Vintage Road Bike vs New One to Amsterdam

My friends are organising a ride to Amsterdam for a stag weekend (well 5 days) and I've been told they don't want to wait for me on my fixed when they are on road bikes.

I don't want to buy a new road bike and I don't fancy borrowing one to keep up with them so I am thinking about going down the vintage road bike route.

Am I really making a bad decision to look at old bikes? Looking at bikes on here and eBay I'd much rather be on a Colnago with an amazing paint job and a set of Shamals but unfortunately I do have to think practicalities I suppose.

Cheers!

size, price etc.

I've been told they don't want to wait for me on my fixed when they are on road bikes.

I don't understand this bit. I'm not sure but it sounds like cycle discrimination.

I do back my pedal power on the fixed but I've been assured that I cant beat by my friend on his bike -don't know what it is, not fucking interested!

I've got a 60cm fixed at the moment so something of a similar size I suppose. Price... 600 or so

I know I'm posting this everywhere at the moment. But I have a size 58 aluminium Pinarello with 10 speed Campagnolo and Fulcrum 7 wheels for sale.

If you've got £600 floating around, that will get you something fairly modern and well spec'd on the second hand market. If you don't want to keep it after the ride then sell it on and probably get your money back. Simples

My friends are organising a ride to Amsterdam for a stag weekend (well 5 days) and I've been told they don't want to wait for me on my fixed when they are on road bikes.

I don't want to buy a new road bike and I don't fancy borrowing one to keep up with them so I am thinking about going down the vintage road bike route.

Am I really making a bad decision to look at old bikes? Looking at bikes on here and eBay I'd much rather be on a Colnago with an amazing paint job and a set of Shamals but unfortunately I do have to think practicalities I suppose.

Cheers!

holland is flat as fuck.

stick a bigger gear on, ride hard and force them keep up with you.

Go fixed. It's not far and once you hit the cafes you can brag about your mighty calves in the face of their overpriced plastic bikes.
If you do go for a road bike, as has been said, £600 will buy you something very tasty indeed. How vintage or not it may be is irrelevant, it's a bike, as long as it works you'll keep up/destroy them.

get up front and show them how it's done on a fixed gear bike
or maybe tell them they need to go fixed to keep up with you !

I suppose the core question you need to ask is "how many hipster chicks am I going to meet along the way" because clearly if the answer is "a lot" then a vintage road bike will be very useful.

Otherwise, not so much.

If you've got £600 floating around, that will get you something fairly modern and well spec'd on the second hand market. If you don't want to keep it after the ride then sell it on and probably get your money back. Simples

hell if you've got £600 to spend I'd wait till you get to Holland buy some classic bike from a dutch bike shop at 75% of the prices you'd buy for here in london / uk and ride it home and make a profit
that would sadly mean riding fixed to holland and ghost riding something back for 700 miles
not the easiest option !

holland is flat as fuck.

stick a bigger gear on, ride hard and force them keep up with you.

this ^

i've ridden to the dam and it is pancake flat.
unless they're planning on cycling at tour speeds you'll be fine.

a couple of squirts of this will help too

Sabotage their sti barrel adjusters on the first night and cackle with delight at all their .failed shifts and slipping chains the next day. Then give a boring, longwinded lecture about the joys of low-maintenence cycling.

if they're your mates and they don't won't you to ride your bike they can buy you another.

Cycled Brussels - Amsterdam on fuji fixed straight off peg and had no trouble. it was very very flat, wind/rain on really open bits was only issue, a big gear and fixed is fine.

Sabotage their sti barrel adjusters on the first night and cackle with delight at all their .failed shifts and slipping chains the next day. Then give a boring, longwinded lecture about the joys of low-maintenence cycling.

This is sure to convince them fixed is superior!

I was going to suggest you could go SS, that way you'd fly on the downhill and save energy too - but as it's so flat I reckon you'll be fine fixed Re: all skive's advice.

From the chat from your friends are giving you I reckon you'll be surrounded by low-end Boardmans a couple of Allezs (Sport if they're lucky) and a lot of hot air. No problems here for you.

yeah, great advice skive.

stick a bigger gear on, ride hard and force them keep up with you.

That.
cough
Take them to the pain cave
cough

Do they normally have to wait for you to catch up wihen you're on rides together?

I think he hired a car.

a couple of squirts of this will help too

This.

New or old, it doesn't matter.

£600 will buy you just about anything really!

£200-250 is more than enough for a decent 12speed steel racer (weighing around 23-25lbs), 80s or 90s bike with early STI's and 14/16speed etc.
Even some half decent aluminium offerings for that sort of money, then spend the other £300 on something sexy in holland and post it back to yourself (25eurodowlars)

something sexy in Holland? Hmm...