Does it ever end?
 

I own what many would consider a "grail" bike. Hell, it's MY grail bike. It's an awesome frame, with every dream component I can imagine, built and refined over the last 20 years. And yet, after just a few weeks on this Forum, I feel like I want to get something else. When I was in my early 20s, I had a 1986 Paramount, "Electric Blue," with full Dura Ace 7400 parts, including the stem and seat post. The only non-Dura Ace part was the Stronglight headset. Why do I seem to be longing to re-create that bike? In many ways. it's inferior to what I have now, and yet it still calls to me. I can't even afford to do this, what with No. 1 son set to start college in the fall. Is there some cure for this ailment?

The Grail is not named. No yardstick to compare to.

No it does not end. I have my grail and then some. I had told myself the buying had stopped. Buzzzzz. Wrong answer Hans. Sold one, bought two. And I am still cruising ebay.fr and ebay.nl for interesting stuff.

YMMV

Maybe it's the "1989 Cinelli Super Corsa" under his "Bikes" icon?

My personal "grail" bike doesn't really matter to the question. Why do I want to build another bike? Do I want to re-create my youth somehow?

I think that's a fair question. Many of us have sought to reproduce bikes we either owned or coveted when we were teenagers or young adults. I started out at age 12 with a fat-tired Schwinn and then a (low-end) Bianchi road bike. What do I ride today? A fat-tired Schwinn (mountain bike) and an upper-mid level Bianchi road bike. The interest in Capo bicycles came during my undergrad years.

It won't cost you anything to search for this Blue 1986 Paramount. Along the way, some very nice riders can come and go for a couple hundred bucks.

I have started looking, knowing full well I can't afford whatever I may stumble across. I've seen some amazing bikes on this Forum, which has whetted my appetite!

You never know. Actually obtaining a Grail might end it. Two years ago, I got a hankering to find a late 90s Litespeed Ultimate in my size. I had been wanting one since the late 90s! I found one, but dawdled just a bit too long and somebody else bought it. I kept looking, but in the course of looking I got a new Canyon, 2 old Lotuses, a Centurion Ironman, and a Schwinn Circuit, as well as restoring an old 1994 Cannondale I hadn't ridden in 10 years. Seemed like I was buying another bike every couple months. Each time I swore it was the last, but every day I'd be looking at bikes on Craig's List or FB marketplace or Ebay, Then I finally found a 1995 Ultimate for a price I could afford. I bought it and restored it, and since then, I no longer find myself wanting any more bikes.

So, it's possible a Grail will end the quest.

Age (or illness) will eventually curtail your seeking new and wonderful bikes.

Trust me - it will happen.

Then the issue may be getting rid of them.

Whenever I begin a search for bike, if it’s a well known bike that I’m sure I’ll come across at some point, I flip a few cheapies and save the money so I can more easily afford it when that grail bike finally comes along. I realize that I’m lucky to have the space and tools to do this, plus it’s fun! I’ve met so many great people while buying and selling bikes. A hobby that pays for itself, at least in part and the wonderful social aspects for me are really the biggest reasons I keep I buying. It’s not really just about the grail bike.

This:

I thought the nature of a grail quest was that you are doomed to never actually find it. (Unless you're Indiana Jones...)

The thing is, I already have my grail! So why do I want "another one?" And why do I want one that would be somewhat "less" than what I already have? Maybe I'm having a mid-life crisis.

We are a bunch of enablers around here...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...f-8a93d878ba3f

https://scontent.fdet1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...Sg&oe=6255A311

I found my grail bike, so I came up with a new grail. Found that. Wash rinse repeat for the past 15 years. But hey if you can afford it and you enjoy the hunt, indulge yourself.

The only thing that truly cured me of the hunt was making my own frames. I only went back to collecting because I haven't had access to a space where I can use my torch and frame building tools in several years. But it's more fun to make your own grail that hunt down someone else's work.

Forget about the bikes. It's the riding that's important.

You have been assimilated. ;)

Like so many things, this takes on a life of its own and we find that our knowledge is limited then once we dive in.

There is so much more to learn and we each are off on our own path, learning, discovering, drooling, obsessing, chasing, hunting, wanting more and plenty else.

No real mystery to me and we all find our own way through it with the knowledge and wisdom of the fantastic collective here.

everytime I think I'm done, I get pulled back in. I've got too many bikes now, but I'm always on the look for something interesting. I love to buy hate to sell. I think for some of us the thrill is in the hunt, the find, the backstory. for me finding having that grail bike just gets me wound up and looking for another grail bike. so no I don't think it ever ends if you have that hunter collector mentality. although as stated above age has a way of making you think or rethink your choices as I'm finding out

Grail can be plural

Personally, I think the concept of a grail bike being singular is bs. Sure, it could be singular if it is a nostalgia thing, only one bike in your youth. But nostalgia is not the only motivation.

Buy whatever you want to afford. Enjoy it. There is no harm in that.

The thing is that C&V bikes aren't about practicality. It isn't like you just need a vehicle to get you from point A to point B and the one you have satisfies that need. You don't usually need anything with a classic bike. You just enjoy it -- enjoy riding it, enjoy looking at it, enjoy thinking about it. It's like art that has a tangible use. If you had a really great painting in your house, does that mean you don't want another one? That depends on your wall space and your budget. The Louvre has the Mona Lisa. Why do they need other paintings?

You're in relatively good shape because you have a specific bike you're thinking about. A lot of us here seem to have gone through (or are going through) a phase where we have a lot of garage space and a bit of money to just explore and see what's out there. The kind of grail bikes you're talking about are expensive enough that you aren't likely to buy one on a whim, but you can get some really nice bikes for a couple of hundred dollars and many of us are people of a certain age who have reached the point financially where we can spend a couple of hundred dollars a few times a year without it causing problems for us. A friend of mine likes to say, "It's cheaper than hookers and blow."

I keep telling myself that I'm near the point where I'll stop buying more bikes. I've filled all the hooks in my garage, and now whenever I want another bike I have to decide on one I'm willing to get rid of. That's what I tell myself, but last week I put one of my lesser frames in the attic space above the garage. There's a lot of empty space up there. :innocent:

lol!

That's a big part of it for me. Bikes are like art. I love studying the the workmanship and details of a hand built frame, or the intricate engineering of a derailleur or brake caliper. I remember looking at the finishing on the chain and seat stays at the rear dropout on the Paramount--the junctions looked like they were sculpted out of one piece of steel, finely polished. It was just artistry.

You're attached to earthly goods which leads to your suffering.

So i think we hanker to re-create our youth and in that way it can be what we actually owned and enjoyed or what we aspired to own at that period in time.. for me its the same with cars and stereo equipment and guitars...
so compared to those other hobbies vintage bike collecting or quality bike collecting is the lesser financial version of all of those, couple that with the facvt i actually ride the bikes i find or buy makes it all the more enjoyable, also with some small mechanical ability, i can fix or make better or restore what i find, i have started to call it rescuing bikes...and mostly for me its about the hunt, the research, the craftsmanship, the beauty, and every once in a while i'm able to make a couple bucks to partially fund my hobby.

my longstanding wish is a Raleigh Chopper Mk1 in red with a 3 speed sturmey archer gear, its what i got for Christmas when i was 10, however i cant bring myself to pay the silly prices when one pops up and they are pretty much un-ridable as an adult.

The list of bikes i want is endless... but i tell myself one has to go when i buy one, so right now i have a very nice 90's Trek 520 that is yet to be advertised and ... as i just picked up a keeper, i think i'm going to try to sell the Tommassini to make some wall space its a 1998 ... just hadn't gotten around to putting them on here yet.