Bike Forums - Ideally looking for a 70s/80s steel road bike (2024)

[MENTION=566197]suzanne.fuhrman[/MENTION]'s Album:

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I think $200 would be a decent price for that bike. It looks like an upper mid range racing bike from back in the day.

It appears to be around your desired 54cm.

The stem looks fairly short in length. If original, you probably won't be able to make it much higher unless you replace it with a super tall stem.

Rewrap the tape?

In general I consider any 30 year old or so bike as needing a fairly complete tune-up.

:thumb: Glad someone is!!

In my market, you can do better. Cables are rusty, thats a sign this bike will need some maintenance, not just what local shops here call a tune up. Tires look old too. Lower end components. I'm finding 600 component bikes in that price range, which is a couple of large steps higher.

I like projects but I expect a discount.

I would not call this bike upper mid range, and I have owned a few Accordos.

Local shops here call a tune up adjusting cables, airing up tires, and lubing chain. I would expect this bike to need new tires, everything with bearings disassembled and greased, new cables and housings, clean and lube chain. Sometimes in this work you will find problems such as cone wear or bottom bracket spindle wear.

My basic rule is "if what I can see needs work, then what I can't see will need more work."

Local shop description of service levels. Note none of these include parts. The "secret" is to do the work yourself, or find a competent bike flipper who does good work.

https://www.libertybikes.com/product...vice-pg448.htm

...many women experience this issue, because generally female anatomy gives a shorter torso length to leg length ratio.

What you're looking for is a frame with a relatively shorter top tube length (as it relates to seat tube length). Then you can go from there, using a shorter stem and a zero setback seat post to get your saddle position closer to the bars. There are also stems available that have upward angles that raise the bar up, so it's higher than your saddle height. It's something you probably ought to understand better, before you buy a bicycle.

You should probably go into the "Fitting Your Bike" forum, and start a thread there on this topic only.

The Accordo RS pictured above appears to be a 1987 example, in the middle of their road bike line-up that year - below the Ironman Master, Ironman Expert and LeMans RS, but above the Sport DLX and the Signet. The catalog specs indicate it's built with Tange Infinity double-butted chro-moly for the main triangle and generic high-tensile forks and stays. The wheels have been upgraded from 36-spoke Centurion-branded hubs on Weinmann rims to 32-spoke Shimano 105 hubs laced to Wolber GTX rims. You will want to see how many cogs are on the rear - 7-speed or more uses Hyperglide which uses a cog spline pattern still in use, while 6-speed Shimano cassette hubs used the older Ultraglide spline pattern parts that use harder to find replacements. There are workarounds for that, but it is something to consider, depending on you mechanical skills or access to creative mechanics.

The geometry appears to be identical to the LeMans RS - good, sporty, but not an all-out racing bike. Figure the top tube length will be about the same length as the seat tube, c-c, perhaps a touch less.

My personal view is the price is on the high side - but I do all my own work, and am happy to refresh and rejuvenate neglected bikes when I can score upper mid-range bikes for $50 or less, then put some money into consumables. This one will probably need all bearings serviced as well as cables, housings, tires ...

Some other options

https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/bi...617801978.html

https://images.craigslist.org/00I0I_...2_1200x900.jpg

Maybe on the upper end of your size range? The other bikes are new enough to have indexed shifting, but this should be friction only.

https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/bi...613560204.html

https://images.craigslist.org/00w0w_...I_1200x900.jpg

The cheapest option isn't as cheap as it seems since it'll need a new front tire. Though the ad is old, so they'd probably come down on price if you offered $60. Short stem if you're worried about reach.

https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/bi...606980800.html

https://images.craigslist.org/00808_...M_1200x900.jpg
https://images.craigslist.org/00606_...M_1200x900.jpg

...this leads to the obvious question of, "Who have you been dating?"

Sorry for stepping on your toes.

You're still incorrect.

...of course I am.

The problem with trying to find a vintage bike that will fit you, especially your first one, is that you are looking at individual bikes in isolation, so it's very hard to compare them and find what works best.
There's excellent advice above. I would say though, don't worry too much about the price, if you can find a bike you like for $250 and ride it now, who cares if a similar bike pops up next year for $125? (Okay, I myself would care, at least a little, but that's a subject for therapy.)

For your specific comment about wanting drop bars but also wanting to be more upright, you might just need a bike with something like a 'dirt drop' stem to get them up higher. Or maybe the drop bars aren't really the best fit? Look at pics of different bar and stem combinations, you may see something that looks right. Of course there's nothing like trying it in person.

Good luck!