I have 4 bikes, which 2 bikes should i keep?
 

I have been into the whole flipping thing for the last year or so and i have learned so much from everyone here and found a lot of good bikes from me checking out the forum pretty religiously. When i first joined BF i would only have 1 bike that i would ride for awhile flip it and get another so on and so on. Now i have been getting really lucky finding nice stuff at good prices or trading, so now i have a big parts bin and 4 different frames here. I feel like i'm getting attached to some of the projects because they turn out really nice sometimes and i love to keep them around and use them as much as possible.


So here is my question: which bikes do i keep? which bikes do i part with?

1979 Univega Gran Premio
http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/a...00_0001-13.jpg
1980 Peugeot Competition
http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/a...00_0001-11.jpg
1981 Miyata 912
http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/a...4/000_0001.jpg
1976? Austro Daimler AD-SL
http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/a...00_0002-12.jpg

The univega is ready to ride
The Peugeot needs cables and a chain
The miyata needs a makeover
The daimler is just chillin' hangin' in my garage

I would get rid of the Peugeot and the AD, keep the 912 and the Univega. Parts for the Euro frames are a pain to get for cheap, the others are far easier to maintain and build up, IMO...

I'm 100% sure i'm ready to part with the AD
The Peugeot is a pretty nice bike, it's all there so i'm going to hang on to that for a little bit longer
The miyata has to be painted and if i was going to keep it i would buy the decals for it
The univega is nice too, Tange champion tubing, very early univega but it's scratched here and there

Exact opposite of my feelings. But that depends on which way you want your fleet to go. The Asian bikes are well made, but they ain't got the same soul as the other two.

The AD is cool and everything but it's not the type of quality i want to keep you know?

The miyata and univega are pretty top of the line for their era but the miyata needs a paintjob so will that effect the value?

The Peugeot i want to keep around for a little bit, It looks hot!

No, you need to explain yourself on the AD.

I was going to suggest waving goodbye to the Univega and Miyata, but save the Campagnolo pedals if that is what is one it.

The AD, I like it but it is not a superliecht it was one of their entry level bikes i believe. I have these 3 other somewhat decent bikes and i feel the AD falls behind in quality, but if you think different i would like to hear what you guys think.

They did not have campy pedals, believe me, i would know!

If you need some Frenchness, the Peugeot has all the parts so you don't have to search for anything. If you sell the Peogeot or the A-D you will have a hard time finding another for cheap. Are you out of storage space???

I agree on the keepers being the Miyata and Univega but could not disagree more on the other two. I am not expert so maybe the Peugeot has a funny Frog BB but I don't think parts for either would be hard to get or expensive. now if you wanted to restore them and wanted all original stuff that may take some doing but it would be a simple task to make either a good rider.

Basically, we have a two bedroom aprt. and a 1 car garage with rims, frames hanging from the rafters.

I'm not trying to make them all original i just wanted advice on which one i should let go of but i'm getting mixed answers as expected

I'll build the AD up with random parts and maybe get $180 or $200 for it

The Peugeot i want to keep around for maybe a year who knows

So it's down to the univega and miyata, The miyata needs paint and some parts but the univega has original paint and is a great riding bike for me.

I think i will sell the miyata and AD and try to find some other bikes, more will come around!

Being a fan of bikes from across the Atlantic, I'd choose to eliminate the bikes that came from across the Pacific. There is a certain character that the Asian bikes lack atmo.

Personally, I'd keep the Univega and Peugeot, because
1) the Univega is (IMO) the equivalent of the 912 but cleaner, and
2) the Pug is probably the best ride of the bunch.

I may be out of line...but I think the AD is probably the nicest and most valuable frame (assuming you have the matching fork) that you have...with the Pug not far behind. Japanese bikes generally do nothing for me though so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Is the AD Frame Ebay material?

That is a Reynolds 531 decal on the AD isn't it?

Not a low end AD then, I'd keep it along with the Peugeot but then I have this odd attraction to French bikes.


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Non-slanted label. The A-D SL was '531 Main-tubes-only. A complete, original clean bike would probably be worth in the neighborhood of $300. A frame?

Would $125 be too much to ask for the Frame, fork, Headset, and BB?

I think that would be realistic for eBay.

I have it up on craigslist but i've never tried to sell on ebay.

I've only purchased a few things

CL limits your exposure tremendously, so it reduces the prospects of selling quickly at a good price. You can test the waters though, to see if you get lucky, finding that one buyer near your hometown. You can relist on eBay if it does not sell.

IMHO, this thread is a little pointless. You have 4 very nice old steel road bikes. Keep whichever you want. (BTW, not trying to be a jerk, so I hope it didn't come out that way.)

Or put all 4 up for sale on craigslist and see which sell first, if you can't make up your mind.

how can you live with only 4 bikes?

You need at least one or two more, probably n+1 more.

I have an AD SLE 531 DB frame. Bugger is I got it without a headset and the threading on the fork is 26mm. I gave in and bought a headset from a Swiss Moped dealer. Haven't received it, but the headset for the AD are harder to find then French parts. Of course not all AD have 26mm forks.

My answer, since you also sell bikes and have parts available:

Build up and get at least get two of them ridable.
Next ride the ridable ones for awhile and see which one you like the ride and fit of better, sort of a head to head competition. Since you're in the land of no winter you could probably ride one for a week, then the other for a week, grade the ride quality of each, then alternate each bike every other day for a week so you can have a fresh feeling for how you like the ride and fit of each one.
Then pick the one out of those two that you like the most.

Next build up the third bike, doesn't matter which one, and repeat the process, then pick the best for you and purge the other.

Finally build up the fourth bike and do the same, ride, compare, pick.

Process of elimination is the only real way to go for a personal rider/keeper bike.

Now if your goal is collectability and most dollar potential then ignore everything I just typed, research the market values on each bike, compare to your investment and cost to restore, then run an analysis on the most financially rewarding prospect and proceed.

Bottom line is to not over-think the process. Define where you want to end up, go forth and don't look back.

I've got four framesets in the garage, three are waiting to be purged, one I might build. I've also got a Lotus bicycle, former owner left it outside over a few winters, major project, regardless of how it might ride it isn't looking like I'm motivated to repair it so it will go cheap.

Define your goals, decide your path, go forth. (and I have no idea why I'm talking/typing like this, must be the rice I ate for lunch)