lml999

Folks,

I wanted to relay this cautionary tale to others who may benefit from the reading.

I was casually minding my own business one day when I saw a reference to this site. I spent some time in this subforum and somehow developed the hare-brained idea that I should resurrect my 1981 Condor Cycles road bike. Monty Young, the lead builder at Condor, built this bike for me, to my specifications, when I was young and carefree. I transferred a Campy Nuovo Record grouppo from another bike onto it, and it was my sweetheart for the next 15 years or so.

Fast forward...I was seduced by Italian steel, clipless pedals and click shifting. A steel Colnago, an '89 Spiral Conic, found its way into my life...then a C40, a Crystal (given to my son), a Dream, a C50...it goes on and on.

I thought life had calmed down and I was going to be happy with my carbon steeds, a real Porsche GT2 of the bicycle world. Then I found this forum and started trolling ebay for NOS Super Record parts and pondering which Regina freewheel was correct?

It gets worse. I have always had a fondness for Raleigh Pros, but have never been able to find one that fit me. I did own one briefly, but only as a flip. So I see one on eBay...right seat tube length...but the top tube is too long. Bummer. Looks like I may never own a Pro.

Then my browser did a funny little jig to the right (malware?) and I'm looking at an auction for a Raleigh Team Pro. Right seat tube length. Right top tube length. Crap. Last time I was in this position, I BINed a C50. Crap. What to do. Too late. My cursor found its way to BIN and I'm the owner of a 1980 Raleigh Team Pro, Reynolds 753, team colors, motley collection of parts and a whole new experience in vintage bikes.

So the bike is on its way to me. I have since learned that it was sold by the one bike shop in the midwest that supported a team with Raleighs in that era. I've also been told to enjoy the patina and slightly flawed (some scrapes, no rust) finish. It's an early 930 Turbo and its worth more if kept original. No problem swapping components, as the Team Pro was only sold as a frame-only deal. Period correct SR grouppo is fine.



So let this be a lesson for you. Casual browsing of the Internet can lead to Cicli Collectus Gigantus.

And so it goes.

Lee

randyjawa 

I know! Here's my next incoming shipment - seriously.

cuda2k

Bought a $10 Schwinn.
Found BF's C&V trying to figure out what I'd bought.
Bought a $50 Centurion.
Spent a month on BF's C&V rebuilding it.
Bought a Gazelle Champion Mondial AB-Frame.
Spent several months on BF's C&V building it up (multiple times since)
Bought a Schwinn Passage touring bike.
Spent weeks on BF's C&V while I cleaned it, upgraded it, rode it, etc.
Traded the Schwinn Passage for an 86 Serotta with paint issues.
Spent months on BF's C&V deciding paint, groupo changes, part swaps with the Gazelle, etc.
Bought a Gazelle Champion Mondial A-Frame.
... well, you get the idea.

simmonsgc

Whoa. Now there's a man who understands economies of scale. And has a lot of storage space.

qcpmsame 

I am so sorry for your misfortune. Send it to me and I'll take care of your guilt feelings

Nice score, enjoy the ride.

Bill

wrk101

Your warning is too late for me, but maybe not for others.

Mine started with a Schwinn Criss Cross for $10 at a garage sale. Cleaned it up and sold it three days later. This is a disease... And I have it.

And lets see, turn the clock back five years ago, and my keeper fleet was just a 1975 Peugeot UO8, that was the wrong size, and a Trek 800 MTB. Now, its the Colnago Master Lite, and the Quintana Roo Aerial (Merlin Ti frame), and two imported Schwinns: a Prologue and a Paramount Series 5, and a Trek 520 touring bike, and a Trek 950 MTB, and a few others.... Oh yeah, I forgot the chrome Katakura Silk and the Univega Alpina Pro (can't decide whether to keep the Alpina Pro or the Trek 950, one has to go).

Then there is the Bianchi Axis I bought last Monday....Celeste bar tape showed up today. If it stays, the Trek 520 will have to go.

Then there is the couple of hundred other bikes that have passed through...

And come to think about it, I have the Gazelle Mondial in my size to do something with, and a Prologue in my wife's size, and three mixtes. Then there are another about 40 bikes in the to be rehabbed queue (I refuse to count).

Spent the weekend rearranging the garage and adding more hooks... And marking several framesets for the co-op.

SteveSGP

Too late for me and my family as well, In the last two years I've built myself two bikes (one is currenlty being redone), built my wife three bikes, built my son about twelve bikes of which he still has five (he keeps trading up), built my oldest daughter three bikes and my five year old has her little little basic kids bike, a vintage Schwinn cruiser and there's a cute little Takara 24" wheel road bike awaiting restoration for her for a couple years down the road.

Sadly since I'm 6'6" and require a 64-68cm frame I don't have the option of keeping many of the bikes that pass through my garage but on the other hand the extra income is nice from selling resto projects.

mapleleafs-13 

my storage facility was pretty bad this summmer, i probably had at most 30 bikes at one point, i keep my personal collection inside the house.

It started with a bianchi that was repainted that i came on here looking for info and whatnot, then i learned a little more about the bikes. I then bought a pinarello which has stayed with me to this day, and then it led to a website and flipping bikes... i've got a small problem now thanks to this forum..

auchencrow

There are many compulsive-obsessive people here, who have a real problem with accumulating literally dozens of bikes, but I find it's easy.

RaleighSport

>.> I just tossed out 6-7 frames various steel wheels and other junk today.. just was talking to my girlfriend a minute ago about how I think I'm close to my ideal number of bikes a bike b bike, single speed for jaunts, single speed mountain bike, non suspension 21 speed, utility beater hybrid, and my two 3 speeds that I just keep around for sentimental reasons. I kind've want a fixed gear, but I have a frameset already for that.
So according to n+1 ten is my ideal.

Charles Wahl

As Tom Waits put it: "I don't have a drinking problem ‘cept when I can't get a drink."

Maddox

This is going in my signature.

hueyhoolihan

ouch! all of a sudden i sense my bvd's are too tight.

Velognome 

This just looks wrong on so many different levels

christ0ph

These are probably the most used bicycles Ive ever seen in one place. Can anybody guess what's happening here? Hint, these ships are leaving various Asian ports - the destination is one country.






Does this site only allow four images in one post? Because I tried to post more.

Okay, I wont keep you in suspense any longer, those bikes are going to North Korea. North Korea - the worst human rights situation in the world, also has huge areas that no longer have reliable electricity or fuel, so people ride bikes.

seedsbelize 

I just bought a sante front(because it's so beautiful), and 600 tricolor rear for my first attempt at wheel building.

Alan Edwards

Hi, my name is Alan and I'm a bik-a-holic. I haven't purchased a bike or frame in two weeks. I do have a nice Campagnolo Synchro II shifter set coming in the mail.

look171

So, what is it that you really want, a 930 or GT2?

WNG

Yes, this forum is a dangerous place. It's a slippery slope, watch your step. Maybe one day the drug companies will have a pill for N+1.

lml999

Yep.



Lee

lml999

Turns out the seller is an old friend. Michael Kone, who built Bicycle Classics in Boston in the '90s. I built the first website for Bicycle Classics in 1996. He moved to Boulder, sold Bicycle Classics and eventually started Rene Herse Cycles in Boulder.

We figured it out post-sale.

Small world!

Lee