Vintage Bike Buying Guide

Frame style is the foundation for your look with a vintage bicycles and there are various things to consider when choosing which bike frame suits you. Two major considerations are; design and material.

As for design, you can't go wrong with a traditional and understated step through frame which is featured on all four of our top selling women's vintage bikes; the Vintage Ladies Classic Plus , Vintage Ladies Petite , Vintage Ladies Lite and Vintage Ladies Deluxe. The step through frame is specifically designed for women, making it simple and easy to get on and off the bike.

The Vintage Ladies Deluxe has a taller head tube compared to the other Ladies Vintage bikes which results in a more up upright seating position.

You should also consider frame material, as this makes a difference in weight, performance and durability of a bike.

Steel is cost effective, strong, durable - featured on the Vintage Ladies Classic Plus (15 kg)

Alloy provides a lightweight, smoother ride - If you are after a lightweight vintage ladies bike check out the Vintage Ladies Deluxe and Vintage Ladies Lite both feature an alloy frame (14 kg)

With brakes, it is always best to look for 'dual pivot caliper brakes or 'v-brakes'. These modern styles are far more reliable, powerful and safe compared to lower quality single pivot caliper brakes found on inferior brands.

The 'Dual Pivot Caliper Brakes' which are featured on the Vintage Ladies Classic Plus , Vintage Ladies Petite and Vintage Ladies Lite look a little more traditional.

The 'V-brakes' which are featured on the Vintage Ladies Deluxe are also common on high quality retro style bikes.

With wheels, there are two common sizes 700c and 26 inch. All of our Vintage bikes come with 700c sized wheels which are larger, slimmer and offer more comfort and control. 26 inch wheels are more common on mountain bikes.

The Vintage Ladies Petite comes 24" wheels to suit shorter riders.

As for rims look for double-wall rims which are much stronger than the old style single wall rims.

All our Vintage Ladies bikes (aside from the Deluxe) come with 32C (32mm wide) tyres. This makes them suitable for all hard surfaces like concrete, bitumen and hard packed dirt or gravel paths. The Ladies Vintage Deluxe comes with 35C (35mm wide) cream colour tyres that make for an extra smooth ride.

Baskets are a great add on to any vintage bike! Our front and rear baskets add classic vintage style, and functionality to your bike allowing for you to easily carry all your things without a backpack. All our baskets are lightweight allowing for a smoothe, easy ride.

Front Basket Kit - Our Front Baskets Kit - Classic fits on the Vintage Ladies Classic Plus and the Vintage Ladies Lite. Our Vintage Ladies Deluxe needs longer basket legs due to the taller frame, you will need to purchase the Front Deluxe Basket Kit for this bike.

Rear Baskets - Our Rear Basket Kit universally fits across our range of vintage bikes with pannier racks.