Feeler F/T: 54cm Jamis Ventura Sport Road Bike (for vintage steel)

So, I rode my dad's old Lotus over the weekend, and absolutely fell in love with the feel of steel and the look of an absolutely horizontal top tube. 

Here are the specs of my bike:

http://jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/road/ventura/10_venturasport.html

Upgrades include: new rear wheel (Mavic Open Pro laced with DT Swiss spokes to Ultegra hub) , Prologo Scratch saddle, Bontrager hard-case tires. The picture below shows it with the stock saddle (which I also have) and an uncut steerer tube (which has since been cut.)

If you have something that may be of interest, give me a shout.

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Permalink Reply by ilter on August 16, 2012 at 2:59pm

"So, I rode my dad's old Lotus over the weekend, and absolutely fell in love with the feel of steel and the look of an absolutely horizontal top tube."

Awesome!

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 17, 2012 at 1:39am

So you are going to ride your dad's Lotus or pick up another vintage steel bike?

Inquiring minds want to know ;)

One thing to think about is if  you will be happy with the vintage components that usually come with a vintage frame.  You may decide that you want to upgrade your vintage-framed road bike to modern specs -modern drivetrain, modern brakes, new wheelset, etc.   This can get really expensive doing it piecemeal.    Depending on what you can sell the Jamis for as a whole bike you could probably just strip the frame and use the parts you already own from it, and sell off the frameset and other parts you don't use on Craigslist to recoup some money.   Parts sell for more than whole bikes when broken up. The frame itself may go for a significant chunk of what a whole bike will sell for.  

At the very least I'd pull the fenders if your new-to-you vintage bike doesn't have them.  Selling a used bike on CL with fenders will not yield you any more than selling it without -nothing compared to what new fenders will cost.

I totally agree when it comes to the feel and look of a vintage frame over modern ones -especially alloy buzzmonsters.   Steel is real.  But not all vintage frames are created equal -even ones with the same tubesets can ride differently.  A lot of that has to do with the skills of the frame builder.  If you find a frame that fits and you love the ride of it then SNAP IT UP.  Tweaking of components and other parts can be done later.

Welcome to the vintage cult -you will be assimilated. 

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on August 17, 2012 at 1:52am

Ha! Thanks for the insight. I'm trying to work my Dad over to see if I can somehow get a hold of his Lotus. So far, it's looking like it'll live its days in the back shed, so I'm relegated to finding something else.

 

It's not like my Jamis has super high end componentry, so I wouldnt mind whatever basic components that came on the bike, so long as the rear derailleur is indexed. And thank you for reminding me, James - the fenders and cycle-computer stay with me to go on the next bike.

 

And yes, I've been reading a ton with regards to framesets and such. I guess I'd "settle" for Reynolds 531, ha.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 17, 2012 at 2:20am

There are some early freewheel indexed systems.  The issue is that 7-speed freewheels are a PITA with the bending of the axles sometimes -especially for heavy clydesdales like myself.  If I had a 7-speed freewheel wheel I'd just upgrade it to a 7 or 8-speed cassette wheel.   It's either that or a 6-speed freewheel in 126mm dropouts which is not as prone to axle-bending.  What's a couple more gears anyhow?  It all depends on what your dropout spacing is and how you feel about re-spacing it from 126mm (or smaller) to 130mm. 

I'm happy with 8-speed cassettes with indexing.  Cheap, reliable, and durable.   But I had to respace the dropoouts on my '74 Competition for it to fit and then I built my own wheelset from scratch.  If you get a bike with 27" wheels that might complicate things and make it more difficult to find a 27" wheel with a cassette hub cheaply -and messing around with brake reach/compatibility with a 700c conversion can be a bit of work too.

The place to check out your options is Bikeforums.net on the Classic & Vintage sub-forum.  There is a lot of knowledge about these sorts of things and what works with what with the older indexing systems.  

Permalink Reply by Adam Z on August 17, 2012 at 4:23am

Sadly there's no steel left in the region.  Ilter has bought up all the spare steel vintage bikes this summer.  Sorry Jim.

ilter said:

"So, I rode my dad's old Lotus over the weekend, and absolutely fell in love with the feel of steel and the look of an absolutely horizontal top tube."

Awesome!

Permalink Reply by John on August 17, 2012 at 5:30am

what size do you ride???

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on August 17, 2012 at 5:36am

I'm riding a 54cm right now, but because of my freakishly long torso, can ride ride a 56cm.
 
John Fiene said:

what size do you ride???

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on August 17, 2012 at 5:37am

Ha! I've heard about his conquests. Apparently his wife is much more lenient than mine.
 
Adam Zamora said:

Sadly there's no steel left in the region.  Ilter has bought up all the spare steel vintage bikes this summer.  Sorry Jim.

ilter said:

"So, I rode my dad's old Lotus over the weekend, and absolutely fell in love with the feel of steel and the look of an absolutely horizontal top tube."

Awesome!

Permalink Reply by John on August 17, 2012 at 6:28am

I have a 1985 Schwinn Voyageur touring bicycle in 54cm I would trade for your Jamis.

It was designed for loaded, long distance touring. It is equipped with front low-rider and rear carrier bosses for full pannier capabilities. It has three water bottle bosses and a frame-mounted air pump peg. It has a super long wheelbase for heel clearance on rear panniers. It’s extra long cantilever brakes provide super stopping power and ample room for the use of full fenders.

It is “British Green” colored and made of double-butted Columbus Tenax chrome-moly steel.

The vertical dropouts are forged Tange steel, and have double eyelets. It features a Shimano Tourney crank set with triple Biopace chain rings: (30/46/50 teeth), Shimano Light Action indexed shifting via downtube shifter bosses, and SR Custom alloy handlebars, stem, and seat post.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on August 17, 2012 at 6:59am

I sent you a friend request so I can message you, John.

Permalink Reply by ilter on August 22, 2012 at 4:43pm


:)

Jim, do you have a new bike?  When are you going to introduce us?? :p


Jim S said:

Ha! I've heard about his conquests. Apparently his wife is much more lenient than mine.
 
Adam Zamora said:

Sadly there's no steel left in the region.  Ilter has bought up all the spare steel vintage bikes this summer.  Sorry Jim.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on August 23, 2012 at 1:41am

Yep. It's extremely dirty and very mis-matched right now. Luckily, the bike came with a brand new cheapie nashbar tire, so I could put that up front. The rear tire should probably be replaced soon, as the sidewalls are cracking. I have a hunch that these are the original tires from '85.

 

I also need to pick up a couple more bolts for the front eyelets: I didnt have any more so I have to use the clip on fender up front for the time being. I know it looks awful with mis-matched tires and mis-matched fenders, but given time, it's going to look good. My wish-list includes nitto randonneur bars, new longer stem, and a seat-post that'll allow for more backwards tilt.

 

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