Eroica Accepted Bikes (Pre-1987)

We've been safely sending orders around the world since 2010. There's a handy shipping calculator on the shopping cart page so you can see the cost of postage as soon as you've added it to your basket. Your order will be carefully packed and sent with tracking & insurance, we despatch most orders within 2-3 days but larger items and orders placed before the weekend can take an extra day or two to process.

We accept returns, please notify us within 14 days and ensure the item arrives back with us no later than 30 days after the order was received.

We don't charge VAT, however, if buying from outside of the UK please remember that there may be import fees to pay directly to the delivery company before receiving the order. Unfortunately we can’t advise on the exact costs as it varies from country to country, so please check your national rates before purchasing.

Thread Type - this must match the bottom bracket thread on your frame. The 3 common thread types on classic and vintage bikes are English (also known as British or ISO), Italian & French, and are usually (not always!) found on frames built in their respective countries. If you're replacing a bottom bracket the cups should have the thread type stamped on one of them, if not there are a couple of things to look at; bottom bracket shell width (English & French = 68 mm, Italian = 70 mm) & drive side cup thread direction (English = left, Italian & French = right). The only curveball to watch out for here, although pretty uncommon, are Swiss threads (also found on some French frames, Motobecanes being one) which will have the same shell width & thread direction as an English thread frame but the actual thread pitch will be different. If none of the above matches what you have, there are a few lesser known varieties that will require some further research.

Axle Length - your crankset dictates the axle length you need and the recommendation should be used to avoid issues with chainline. If you're replacing a bottom bracket that works perfectly then this can be matched, otherwise you'll need to check the manufacturers spec, a good resource for older bikes is Velobase.

Axle Type - you can tell which type of axle you need just by looking at the shape of the bottom bracket hole in your crankset. The square taper axle came in two variations; JIS which was produced for cranksets made in Asia and ISO for cranksets made in Europe, these taper down to a slightly smaller end than JIS axles. There are a few exceptions such as some Sugino cranksets that required an ISO axle and some older Dura-Ace cranksests which used a shorter 'low profile' variation of the JIS taper. Ofmega/Avocet also had their own variaton of the ISO taper which is not compatible with any other type.

We've been safely sending orders around the world since 2010. There's a handy shipping calculator on the shopping cart page so you can see the cost of postage as soon as you've added it to your basket. Your order will be carefully packed and sent with tracking & insurance, we despatch most orders within 2-3 days but larger items and orders placed before the weekend can take an extra day or two to process.

We accept returns, please notify us within 14 days and ensure the item arrives back with us no later than 30 days after the order was received.

We don't charge VAT, however, if buying from outside of the UK please remember that there may be import fees to pay directly to the delivery company before receiving the order. Unfortunately we can’t advise on the exact costs as it varies from country to country, so please check your national rates before purchasing.

Fixing Type - if you have small mounts on either side of the frame’s down tube you need braze-on shifters, if there are no mounts you’ll need clamp-on (sometimes referred to as band-on). Some 'aero' frames have mounts fixed to the top of the down tube, for these frames you require top mount shifters for the correct boss type (see below). There are also 'Clamp-Over' shifters that allow front & rear shifters to be used on a frame that only has a single braze-on.

Shift Type - friction shifters don't click into gear when you change, when they do click it's referred to as indexed shifting. For this to work correctly you must use the same system as your rear derailleur, if you're using friction levers you can mix and match. You don't need to worry about the front derailleur as left downtube shifters aren't indexed.

Speed - the number of cogs at the back the right shifter is designed to be used with. This is important with indexed shifting but with friction shifters you can in theory run any shifters with any speed setup, although the right lever will need to be pulled back further to shift into the larger cogs.

Shifter Boss Type - the shape of the mount (for braze-on fixings only). Campagnolo / ISO is standard and easily identified by the flat sections on either side, usually combined with a square base for the backing stop plates to fit. There are also Shimano ones with a keyhole shaped base and much less common French ones that are round with no flat sections.

Boss Thread Size - M5 (5 mm) is standard for Campagnolo / ISO bosses, but Shimano bosses will often have M4.5 (4.5 mm) threads and the French bosses would likely have 5 x 1 mm threads.

We've been safely sending orders around the world since 2010. There's a handy shipping calculator on the shopping cart page so you can see the cost of postage as soon as you've added it to your basket. Your order will be carefully packed and sent with tracking & insurance, we despatch most orders within 2-3 days but larger items and orders placed before the weekend can take an extra day or two to process.

We accept returns, please notify us within 14 days and ensure the item arrives back with us no later than 30 days after the order was received.

We don't charge VAT, however, if buying from outside of the UK please remember that there may be import fees to pay directly to the delivery company before receiving the order. Unfortunately we can’t advise on the exact costs as it varies from country to country, so please check your national rates before purchasing.

Cable Routing - non-aero means the cables come out at the top of the brake levers, meaning the cables are on show. With aero levers the cable comes out of a small hole by the handlebar, allowing the cables to be hidden under the handlebar tape.

Bar Clamp Size - this should be close to the outside diameter of your handlebars at the point the brake levers will be fitted. This will rarely present a problem with drop bars as 23.8 mm is standard, and a 24.2 mm clamp will fit just fine as they do have a little adjustment in them. There are some older sizes to watch out for but these will be noticeably different.

We've been safely sending orders around the world since 2010. There's a handy shipping calculator on the shopping cart page so you can see the cost of postage as soon as you've added it to your basket. Your order will be carefully packed and sent with tracking & insurance, we despatch most orders within 2-3 days but larger items and orders placed before the weekend can take an extra day or two to process.

We accept returns, please notify us within 14 days and ensure the item arrives back with us no later than 30 days after the order was received.

We don't charge VAT, however, if buying from outside of the UK please remember that there may be import fees to pay directly to the delivery company before receiving the order. Unfortunately we can’t advise on the exact costs as it varies from country to country, so please check your national rates before purchasing.

Drilling - the number of holes for the spokes.

Rim Size - the sizing given by the manufacturer, these can be confusing so we also give the ISO diameter too for clarification.

ISO Diameter - the diameter of the rim at the point where the tyre is seated (bead seat diameter). This is a universal measurement, often displayed on tyres as 28-622 or similar, 28 referring to the tyre width and 622 being the ISO diameter in millimetres.

Valve Type - presta valves are the thin ones and Schrader are the fatter ones. Schrader valve holes will also accept the older Dunlop/Woods type valves.

Rim Width (OD) - the width of the rim, measured from the outside of one wall to the other.

Rim Height - the overall height of the rim, measured to the highest point of the rim’s profile.