the fundamentals for racks, fenders, and other accessories.
Of course, it takes time to develop and thoroughly test these upgrade packages … but don’t worry, these types of bikes aren’t going anywhere. So for now, start working your local garage sales and non-profit retailer, and we’ll soon have the parts and information to upgrade your great “garbage” find.
And if you need a little guidance about these bikes, just drop us a line and we’ll be glad to help.
6 Responses to “Vintage City Bikes”
I bought a 1970′s Gitane Grand Sport Deluxe this winter and love riding this bike, but hate dealing with bike shops! I already have replaced the cranks with a new racing crank but am interested in expanding my climbing ability further, perhaps with a triple. I already upgraded the back to six sprockets which is as far as I can go. When I talk to the bike shop guys they say I need to buy a new bike! I have found a guy who will do the work, although he continues to advise a new bike. Any thoughts?
Yes, Renaissance Bicycles is all about putting the Love back into a classic bike. Send an email to info@renaissancebicycles.com with your contact information or call (888) 829-8340, and we will be happy to help.
[...] inspired us to create a Vintage City Bike portion to Renaissance Bicycles. Although it is still in rough form, we hope to provide resources [...]
I’m eager to see what you offer in terms of updating vintage Raleighs and Schwinns. My Raleigh Superbes are the prize jewels of my 15-bike fleet and I’m open to being educated on outfitting/updating them.
Can’t wait to see the kits. I’ve got a Schwinn World Tourist (70s) and Sprint (80s), just waiting for these kind of upgrades. Plus a few more that I’ve been wanting on CraigsList…
Bryan -
Thanks for your help resurrecting my ’73 Schwinn World Voyageur. As soon as the frame comes back from the painter, the 105 groupset and Nitto rack will go on (augmented by a stem and handlebars from Rivendell).
I wish people would advocate more for the old bikes. They’re cheap, plentiful and, chosen carefully, are still outstanding vehicles.
Thanks again,
Kevin
Please Leave a Comment
You can also follow the discussion by subscribing to the Comments RSS Feed.