A Bit Of A Problem
 

Through the over zealousness of some friends, I now own the bike that I have been looking for for years, a De Rosa Primato in EL-OS with a flat fork crown and Diamente stays.

What's the problem? Well, I am a rider, not a collector, and something has to give. What do I sell? My Cinelli SC is off limits, so that narrows it down to one of five bikes. Bear in mind, I keep some bikes in Michigan for the Summer, and some in Arizona for the 7-8 months I am here, hence the duplications.

Here are the choices:

1) A mid 1980's Rossin, Columbus SL, full Campagnolo Record, many TI bits.http://lh3.ggpht.com/_jfxGj3kcEHQ/SH...0/PB211095.JPG

2) Merckx Professional, also mid 1980's, Columbus SL, full Campagnolo Record, many TI bits.http://lh6.ggpht.com/_jfxGj3kcEHQ/SG...0/P3261742.JPG

3) Merckx Professional, early 1980's Columbus SL, flat fork crown, Full pantograhed Campagnolo grouppo, many TI bits, as well. http://lh5.ggpht.com/_jfxGj3kcEHQ/SG...0/P6232216.JPG

4) Mid 1980's De Rosa Professional, Columbus SLX, Dura Ace 7 speed grouppo http://lh3.ggpht.com/_QhwtCvS9cDE/SO...0/IMG_2684.jpg

5) Mid 1980's De Rosa Professional, Campagnolo Chorus 10 speed grouppohttp://lh6.ggpht.com/_jfxGj3kcEHQ/SP...0/PA182647.JPG

First to go is the Rossin. Second, either the pink De Rosa or the Merckxx with the white flatcrown.

I'm with Danny...

1. Rossin
2. Pink DeRosa

We should all have "problems" like your's....;)

edit: I mentally lined up your bikes from first pick to last pick if I were given my choice to own without charge, that's the only reason I picked the Rossin, the pink DeRosa had tire overlap with it in the lineup.

Whichever one you ride the least.

I know it's easy to judge based on criteria like - least valuable, least photogenic, least original, etc. but for me - barring any special requirements like "need to get x amount of cash ASAP", I'd send off the one that gets chosen last when you're "picking teammates".

I can't answer that one - only you can.

The brake cables on that Rossin are too long. Sell it!!

Yes, fixed now, thanks.

USAZorro, believe it or not, they get rotated on a fairly regular basis. So far this week, they have been ridden equally, though in a bit I will take the second ride of the week on the Faema De Rosa.

At this point, the Rossin, Merckx SL and Faema De Rosa are AZ bikes, the Pink De Rosa and pantographed Merckx, along with my Cinelli SC, are MI bikes.

That has been rectified, more recent picture here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ypsibike...89888383237362

I believe you, but certainly one or two of them you tend to reach for more than the others. Personally, I'd ride your new acquisition a few times and see how that influences you.

That said, if you truly don't have favorites, I would sell of either the Rossin or the pink DeRosa, simply on personal aesthetic preferences.

Seeing as you and I ride the same size bicycles, I'd be willing to help form an opinion for you based on empirical data. :D

The pink DeRosa. Because... it's pink ;)

I think the pink bike is really cool, so I say keep it....because its pink.

The pink(Fuchsia, actually) De Rosa is one of my favorites, an it usually garners a fair bit of praise where ever it goes. I have considered converting it to a more modern drive train, but now those thoughts nave been set aside for the time being.

LOL --- I only said that because that's the only reason I could think of to get rid of it. I'd keep them all, personally ;)

I can see how this would be very difficult. I ultimately do not ride all my bikes as much as I should. The effort which I expended in aquiring them and building them is usually significant. I wanted a super record bike first and foremost and spent way to much money gathering the parts and the frame I bought was sub-par but served well as my first place to hang the parts. The I got a gazelle to replace that italian frame and it rides so well I have no choice but to hang onto it. I spend a lot of time and money and time pining for that super record bike and now that I have it, though I ride it infrequently, it will not go. Somthing I never though I would say but my Marinoni Special is the bike that is in Jeopardy because I have a smaller, newer steel, lighter road bike in my Bilato built Marin and I can't deny that it's vasyly improved ride sue to oversized tubing and S bend stays etc... makes it my go to bike for road riding. Now the marinoni is redundant! It's big, heavy and feels sluggish by comparison. It's such a tough decision to make. I think you should narrow it down to two. Ride them both back to back and then decide.

Italian/Japanese mix...Axis powers in WWII.
No other reason.

I don't even want to look at the pictures, let alone think about selling even one of them.

I was thinking along the same lines. So much Campy, so little Shimano. :lol:

Last to go is the Rossin. Unless you sell it to me.

This is definitely a Sophie's Choice kind of choice.

There's something about that Rossin that definitely works. I don't think that I could sell it.

And, there's some logic to selling one of the De Rosas or the Merckx, since you have multiples.....

I suppose that there'd be something to be said for having Dura Ace on at least one of your bikes.

The differentiating factor that sticks out the most is downtube v. ergoshifters,l but it appears that you seem to kind of prefer the ergo shifters? I have to say that I tend to reach for my downtube shifting bikes a little more often than my ergo shifter Merckx.

Of course, we all know that the proper answer is to keep them all.

This really is a good problem to have. You, OFG, have a beautiful collection!

OFG,
They are all gorgeous....

Assuming that they are all in good tune... If you have a nice quiet spot nearby where there aren't many people, you can take each one and open it up/let it rip going fast/cornering, close your eyes for a moment on each one and let go of the bars. Sell the one that makes you smile the least. Works for me anyways....
(And if you want to be a highly scientific PITA, have Mrs OFG hand each to you and ride next to you on a quiet stretch while you are blindfolded and she can give you "left/right/straight" directions. That way you're not biased by the name on the bike. 1 will feel more lifeless than the others.)
I just let go of one of the rarest GT bikes I've ever come across, a handmade prototype that Gary Turner made himself. There were a million silly "collectible" reasons for keeping it. The young kid I sold it to was elated and I felt good about it afterwords... Sometimes you know if a bike isn't meant for you... (Of course if it pops up on ebay in 3 weeks I will kick myself)

If a bike doesn't thrill you and put a smile on your face when you ride it, it's kind of silly to keep it...

Tough, go with the pink and Shimano.

Just send one to me and then every few months you can rotate each bike thru the stable. In the mean time I keep each and everyone spiffy in it's turn thru my garage. Life's choices are difficult.

Pick one at random, if you really need to get rid of one. Else, keep them. I personally can't vote, I have never seen any of these bike models, let alone ridden one, so I have no experience for a guide.

Jeez, those look like collector bikes to me. What's one more? You can always sell one sometime in the future, and the value will be greater.

Keep 'em all.

I wish I still had every bike I ever got rid of since I started riding as an adult. Except the Zebrakenko, but that was crap.

Even if you don't ride one of them, or even have it built up, it'll be nice to know it's there.