The Golden Boy 

I'm not "done" with any of my bikes.

jimmuller 

So you have two choices. Either fix the seat post now or have your son stop growing. I suspect only one of those choices will be easy.

Pics of the tandem?

Kobe 

I agree, this could be the last summer before he is to big for it.

This picture is when I started it.



This is my son and I when he was 8. Ironically I sold this Trek because I thought the Burley was a better tandem.

rhm

yeah, that pretty well sums it up for me.

Henry III

I think if a build took over say six months I'd lose interest...part it out and start over with something different. I just don't have the patience to wait that long on bikes. Same goes for a custom frame from some builders and their crazy backlog for builds.

loky1179

I bought a new Trek 520 in 1992. I LOVED the bike, but after riding it for a year, I decided the frame was one size to big. I was in the shop one day in 1993, and they had a NEW 520 frame, approx 1991 vintage, for $200. I bought it, intending to swap the parts from the larger 520 to the smaller 520.

I never quite got around to it. I eventually sold the original 520 in 2011, pretty much exactly as I had bought it - still had the original handlebar tape on it. I hung on to the smaller 520 frame - because I LOVE that bike!

So, I've been thinking about this build for about 22 years now. My son in 8, so I doubt I'll get around to it before he graduates from high school, which will be 10 years from now. Or maybe college, 14 years from now.

The nice thing is that my new 520 frame will be a 35 year old classic/vintage touring bike when I finally build it - and I'll get to be the first one to ride it!!

Last ride 76 

Fixed the frame of my 1974 Ron Cooper in 1976 after a crash, repainted in 77, but never rebuilt. Repainted it again this fall, with original color (as close as I could remember). Have not finished re-assembling. Built up a few others in the mean time... I still can't decide on details... Color of handlebar tape, cable housing, my drillium RD from BITD or a 1st gen SR, which I couldn't afford back then, etc. Monumentous decisions, I know. Luckily I have a few others to ride meanwhile. I had a few issues, I guess.

jimmuller 

That's a nice-looking tandem! Worth spending time to get right! Nice pic of you son too. Go for ride, the two of you, tandem or no.

Cougrrcj

I've been 'modifying' my latest acquisition '84 Univega for almost two years now, and I still don't have it the way I want it!!!!

randyjawa 

I guess my 1977 Motobecane Grand Jubilee is the one that spans the most time. That said, it has surfaced in several guises...





Today, although I have no pictures to prove my claim - yet - , the Motobe features black anodized Shimano high flange Dura Ace hubs, laced to 27" alloy rims, black anodized first Generation Shimano Dura Ace black anodized brake calipers, Suntour Cyclone black anodized transmission, Norfolk handlebars and other improvements, all designed to present a really comfortable eye catcher that is, pretty close, to being the perfect bike for me.

I am pretty sure that there is no need to upgrade the bike anymore than it already is. However..?

onespeedbiker

I have two gruppos waiting for frames (and a third I don't know what l'm going to do with) that I started collecting about 20 years ago. (My next build will probably be a celese bianchi if I can find a frame b/t $200 and $300).

southpawboston

The longest build for me has been my newest bike, a Jeff Lyon custom randonneusse. Here's the frame shortly after I took delivery of it in June, 2014:



Eight months later, the build is about 90% complete:



The reason it's taken so long is because this bike will have an unprecedented (for me) level of integration, and I've made some changes to the build spec as I've gone along. For example, the VO stem is just a place holder. I'm waiting for a custom fillet brazed steel stem that will be paint-matched and will have an integrated housing stop. I'm also in the process of developing a stem-cap switch for the dynamo lighting system.







Besides, what's the hurry when there's this much snow outside? It's not going away anytime soon!

frameteam2003

Never really kept count. Took over two years of searching to find a photo of the Fothergill decals---took a couple of years to find a 1930s first type trivelox. Years to I.D. the Columbia military model frame and lots more to find the badge. Some go a lot smoother like the 1952 Claud Butler(less than a year). and some I seem to never get around to like the teens era Mead or the 36 CCM RoadRacer.

Last ride 76 

I wanted to reopen this thread. 39 years, and all I need to do is


Pump the tires, put toe straps on, adjust the brakes, tape the bars (Ahh, the heck with the brakes and tape). Arrrrgh, time to go to work.

OldsCOOL

We wouldnt want to overlook the rolling upgrades. Afterall, the bike really never is truly finished.

Velognome 

3 year or 4 years and counting



Making progress, I fitted a shifter cable in June!

miamijim

3 or so years to build my Colnago Mexico. It took just as many years to find the special aero water bottle for the 100th anniversary Peugeot. At the rate I'm going the Ritchey will take a year or more.

ramzilla

I can stretch 10 or 20 hours of restoration effort out over about 6 months at a time. I can't count all the times I've looked up at the clock & it's 2:00 AM and, I'm still wrenching away.

jjames1452 

Trek 720 makes me sad. I am going to ride my Trek 720 today and tomorrow. It is mint, with only a couple hundred miles on it. I think it will end up being a bit too tall and need to move on. The sad part, I know I wll never find another like it.

Italuminium

Still waiting for the Right Frame for my wonky single speed all-campagnolo mtb. All the parts are there...

The Golden Boy 

I know EXACTLY what you mean. It's still "usable." But it's just a *smidge* off your size so you're not quite happy on it.



My first bike as an adult was my 1987 High Sierra. I recently found the cancelled check I used to pay for it- it was 2 days before I got out of the Army in 1991. My idea was that bike was going to be my transportation to, from and around college. As it turned out, I ended up going to school and living at my folks' house- and the ride was much more than I was willing to do.

For a long time that bike just sat at my parents' and when I got into riding I've dinked with it now and then. Aside from any sort of sentimental attachment (to something I've owned for so long), I realize it's a really cool bike. Whether that bike shaped my ideals, or it just happens to fit in with whatever I think a cool bike is... I don't know. I just know that it's a really cool bike. My main complaint about the bike is about hand positions. I love having the shifters right THERE. I love that it's a cool and unique bike. But if I ride it over... say... 7 miles- my hands are killing me. (this was even before I got my hand crushed in a service elevator) I've changed the bike to drop bars- and it's *decent*. Lately, I've got the hankering to get the bike set up with trekking bars- the butterfly touring bars. They look pretty odd to me, but I think that'll allow the bike to have the hand positions I want/need, and have the shifting and braking right where it's good for me.

3alarmer 

.
...like time spent fishing, time spent working on my own bikes is not deducted from my lifespan. #timeless

Darth Lefty 

My wife has agreed to a tandem and our family is only planned to grow so it will get a lot of use. I see a lot of these late-80's to mid-90's Burleys and Santanas with Suntour parts, and I keep passing on them because I promised her I'd get something ready to go, no projects that take a year or cost as much in bits and pieces as it did for the whole bike.

loky1179

That's pretty funny (not about your hand - sorry to hear about that!). My main commuter has flat bars. I've pretty much hated flat bars since I got my first mountain bike 24 years ago. Yet I've ridden about 12,000 miles on my flat bar commuter, and I STILL haven't gotten around to changing the handlebars. I'd like to try some northroads, and maybe some trekking bars as well. And I have an extra old mountain bike that is slated to get drop bars if I ever get the time for it. One of these days. As you can tell, I have more projects than time or energy!

Velognome 

I was eyeing a Schwinn Cimarron Frame at the LBS the other day. Nice mix of Fillet Brazing and lug work plus a really cool fork.

It's not for sale...just tossing out a little food for for thought.