Two wheels good

The vintage bicycle scene is blossoming. Take October’s Eroica rally in Chianti, Italy, which drew some 7,000 cyclists on road-racing bicycles at least 30 years old (often much more), dressed up in period cycling gear, keen to discover “the beauty of fatigue and the thrill of the conquest” as the event’s creator, Giancarlo Brocci, describes it.

Among them was Max Girardo, well-known historic car specialist and long-time friend of K500, so we asked what persuaded him to pedal 135km of challenging roads when he could have been relaxing with a glass of the excellent local wine.

“A friend in his 60s did the event last year, riding a bicycle he’d bought new 40 years ago, and his description of the event made me realise that the Eroica is a Goodwood for vintage bicycles. As with Goodwood, part of the pleasure is in dressing up in period-correct gear and there’s a trade village selling bike bits and retro clothing.”

And why this sudden interest in vintage bikes among people who haven’t cycled for years?

“Just as there’s been an explosion in modern cycling, which has become far more fashionable in recent years, the vintage bike scene has suddenly taken off. Old cycles are being dragged out from attics and cellars – and as the popularity of retro bikes increases, events spring up to support them, which in turn tempts more people to get back in the saddle.”
 

A mirror on the historic car market, then, but of course you don’t need the same level of financial investment. You might buy an eligible bike for £1,000 and spend another £1,000 on preparation and clothing, so it’s hardly a market for speculators. Max agrees: “Although there are collectors who have 100 vintage bicycles, any financial rewards are minimal and ownership is purely its own reward – plus the joy of taking part in events such as Eroica.”

Ben Gibbs, Webmaster at K500 – another participant on this year’s Eroica – is proof that you can do it for even less:

“Looking at eBay, the standard price for a top-end restored bike is about £2500, while I paid £350 on eBay for my 1982 Alan Cyclocross and Max paid about £250 for his Legnano, an Italian bike from the 70s. It’s not about super-flash machines; it’s primarily about the heritage. I spent a further £150 or so getting the bike ready for the Eroica and around £150 on clothing, and then it was just a case of booking an EasyJet flight to Pisa with the bike in the luggage hold."

The Italian Eroica (there are versions in many countries, including the UK, US, Uruguay and Japan) gives you the choice of four routes, ranging from 46km to 209km, following beautiful but taxing roads. “It’s physically demanding and not something you can just turn up and do if you haven’t ridden a bicycle since your schooldays,” says Max, “but nor do you have to be an athlete to take part. The Eroica isn’t strictly a race, although of course everyone wants to do well, so there’s an element of informal competition.”

To take part, you’ll need a bicycle built before the cut-off date of 1987, chosen because it represents a point at which a series of technical advantages dramatically changed the speed, efficiency and appearance of road-racing bikes. Changes included brake cables being incorporated within handlebars and gear cables within the frame, while pedals were now designed to click seamlessly onto the new style of shoes. So, choose your bike, spec it correctly, make sure your cycling gear is the correct vintage… and book that flight. Details at eroica.cc

Photos by Ben Gibbs