if you make an exception for clipless pedals on classic bikes, what else is acceptable?
there've been numerous other advances in bicycle technology.
Some of my favourites are: clinchers plastic toeclips (Christophe road style) and bottle cages PP bottles led lights hub generators angle-adjustable brake pads
a friend is a big fan of index shifting.
i'd still say that using any of them would reduce the level of classicness of a bike. while this makes my bikes rate relatively low on the classicness scale, i still come here for the discussion of classic bikes and parts, not for tuning tips on how to get my old bike to perform like a contemporar y one.
if classic bikes meant doing whatever you want to an old frame, we'd be discussing fixed gear conversions.
Tobit Linke, Dortmund, Germany