Thanks for all the replies and advice, guys. You seem like a good bunch.
Just a little more personal background: like quite a few of you, I've also spent a fair amount of time on motorcycles. The only reason why I've (temporarily?) kicked the habit is because I live in what I deem to be the most unfriendly bike (motorized or push) city in the world. Gotham.
Unlike Dave (unless we learn otherwise, should Breaking Away 2 ever come out), I was lucky enough to spend almost a decade living in Italy. This has left me with some long term negative consequences such as thinking all the roads here suck, all the drivers suck, all the food sucks, none of the girls here know how to dress... all on top of lust for anything on two wheels. So, with that in mind...
Originally Posted by USAZorro
Well, actually, another technique that has worked is to try to look at pictures of a lot of different makes and models of vintage bikes, and to learn some about them. This helped me to go shopping with a more specific goal in mind. Being selective can make the hunt more of an adventure that consumes more time, and fewer dollars.
Knowing a bit about motorcycles and a few other esoteric pursuits, I know enough to know that I really know nothing. It's actually bewildering to see how vast the universe of vintages bikes could be. I'm starting to get some ideas, though
Originally Posted by Dave Cutter
What I've found... is not only is a wife a real value in helping me limit my bicycle collection size. Knowledge for my single years was helpful in paying for the bicycles I do collect. It seems... for me... that once I have the vintage bike and get it back into beautiful form and ride it a few times I lose interest in that particular bike. Then... I see yet another prettier more desirable bike. And the pursuit begins again.
This sounds like a fairly reasonable approach, especially since I enjoy wrenching as much as I do riding, but unfortunately I have a problem letting go. I get attached to pretty much every bike that own, and then I have a hard time selling them. But I guess if I've already got something "better" in the works, that could help.
As for finding a lady to help me set limits, unfortunately I tend to go more for the enablers than the boundary setters.
Originally Posted by mountaindave
Not sure if quality naturally increases, but I'm finding that my taste has narrowed and become more refined - I have a better idea of what fits me and what makes me happy on a bike. It takes many iterations to reach this point (for some). So buy away!
This is the kind of thinking that I'm somewhat worried about, and that has me close to pulling the trigger on both these bikes. I figure I will ride them both a bit and then discard one or both when I start to have a better idea. Deep down, though, I'm afraid I'll want to keep them both.
Originally Posted by wrk101
2. Look for deals where it should be easy to make a little $$ to support your bike fund.
3. Repeat the cycle. Use proceeds to buy a bike or two to keep and some tools.
4. Pass on bikes that aren't screaming deals, unless it is a grail bike for you (I paid full value plus for a Chicago Paramount my size).
Here's the thing, and I don't want to sound like a jerk, but everything seems pretty affordable right now. And no, I am by no means a wealthy person, or anything even close to that, it's just that my frame of reference (thinking motorcycles) is skewing everything right now. I'm haggling with a guy to try and save $25 on a bike that costs $200, when some small motorcycle parts (or a set of tires) might cost twice that much. It's giving me this feeling that, 'the price is so low, how can I say no?'
Along those same lines, and again not to offend anyone, but most of the mechanical work involved seems relatively straightforward and doable. No messy and/or toxic fluids to deal with, and relatively few components involved. I did a lot of work on my motorcycles, so everything on a bike seems so accessible and uncomplicated. I am already seeing, however, all of the little differences in fitment and the need for specific/specialty tools has the potential to get really annoying.
Originally Posted by the Golden boy
Part of all this is knowing what you want and knowing what you're looking at. Knowing that you're looking at a common, entry level bike- even if you like it, it's not worth chasing after with fists full of cash. Finding a rare bike in good shape is.
So just a few weeks ago I was over visiting my sorta-GF, staying at her family's country house in some small town in the bel paese. One of the local merchants has a really nice looking (to me, anyway) Tomi 'Competizione' sitting outside his place very day. So eventually he sees me checking it out and tells me that Tomi is a little known brand built locally (the Vitterbo area), that made some nice bikes. I have no idea if this is true or not, but google does bring up a bike shop with that name, in that area.
Anyway, this seems like a good target for now. It's rare and it would be special to me, but I'm worried I may never find a complete one (there is one on Ebay right now, but it's a frame only, and I can't post links yet). And yes, I'm regularly scouring Italian classified ads/websites as well, which is an entirely different can of worms, because it seems like there are some amazing buys to be had in Italy...