styggno1

I was pondering upon what to do for my post number 1000…

It has taken six years to reach a thousand posts. I do have some different hobbies and my interest for/in them goes up and down over time, but bicycles have been on “up” all my life. I believe they will stick with me to the end. Maybe not the bicycles themselves but my interest in them.

It started early – here a drawing from when I was 6. My mother kept it, and it now hangs in my hobby shop. It says, “My bike is bad – but good because it goes”. With two elder brothers I always got hand me down bikes… That might be my reason for getting a lot of bikes later!

(Sorry for the despicable PB mark but I seem to have lost my own pic when getting a new laptop.)



Later in the 80ies when going to university to become an architect I needed a bike to take me to campus. And in line with a aesthetical education it had to be nice looking. And black was “a thing” among us to-be-architects. This is a paper photo that I have scanned – hence the lack of quality. It was a beat up Benotto that I got powder coated black and then put on bits that I had. The picture is taken just outside the architects school in Lund, Sweden. The bike served me well all year round – even if the slim and tight fenders often were clogged up with snow during winters…

1985 I believe:



For many years I trained hard and long. Now later in life not so much… But my interest for good looking bicycles is still there and as strong. Here is a link to my collection:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/45306161@N03/albums

Thank you, Bike Forums, for the opportunity to connect with people all over the world and I now start on the next thousand posts!

bwilli88 

Nice drawing, Can you draw any better now?

styggno1

With my education I believe I can draw somewhat better - but still not as innovative design wise. Some of the features are still in the future to solve... ;-)

Kobe 

There's a t-shirt if I ever saw one.

daverup 

Congrats styggno1 on 1000!
I think I'll always feel like a newb here in the present of the +10000 crowd.
That said, their knowledge is an awesome resource!

dweenk 

Any Mother treasures her childs drawings, as she should.

Chuck M 

You found a silver lining in your hand me down!

79pmooney

Congrats! Welcome to the club.

I started late, First bike at 7. Didn't really get into it until 11 with my 3-speed and 12 when I put dropped handlebars, centerpull brakes and a 2-speed RD on it. (Best friend's dad had an all Campy Allegro we drooled over. To this day, the most gorgeous paint job I've ever seen. Turquoise lacquer over chrome, fading to chrome on the fork and stays.)

I never stopped riding.

Andy_K 

My first ten speed was a second hand rattle-can painted bike, probably a Sears Free Spirit or Scwinn Varsity or something like that. I got it for Christmas one year and my step brother, who was the same age as me, got a similar bike the same year. His had 27" wheels, and mine had 26" (probably 26x1-3/8, knowing what I know now). My step father told me that Jeff got the bigger bike because he was taller than me. I remember not liking that. I think I was about 13. I didn't even know about 700c wheels.

noobinsf 

My bike builds are never as impeccable as yours, but I enjoy seeing the work of folks who keep to that standard. Beautiful stuff!

My first vintage road bike was in my 20's, and it was a wildly undersized Univega Nuovo Sport. It was a 49cm or 50cm, and I found out pretty quickly that my correct size is around 55-56cm. Descending Twin Peaks on that Univega was, in a word, interesting.

non-fixie 

Thanks for joining C&V, styggno1, and for taking the trouble of posting 1,000 times. I, for one, have really enjoyed them. Keep 'em coming.

ollo_ollo

Received my 1st multi-gear bike when 12 y.o. on Christmas 1952. It was from the local bicycle shop, an overhauled 3 speed Raleigh Sports, with fresh light green metallic paint. My best friend, John Greene, had received a brand new one with a generator light set. We had the best bikes in the neighborhood and with our low gear, could at last ride up steep hills instead of walking our old single speed cruisers. Mine had no decals, just a Heron head badge but it was an unexpected surprise and I loved it. Both bikes were also too large for us, even with saddles all the way down. We both had very sore inner thighs from rocking back and forth over the top tube, but rode them everywhere anyway.
P.S. I think you are right about the reason for getting more bikes now styggno! Don

BFisher 

@styggno1,

In honor of this milestone I would like to offer my personal favorite thread/build of yours.

One Hot Monark

An exceptionally gorgeous bike. You've posted some stunners here for sure. But the Monark is memorable for me.

Thanks for coming here!
Brian

styggno1

Thank you all for your kind words!

I was also checking if your Campagnolo time line was in order... ;-) The Benotto picture - I gave the wrong year for that one! Chorus came in 1987 and Athena (the brakes) in 1988. The picture must have been taken around 1988-89.

botty kayer

I'm a proper grown up now but I still can't draw bicycles any better than 6 year old you.

Nice to still have the pic from right at the start of your bicycle journey