can U stop ?
 

is it becoming an obsession ?,i started with one bike found at local tip,restored it and then IT began !,at last count=12 waiting patiently 4 restoration, how many do U have now ? but more importantly"wot have u got" ?

I'm obsessed too. Can't stop. I see a beautiful bike and just want to have it.

I recently met with a collector friend and we discussed this very topic. Since then I have decided to limit my collection to a specific period of time, type of bike and type of groupset. I've started to swap most of my collection that doesn't fit my new parameters. I must say that I feel less stressed (reduced number of projects) and am enjoying my bikes more now.

At persent I have 4 Colnago's, 2 Bianchi's, 1 Cinelli, 1 Alan, 1 Benotto, 1 Pinarello and 11 local brands.

I have an acquaintance who at one time had over 80 vintage road bikes. He's since gotten his life back under control and keeps 8-10, which to me sounds like a good number (uh, to pare down to....).

Look at the bright side...it ain't gin and it ain't heroin, and you can sell off when you get over your obsession...

Pretty much what I tell the wife and so far she's buying it. Course it doesn't hurt that I've actually SOLD a few bikes recently.

I know what you mean! After picking up, buying and trading trying to find the right bike and spending lots of money on cables, tires brakes, etc, I find no one wants them in my town, they would rather spend $79 for a new Huffy than $50 for a "fixed up" Raleigh, Nishiki, Schwinn or my beloved Peugeot. Gonna get out of the bike rebuilds and concentrate on my Stylized Rockhopper, Trek 600 Roadbike and Miyata MTB. Tons of parts will prolly end up in the dumpster as no one wants them. No ebay!!!!

I have many, most are not spectacular, but... 1 Marinoni, 1 Raleigh, 3 Norcos, 2 Nishikis, 2 Schwinns, 1 Fiori, 1 Miki?, 1 Miele some are complete some are just frames and some are works in progress. I also have my friends' apollo and Soma frame at my apartment. My girlfriend is in her hometown right now and bringing me 1 Nishiki, 1 Apolo and 1 Giant from her fathers barn which I will fix and sell. The used market is good here and a decent vintage road bike will get over 200 bucks, A low end one can fetch as much as 100 if it's in good working order.

Not to mention that, at least in my case, it encourages the only exercise that I actually like!

Yes, I am also unable to stop, I have the road bicycle I assembled in 1990 (Reynolds frame, Pélissier/Mavic wheels, etc, etc), a 80's Colnago and a 80's Bertin, a Schwinn Continental, several local roadsters, folding bicycles and I want more, more biCYCLES, MUCH MORE...

I was a bike freak years ago when I was younger, but gradually took an interest in cars instead. Finally ended up getting burned out (expensive and too hard to fix!) and eventually started hating driving, so now I'm back to bikes. Hopefully for good. :D But there aren't many old bikes around here, so I doubt I'll be in much danger of having too many like some of you. Although I can't imagine having too many as long as you have room. :p

the more i learn about women, the more i luv my bikes ! lol

Ack! If you're just going to trash good parts anyway, why not post what you've got here and let board members pay you the cost of shipping them out. I know I'd be interested.

It's tough to stop if you like tinkering and live near the dump :D
Up and running now are an old Atala, Raleigh SGP, and my new (to me, anyway) Miyata Triplecross.
In the shop awaiting restoration/rebuild are a Miyata 512/712 and a Team Miyata TT frameset.
Fresh from the dump and awaiting triage are a lower-end Fuji hardtail ATB and a low-end Puch road bike.
And adding to the clutter are the wife and kids bikes. It also helps if you have a barn.......:lol:
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For the first time in over a year now, I actually de-accessed more bikes than I added to my collection last month- traded a few for some parts, donated a few to charity. I do still have 17 bikes in the garage, at least half a dozen of which are rideable at any given time (I still have fewer usable wheels than frames at this point).

im the same, but now i only stick to high end bikes. even a 501 dosent do anymore. unless its perfect. and i only have 13 bikes. im trying to get down to 4. but a few are beaters. do thoose count?

Beaters count. I have one, the UO-8, although I use essentially the PKN-10 as a beater, as well. I have topped out at 6 bikes, one of which (1960 Capo) is a disassembled project, which is all I have space for.

I have to semi hide them for my girlfriend but manage to do that pretty well :)
- '70s Cornelo/Colnago with up to date shimano STI group
- '86 Koga Miyata Flyer black/red, just the frame: the pat/dropout is broken off :(
- '91 Peugeot Ventoux
- '83 Peugeot PFN10
- '96 Gary Fisher Aquila MTB
- '89 Gazelle Field Cruiser MTB
- strange folding bike

- '82 Batavus Champion --> stolen @ railstation :( :(
- '70s Koga Miyata Gents Racer mint condition with 600 group. Stripped down and thrown away the frame

sure, I can stop anytime I want, I just don't want to. . . .

I can't stop buying parts on ebay if it's c-record or Croce I'm all over that sh..stuff!
and Dutch, obscure dutch bikes. . .
and an old Bianchi, I really need one of those and pista bits for the pog and
wait, I'd really like a french radonneur. . .
you see? it just runs on and on.

sure, I can stop anytime that I want. . .

marty

I'll admit I'm addicted and have even got the partner in on it. The "worst" symptom is that we both scope out bikes and swoon over the beauty and majesty of old cruisers, roadsters, roads and fixies (although neither of us intend to, or do, ride fixies). Whether at public transportation depots, in cities, schools, or so on - we're always scoping out bikes.

Having said that, I have her 1973 Raleigh Sports sitting in my garage waiting for a little love when we both have the time (and she recovers from the crash she just sustained), my 1978/9 Motobecane Grand Jubilee, her 1979 Motobecane Nomade (because of the crash), a 1971 Sears Lightweight (it's classy. and I like it). I also have a 1950-something JC Higgins frame sitting around with a set of wheels off a 1930 Schwinn (w/ coaster brake), along with a fork from another 1920's Schwinn, with peices of a 19-teens handlbars strewn about. I hope to make a franken-cruiser using exclusivly the odds and ends of vintage rides.

A friend of mine has 12 bikes. Another 20. I'm the light user of the group, hahaha.

I like the hunt to find them, and I like to wrench on them. I love the mechanical/engineering aspect of them. But once that is done, I lose interest in them and sell them off so I can buy and wrench some more. I almost never keep them for myself, and if I couldn't flip them I probably would stop acquiring them - unless I found sonmething special.

I just have some personal concerns:
1. time
oh boy if i had more time i would search and rescue so many more bikes :)
2. money
I'm student and dont get any support any more after so many years so i'm always near broke. Gonna graduate this fall so hope i wont spend all my first loan into bikes :)
3. the wife
She loves seeing me enjoying it but.. those bikes need space. All the parts and tools spread around the house. Those little black grease balls dropping on the floor and making nice black stains in the carpet. It would be better if she loved cycling/tooling too :)
4. the others
"whats so cool on that piece of 30 year old junk" etc etc. They don't and won't see i guess...

it is all about space and money. and sometimes you get a old bike and a part break just from being old. and then you have to go find another part but then end up buying another bike and it starts all over again.

I ain't exactly sure how many I have just now, somewhere around 20. I pass on all but the real good stuff for my own use now, as I've a few good beaters I like to ride, and don't need another (though I keep a pair of spare beater frames in the basement in case one gets stolen). I've also given up on ebay, as I consistently find good stuff cheap here in town-- dura ace, campy, suntour superbe, deore touring mechs, all sorts of interesting stuff-- with a fairly limited outlay.

I've also been cutting down on the stuff I bring in to flip of late-- just don't need it. Like Bigbossman, I like to wrench, and the que right now includes some interesting stuff; I'm currently getting an old Raleigh Sports back in condition, next up may be a Trek 720. But I also keep getting interesting offers (fix up this bike and I'll give you that other one I have seems to be the current fave) and I don't turn down free stuff that often. So I dunno, something could distract me.

It helps that I'm currently single. Girlfriends tend to freak out at this stuff ("You have a room full of Bikes! We could decorate it" "But baby, it is decorated with bikes-- lookit how purty they are!")

Since I retired last month, I have been sorting/culling the herd. I decided to keep about 10 of the best. Now that I don't have the daily commute, I don't need the beater/rain bikes. I'm with lotek, I can stop any time I want...just don't want to.

damn, i just got another one !

i wonder how many the 1st flight guy has:

http://www.firstflightbikes.com/

and they are all in perfect shape.