New Gruppo on older bikes

put new stuff on old bike and ride it. It's the way forward. Downtube levers are shit for climbing, or riding in a group, or anything really, heavy stuff is crap too. I can understanding wanting to resurrect a beautiful frame, but worrying about which year the brake levers are from or spending a year putting together a nuovo record group from the same year is just silly.

I don't understand the obsession with period correct-ness with bikes that you actually own (in a museum? Fine...) - the people who seem most obsessed with it seem to be the people who ride their bikes the least anyway and therefore not worth listening to :)

Met a guy last night (I think he's on here as dangermouse?) who had the most incredible Moser frame, built with 11spd Super Record, fizik saddle, dt 585 rims etc etc and it looked AMAZING. Bet it rode beautifully too.

Damn those downtube levers they must be shit, it couldn't perhaps be the rider? no its absolutely nothing to do with the rider. After all there was no tour de frances when there were only downtube shifters and if there were they took place only on the flat to avoid climbing (they also avoided riding in groups.) Whilst we are on the climbing comment could you explain why lance armstrong continued to select downtube shifters for his mountain stages then? even in 2004 when bar shifters were available.

If you think heavy stuff sucks then you shouldn't even be considering an old frame, because you could get a far lighter carbon frame for a lot less money direct from china. There is a also a difference between being completely anal about trying to pick up specific year parts or putting something from the same general era onto a bike. Putting new stuff on an old bike is like putting new stuff on an old car, just as a 1960s car looks stupid with modern alloy wheels and neons so does a bike with new gear...but then again it is as always only an opinion.

I do agree that people waiting a year to put a bike together is stupid, but you can happily ride the bike with lesser parts whilst getting the parts together (plus I bet most people on this forum have more than 1 bike, so it's a bit of a mute point)

The most important thing is that it is ridden and in the end that's all that matters, if someone wants to build up a classic bike with modern gear then that is their choice. After all it is far better that it is ridden with new gear than not being ridden at all. So basically we agree... /ends rant.