Well, my retirement application is complete and ready for me to submit next week. I've really going to pull the trigger and retire before the end of the year. So while there is no financial need I do think it's time to get the collection under control. I do not need so many bikes to keep track of, maintain, etc. So to that end I've put down my thoughts tonight on how I feel about each bike.

I'm going with three categories. The keepers, the maybe's, and the ones that can go without a doubt. Not that any of it matters right now. I've got too much other stuff going on right now to even think about trying to move on a bunch of bikes locally in today's market. Although the Opus III and Team USA did go pretty quick when I listed them locally. Anyway this is just to put down my thoughts, share how I view them, and for fun. It's not a solicitation for interest or anything like that at all. I have enough on my plate with the health issues that are making me retire early and moving on bikes is not a priority at all.

And now for the deep dive into the depth of my rattled old mind and how I view all these bikes I've enjoyed over the years. And of course this will be a multi-post thread as I share a pic of each one. We all love seeing beautiful bikes right?

Please ignore any typos. My focus is crap here these past few years. Another reason I'm retiring early.

The bikes that are staying with no debate

Giordana XL Super – Still my favorite bike for how it feels under me



Krapf –Currently the vintage beauty in the collection and it rides so go, Superbe parts are magical



Team Z Lemond – Grail bike for me and such a good ride too



GP&GS Lemond – Rare bike, one of a handful Greg made for friends that I got my hands on



Davidson Impulse – Riding Nirvana, would only sell if I land another one in a more appealing color scheme



Colnago C40 – Best Carbon Fiber bike I’ve ever ridden



Azor Omafiets – Errand bike and my grow old on bike.



Coppi Neuron Mega T – Unique, probably never see another one. Love how fast it is and how it looks



Pashley Guv’nor – My only Path Runner and just play dripping with coolness.



Kirk Terraplane – Yeah, David Kirk built, amazing ride, drop dead gorgeous, need I say more

Keepers continued:

Paletti – Never find another like it and it’s such a pleasure to ride.



Trek Y-Foil –This one is just a blast and does everything well.



Olmo Forma –Possible Oscar Friere bike, 99% sure it’s legit and Oscar was a cycling hero of mine

Maybe’s…

Lemond Poprad –Only real CX/Gravel so unless something else fills this niche the bike will stay.



PDG Paramount – Over achiever with a beloved color scheme yet I’ve toyed with the idea of letting it go.



Merlin Titanium – Currently the best bike setup for climbing, fast and comfortable. Respected but not loved.



Kirk Fishlips – I love this one, it’s beautiful, it’s one of only two Fishlip bikes made by David Kirk yet do I need two Kirk bikes? I really doubt I’ll let this go but….



Pegoretti Duende – Yeah I did put this one here. Mainly because as great as it is I got a really good deal on this and could probably actually make out ok selling this one.



Pacenti – Another absolutely lovely looking and riding bike. Weird geo that rides well under me though but I haven’t fallen head over heels in love with it. That could change.



Colnago CT1 – Only a few rides but this was an, “OMG, what a bike” from the first time out. Yet, like the Peg I could move this one without loosing money.



Evans – Bob Fourney (3 time RAAM winner)bike. One of his Paris Brest Paris bikes from the mid 90’s. Another unique bike that rides very well yet I could be persuaded to let it go



Gianni Motta – A nice riding, cool Giro D’Italia tribute bike with Campagnolo. Haven’t developed a true connection on the road with it yet. May change if I ever get back up to full speed again.



Pinarello Monviso – This should be a forever bike. It’s blazing fast, smooth, and beautiful. Yet for some reason I hesitate to take it out a lot. It’s weird but the original owner seemed to have such respect for this one that I think I hold back on taking a chance to scratch or chip it. IDK…I just view this one different that all the other ones.

Maybes continued:Sancineto – Fairly new to me and pretty dang sweet. I just haven’t had it long enough yet for true love to grow.



Duell Vienna – Another one you hardly ever hear about or see. It’s seriously good ride with a great Campagnolo build. Yet sometimes it feels a tad soft in the front even though the handling is spot on. Anyway, this infrequent sensation is why it’s on this list.



Moser Leader AX –Same as the Sancineto, just not enough rides on it yet for true love



Olmo SanRemo – The front fork on this is a tad off. I need to get it aligned so I can really see what this one is made of.

Can let go fairly easily

Holdsworth Professional –Listed locally now. Bought with upright bars to use during my knee replacement rehab. Did not like it set up like that. Now converted back to drop bars but I’ve got no commitment to this one.



Merckx Corsa 01 – People love these, love the paint scheme on this, etc. To me it’s just not earned it’s reputation yet.



Kestrel 200 SCI – Beautiful bike with a great build that I would lose a lot on. It’s plenty good on the road and really scoots when I stand to pedal. Yet I’m still a Steel Is Real guy at heart and don’t need that many carbon fiber bikes.



Calfee Tetra Pro – I love how this one looks out in the sunlight and have never been able to capture the beauty with a camera. Yet it took a lot of playing around with different wheel/tire combo’s to get it to feel lively like I prefer. Would not kill me to let it go.



Cannondale CAAD 8 Optima – Bought for the paint scheme and for a chance to build a sort of weight weenie bike. Spent too much getting it under 16 lbs. It rides well and is fast but to be honest the light weight is not really noticeable on the road under me.



Softride Powercurve –Ok I cannot deny that this is my fastest bike. Even before I put the old school aero wheels on it. Yet, it’s just not that visually appealing to me. It’s amazingly comfortable on rough roads though. One issue is there is not weight limit label on the beam. I have another beam for my weight range and if I ever swap them out this will probably switch to a keeper bike.



Colnago Master Extra Light – Fast, gorgeous, sexy, and if I’m being honest, too small for me. That’s why I could let it go.



Bianchi Giro – Bought as cheap winter bike with a crunched down tube. Means nothing to me.



Miele Latina – This one has been a surprise for how good it rides. Yet once again, not a lot invested in it yet in terms of ride time and such. So not one I’d miss.


And the still wildcard is the Paramount frameset I dropped off today to get a new headset. Not sure where this one will place once it's done.


Anyway, my random thoughts on all of this as of now.

I've enjoyed the journey and will continue to enjoy many fine rides. But I think the time of collecting and building so many bikes is coming to an end.

Congrats on the upcoming retirement!

If a bike isn't doing it for ya, then let it go to someone who may love it. I enjoy your build posts so I hope you do keep the fleet rotating

James, I'm really surprised by the number of Lemond's you've already sold. You had quite the collection along the way.

Good luck in your decisions, and enjoy retirement when you get there!

James,
I concur with your choices on the keepers and even more on the ones to cull out. It is an impressive collection but even a few of the ones you once loved should go. I have down sized to 7 keepers and even one or two of those will need to leave sometime in the future. I foresee that I will need to send some very great and loved bikes away as I age out of the cycling activity. Good luck in the endeavor. Smiles, MH

Retirement will keep you busy

1) I like the Davison color scheme
2) Don't recognize the concept of too many Kirks


does this mean maybe Cino 2025

as always do what makes you happy......especially as it seems bikes pop up for you even when you aren't looking

Beautiful bikes! Good luck with retirement!

Count me as a fan of the Davidson colors as well.

I'll bookmark this thread as a response to my wife when she tells someone, "Bob has too many bikes."

I'll show her this page and tell her, this is what an $80,000 to $100,000 collection of 37 bikes looks like. Mine might be worth $8000 to $10,000.

Congratulations on retirement. It's the best decision I made, and I'll celebrate three years the end of September.

Sitting here this morning drinking my coffee reminded me that there are two others to deal with also.

One is that Kamra Aero bike with the stuck seat post. It's up on a top shelf in the garage. That was supposed to be refurbed for The Bike Collective. I need to find time for that one I guess.



And the absolutely beautiful Tommasini Prestige I got that is way too big for me. I've started on it but then had to wait for new cable housing and a chain. Going with red cable housing and new white bar tape. I've got to open and service the hubs still and then decide on what tires to put on it as I put it back together. The RD is still apart but now fully cleaned and working smoothly. Just need to dig into my stash to replace the one cracked pulley. Oh and figure out how to properly service the DT shifters on it. They seem a little stiff to me and it's been awhile since I've thought about servicing indexing DT shifters. Need to research where to lube and where not to inside these shifters.

James, I have loved seeing your bikes over the years and this recap is grand. Now 74 with age related issues arriving I will pass along where I am at. When I retired at 59 I had 24 of my own and likely 6 maybe 7 more for the kids when they visited. Maintenance has never been an issue as I (we) roughly the same miles a year with 2 or 3 bikes as 20, only slightly more with things like treating tires with Aerospace 303 to prevent dry rot, treating leather saddles, etc. The tricky part is the adjustments for age related body changes. Much of my case which is often the case with many if you check out the 50+ forum is adaptations to keep your mileage up like higher less reach bars, moving saddle forward, shorter cranks, etc. Some are easy like going to the shortest drop road bars but other are too painful on my lovely Tommasinis. Currently my customs are getting the adjustments and the others are going to have to move on. So far has not been too painful, an example is over on the Classic and Vintage Bicycles: Whats it Worth? Appraisals I posted on a lovely '84 Laing custom that I got hundreds less that what was offered as reasonable but it was a lovely gentleman who drove 200 miles, studied the builder, and valued Gilmour who repainted it for me with original Laing vintage decals. Also things change and I can foresee the day when I will need a fixie frame or even a step through.

Boy I hope so. I thought about even trying to get in this year until the forest fire smoke jacked up my lungs and cost me two weeks of riding. In my dream world I'd love to bring the Guv'nor which fits the spirit of the law, if not the letter. But reality dictates that my legs probably are not strong enough anymore to do climb with it. Hence I may need to keep the Holdsworth around since it fits the rules and has room for at least 32mm tires. Hmmm......

It appears that whomever remains after you croak is going to have some difficult to sell bikes on their hands. Disposing of the accumulata can certainly be problematic. I'm attempting to lighten the load for those I leave. Markets are not necessarily cooperative.

I've been retired for 17 years now. Never looked back. Best of luck with yours ! !

I’m surprised you sold your Opus III. Wasn’t that was one of your favorites?

Happy Retirement!!!

Congrats on your upcoming retirementThere are bikes with which you connect instantaneously and that you will always like and others that you will feel neutral or disappointed. This is why when I decided to have my roadbikes assembled to make sure that the frame I have bought would be something I love and is unique to me and my tastes. You have one of the best collections of road bikes, so I am sure you will enjoy what is staying in your stable. Same for my mountain bikes, I have reriden with my Kona that I haven't riden in years and I immediately start to appreciate again the lively and nervy ride that it is. Rediscovering bikes taht you haven't riden for some time , just makes you appreciate them more for their qualities.

Yes, but it had always been my smallest bike and the only one I rode with the saddle too low so there wouldn't be a yard of seatpost sticking out. The second knee replacement didn't turn out well and I had to start riding with my saddle even higher to be able to get over the top of my stroke without hopping on the saddle. So it just seemed really stupid to keep it. And it helped that the Krapf bike is running the same sexy Superbe setup and feels just as wonderful under me.

Wow! That is one impressive bevy of bikes. Wow. That said, I have been downsizing for some time now. At one time, I had over 180 vintage road bikes, ten percent of which were considered part of my collection. The rest were inventory and, pretty much up for sale. These are/were one inventory sale that went to Toronto a decade, or so ago...


Lately, actually for some time now, it has occurred to me that I cannot possibly ride all of my bikes and, quite frankly, some of them did not even appeal to me (tastes and purpose can change over time (trust me on this one). So, in the past couple of years, I have been trying to get my stable down to four bikes and even that is, probably too many. That said...

At the moment, my stable includes: Legnano Gran Premio (in restoration process now and a keeper), Trek 2200 SL (project/keeper?), Cambio Rino 400 (project/keeper?), Specialized Sirrus (built and sold), Marinoni Record (keeper?), Marinoni Special (keeper?), Gardin 400 (build/sell?), Peugeot mtn bike (a keeper), Velo Sport Aero Supreme (harvest group sold), Velo Sport Prestige (my new Jamaica bike)..,





and this just found/bought Miyata Team Miyata (definite keeper - probably), even though it puts me at five, not four keepers...


And, the following are still, very poorly stored, in my man cave (and it really is a cave, with rock outcroppings and all): Raleigh Super Grand Prix, Carlton Grand Prix, Bianchi something or other, That said, just an hour or two ago, a young lady and her mother (the mother is my age) stopped by my lake cottage. We got to talking and she offered me a Miyata 916 or something like that. Good grief I can't wait to see/get it. I'm ill.

So when are you going to get a nice bike?

Your having to suffer with the poor quality of your current collection rends at all our hearts.

Then again, I'm the guy who has owned his 50-year-old road frame for 42 years and when presented with he opportunity to purchase another one at screaming-deal prices says "no, mine's not broken yet."

Enjoy your (first) retirement, make sure your future employers treat you well or at least make it worth your time, and may you find the exact correct number of bicycles. (and when you do, let everyone else know the secret).

@jamesdak - 2nd the congrats on retirement. Unique collection. Most excellent. If only you were a bit taller.....
Tommassini a 61cm?


oh well,.... I should shed a few more myself tbh.

Nah, I don't see it that way. My kids won't need the little money the bikes bring in vs what I'll leave them. They already have had instructions for years on what to do with all the bikes if something ever happened too me.

That said, one of my first tasks in retirement will be to tweak off the estate stuff.

And thanks, I don't think I'll look back and regret this either.

Actually I guess this is the final retirement not the first for me. Retired from the military ages ago. I really can't fathom ever going back to work. If I ever get bored or whatever I may volunteer at one of the local nature/bird centers where I spend a lot of time doing photography. I've been preparing for this since my 20's.