Cycling in middle age - ride a beautiful classic steel bike

Guys - forget cars, they're so yesterday. Now we're really grown up we can start to think about others, think about the environment, think about our children (and maybe grandchildren) and think about our own health and fitness. Forget about Top Gear and start to indulge in the coolest and fastest growing participation sport in the West - cycling!

I've been cycling for some decades now, racing mountain bikes in the early nineties, then becoming a roadie following the Tour de France and cycle sport until it turned out they were nearly all performance-enhancing drug-taking cheats (but I'm back with it now), watching track cycling and now riding many miles each year, commuting and for pleasure.

In that time I've spent quite a lot on my hobby and recently I've realised that, for the price of a brand new and fairly mid-range bike, it's possible to buy a beautiful classic bicycle to cruise around on.

Photo Grey Fox

A classic bike is probably made of steel rather than carbon fibre or aluminium, both used with more modern cycles. Steel bikes tend to look beautiful, as the proportions of the tubing are just right. Modern carbon bikes, however, can be less attractive, with poorly-proportioned bulging tubes and garish graphics.

Below I show a classic steel Bianchi and one of the better-looking modern carbon fibre bikes.  You could buy the steel bike for a fraction of the cost of the carbon-framed one. OK, it's heavier, slower and has fewer gears, but which do you prefer for style and beauty?

Steel-framed Bianchi - Grey Fox photo

Trek Madone - carbon fibre