>My brother-in-law spent 15 years restoring a '58 Corvette to
>Smithsonian-like perfection. The things were death-traps. Poor
>quality brakes, lousy steering. He added 4 way discbrakes and power
>steering. It's wonderful to drive and show off. It's not museum
>quality anymore buts it's driveable.
>
Fortunately, the best old bikes are of much higher quality that most old cars. (OT: I am told the best of old cars weren't so bad, either...) So the old bikes remain as rideable now as they were then. In most cases, there is no reason to forgo period correctness in a quest for function and safety.
For our PBP tandem, a 1948 Rene Herse, we made very few "upgrades" from what the bike would have looked like, when it was built (see VBQ web site): - TA cranks (because one of the original Herse ones was ruined, and I didn't want to rethread the remaining ones for BSC - see pedals) - clipless pedals (because we cannot find well-fitting, sufficiently stiff-soled touring shoes these days. With the right shoes, we'd have used the old clips and straps.) - modern tires (obvious, that one. We would have preferred the handmade clinchers of old, but they are long-gone.) - Modern generator hub (to eliminate the need to replace batteries as were used back then. I felt that generating your own power is more in the randonneuring spirit than buying and discarding batteries.) - Modern Brooks saddle (because it was well broken-in.)
Basically, we would have been as safe, as comfortable, and faster (those hand-made tires!) on a fully period-correct bike.
--
Jan Heine, Seattle
Editor/Publisher
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
http://www.mindspring.com/