I'm currently watching fleabay for some bargains and have found some retro road bikes which I quite fancy doing up and using for the daily commute. Not owned a road bike in 15 years sand can remember jack about them so I'm hoping you can help me.

Rear hub spacing – is this like mountain bikes ie a standard width so when shopping for a new back wheel I don't have to look for a particular one that is as rare as rocking horse poo?

Down tube shifter – I don't mind these but is there a cable stop that can be retro fitted to the braze ons so that I can run STI shifters?

I'm presuming as well that road bike steerer tubes are still 1"

Rear hub standard is 130mm. It'll have to be pretty old to not be 130mm spacing

cable stop – yes – standard fitting for cable stop or down tube shifter.

Road bike steerer tubes are normally 1 1/8" now though older ones were still 1" up to 2000ish and more current ones have tapered sizes

Yes 130mm from late 1980s if not earlier.

STI's com with cable stops that will fit on std braze-ons.

Many steerers now 1.125" but I think decent 1" forks are available.

Someone more informative than me will come along.
Long road rides are great though, stick with it 🙂

If you are thinking about modernising a 1980s bike, to get sti on will often require a whole new groupset. Pricey. Old 531 frames ride nice though.

Also, to consider is that Italian frames Colnago, DeRosa, Bianchi, Pinarelo, etc may have an Italian thread bottom bracket .

Without giving too much away it a [rusty looking] 1967 Ken Ryall. I may want to a new rear wheel on it with more gear options hence the query.

Ah, well that almost certainly won't be 130mm OLN at the back – probably 120 or 126 IIRC.

That said, since it'll be steel it may well be perfectly possible to have the rear end 'reset' (read "bent") out so that a 130mm hub will fit – I've done it myself on a 531 frame I had in the mid 90s.

DIY or take it to a frame builder if you're not confident.

Or, find a hub to match but it will make it hard and/or expensive to get parts (eg gears) that'll fit.

Thanks Clubber [and others] I thought that was the case. I may end up having to bend it if it comes to it then.. will just be wierd doing it on purpose!

FYI – my 1987 Raleigh Clubman frame was originally 125mm OLN wide. I had the frame resprayed in early 90's and just asked the shop that did it to coldset the stays to 130mm OLN as I was going up from 6 to 8 speed at the same time. No problems for a good LBS. Ken Ryall ceratinly sounds british so should be ok for BB threading.

Have a look at the classifieds on Cycling Weekly site – there was a really nice mid/late 80s Bianchi in Columbus steel a couple weeks ago.

My 1969 is 116 though 120 5 speed would be more common. That means respacing or sourcing period parts. Or make it fixed.

Narrow bars from that period are horrid, 40cm feels like youre gripping the stem, fine in the time though.

You can still get 1" carbon forks – I just bought some for my early 90's 653 frame. Moving to a carbon fork, aheadset and wide bars gives even older steel frames a very modern feel.

Spacing is your biggest problem. 120 or 126 OLN from 5-7speed bikes will give you the biggest headache to get respaced to 130OLN.

Agreed re fork, though a bit pointless onthat frame IMO.

Re-spacing is a doddle!

I'd take a guess at a 120mm rear. My 1989 was 126mm and went from 6 speed to 7 and 8 at 130mm without a complaint. Just did it, no shop or framebuilder. A nice, cheap short quill stem was surprisingly hard to find when I last looked. It'll probably be 27" wheels rather than 700c too, you'll need a long drop brake caliper if you want newer wheels. I've got some nice 27" wheels in my shed actually.

I have just done the same, bought an old steel lugged road frame off ebay to do up and use as a commuter. When I got the frame I measured the drop out spacing and found the rear was 126mm and the forks were around 91mm. I had thought that everything road was 100mm front and 130mm rear. I did some research and found some helpful info here Sheldon Brown Frame Spacing Looks like the frame and forks can be adjusted with a bit of 3×2.

Stever 27"? not five speed are they 120 spacing?

Some older forks only take axles with flats on the thread, so you might need to get your file out .

Mm, 27" is slightly different to 700c is all I'm saying and tends to be found on older Brit road bikes. 5 speed would be 120mm I think. King Sheldon gives it as 630mm vs 622mm 'Bead Seat Diameter' http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

Our man thought this was all going to be easy eh 😉

God yes, its a fair chance of being a 27er!

I've been after some 27 x 11/4 wheels in five speed, but looking at the tyre market I don't think I'll bother.