>If I am going to ride more than 10 miles, I am
>probably going to take a modern bicycle (i.e. off
>topic post 1983.) It's just physically easier, really,
>I think most of us who have both (pre and post '83)
>would agree on that.
Do you have an explanation why that might be the case? I can see a speed difference if your old bike does not fit you, if the bearings are totally worn out, if there is no air in the tires... but otherwise, the speed difference for a commute is negligible, if there is any.
Faster shifting? Better brakes, allowing you to brake deeper into turns? Stiffer (or less stiff) frame? Clipless pedals? Bolder graphics? What causes the extra performance? Even if we accept that some of the above improve the power transfer or speed in some way, the effect will not be noticeable on a normal ride.
If you new bike is lighter, then consider this: On the Bob list, we recently discussed how adding 20 lbs. (!) of food, luggage and extra bike weight slows me by almost four minutes on a long mountain pass (10 km, 1000 m elevation gain), when going at racing speeds. That seems like a lot, and it is if you are riding with somebody else who is on a lighter bike and stronger than you! Consider that in any case, it takes the better part of an hour to climb that pass, and those four minutes come into perspective. And consider that I am carrying 20 lbs. more than the next guy, because he has a support car, and I carry food, clothes, lights, etc., for a 285-mile race.
Contrasting your experience, I find that my old bikes are faster than the new stuff I test for Vintage Bicycle Quarterly... Whether a placebo effect (I love the old machines, so I go faster?) or not, my best times all have been on "old" machines - whether short (2 mile) hillclimbs or 765 miles on a 1947 tandem in Paris-Brest-Paris 2003, where only one tandem was faster. And that tandem was 30+ years old, too, and ridden by two men, whereas ours was mixed. -- Jan Heine, Seattle Editor/Publisher Vintage Bicycle Quarterly c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles 140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C Seattle WA 98122 http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com