Updating an old road bike?

Thanks for the feedback! Probably is one of those things that I need sit back on and think about if I really want to sink the time and money into. Probably not, but it would be fun!

I had a friend in college, a semi-sponsored Mtb racer who worked at a bike shop. He did the opposit, he took one of his race bikes & gave it "street camo". DIY paint job, swept back handle bars, white wall tires, & a wider seat. From a distance it looked like an old beach comber.

I've been riding a late 1970s steel frame road bike (it's still lighter than some of my buddys' bikes) Now that I'm doing Tris, I've been looking at upgrading vs buying, so I've done some of the research for you. This is sort of the basics to bring my bike into the modern era, your results will very depending on your frame and how much you want to upgrade it. I do my own work, so I'm not including labor or tools if you don't have them.

Wheels - you should be able to find a decent set of used wheels for $100-$150
Quill stem adaptor $20
Stem - $30
handle bar - $30
Bar tape - $15
Derailer set - my frame is a 8 speed rear cassette, I assume they were fairly common, that puts you in Shimano Claris group set without any frame modification $100-$150 (break levers, & derailers remove down tube shifters, may need a clamp on cable hanger $10)
Cassette - $20
Freehub, axel & skewer - if you buy a used wheel set with a different size setup $50
Chain - $15
Cables - $20
Bottom bracket - upgrade to sealed bearings (measure carefully) $30
Bake pads - $10

Total = ~$450

Optional
Chain rings (check for wear), crank arms, pedals, brake levers, aero bars, seat, seat post, tires

Other considerations. The frame geometry has come a long way, especially triathlon bikes, in the past 10-15 years. Big consideration if your going to be racing on it. I haven't looked into it but your fork options would probably be limited as most manufacturers now assume stems are threadless. Finally, I've seen some cheep Chinese bikes either from that era, or imitating them that use weird size components that aren't comparable with Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo, etc.

For me, my frame doesn't quite fit for racing, & there's some rust spots forming that I don't like. Plus as others have said, if you go to sell it, you probably wouldnt get more than $150 for it. (Maybe more if you part it out.) So for me, a couple hundred more would be worth buying a new or used intro bike. That said, if you want to enjoy it as a project, have at it.

Edited by riles32807 2018-08-22 3:54 PM

Thanks for all the info. I'm not overly worried about losing out on money - I feel like any purchased bicycle is a bad investment financially and this may be even more so.