buying a second hand modern "vintage" racing bike

[kgt]

Good choise, that's a classic.

[raisinberry777]

I'm not looking to build an old frame with all new components - I want the whole thing - drivetrain, wheels, I already even bought brand new first gen. Micheling Pro Race tires

after seeing few of that sort of bikes I must say they haven't received the treatment they deserve - the frames alone are mostly OK, just some scratches here and there, but what the components reveal - lots of dirt, dried grease, even signs of rust or corrosion - don't promise anything good. and that's without looking into BB area or headset... anyway most of those bikes were probably bought as cheap bikes and treated that way. it's really sad to look at, esp. since it's often not the question of mileage but basic negligence - how hard is it to clean your bike even once a season

That just part and parcel of buying an older bike. A threaded BB costs stuff all to replace and most Shimano ones do just fine anyway. Headset bearings are cheap, or if they're cup and cone they probably just need a little love.

The biggest issue I've found with older race bikes is a lack of tyre clearance, especially on wider rims. On my Colnago Dream with 17mm internal rims, 23mm tyres have adequate clearance, with 25mm there is probably 1mm clearance front and rear. Gearing is another thing to take into account if you live in a hilly area, Campagnolo weren't interested in compact cranks until around 2006, and Shimano only a little before that, so you'll learn to the love the 53-39 crank if you don't already.

[AJS914]

2006? I'm pretty sure I had one by 2000/2001.

[raisinberry777]

2006? I'm pretty sure I had one by 2000/2001.

2004 for Campy, according to Wikipedia.

[AJS914]

That TVT posted above was one of my dream bikes. The owner of my local bike shop had one. We thought it was so damn light at the time. Then he got a Lemond Carbonframes after that and that blew our socks off (another dream bike). It's funny but I couldn't own any of my dream bikes when I was in my 20s.

I don't miss the vintage groups. I'm a campy guy and the new stuff is so smooth. I could deal with 10 speed but I prefer the 11spd shifter shape. I'd never want to go back to 8 or 9 speed. I have no vintage nostalgia there.

[Geoff]

I haven't had my 'own' bike for about 20 years. I get all my bikes from the Teams from the previous season. I have never had a problem that was related to the origin or the 'used' nature of the bikes. If you know your vendor and the quality of the maintenance, you will be fine.

[sawyer]

The way to go in my view is with reasonably modern components that are widely available - e.g. Campag / Shimano 10 speed

I have kept my 585 Ultra from 2006 with Record 10 speed and it lives at a holiday house. Loses very little vs new frames. Very fractionally slower vs aero obviously, and slightly inferior pedalling response from the BB, which is noticeable when climbing, and then a bit less front end stability in descents - though I doubt I'd be any slower down a mountain on it. But the important thing is that it's just as enjoyable to ride.

I also find the old small diameter carbon frames to be quieter than newer large volume framesets.

Other ones I like are the Look 595, Time VXRS and Colnago EP. 2000s had some great bikes!