My ALAN set me back about a hundred dollars the way you see it pictured. The frame set is all aluminum, with the tubes screwed and glued into the aluminum lugs. The paint is semi-gloss black and the absence of art was my choice.

The bike I got for nothing other than a bit of volunteer work. The Shimano 600 Arabesque grouppo came my way for nothing, also. About the only things I paid for were cables($15), bar tape($6) and tires($50). I might have installed new inner tubes but I doubt it it.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=186042

I might add that this is one of three bicycles, out of hundreds, that comes in under the twenty pound mark. The bike is a treat to ride, looks just great and is, well, Italian. I hated letting it go.

Collecting dust? Out it goes!

As a bike enthusiast I can practically and morally justify 4 bikes (I have more, though):

Modern MTB. Only bike that's not vintage, and it's taking me where none of the vintage can go. So it stays.
Race bike. For group rides, which tend to be fast, and general workout.
Sports tourer. Or rando, if you'd like. For those centuries and workouts on dirty roads. Townie in a pinch.
Period correct 80's full Campagnolo mostly mint show piece, and rider. It's justification is as a segment of history of the sport I love.

They're all keepers.

Overlap is a questionable quality. One bike really can suit all of a person's needs, for most people, anyway. One reason I have more than one is so that if one needs repair, or even tuning or a flat fixed, I can jump on another. So for me, overlap is good. I have two or three I can casually ride around town and lock up on the street without much fear.

treebound needs money. I do, too, but I appreciate the point about versatility. I think I'll aim for that quality to figure out how to cull my herd. I also don't want to have a large amount of value between my legs because it eventually gets locked on the street. I don't want to be devastated if the worst happens.

I have a hard time with this.
Most of my vintage bikes are from small dutch builders, and are not common at all.
My Zieleman will never go, It's just that important to me.
The Reus? what one of 3 known in the US? and a very unique (read ugly) paint scheme?
My RIH? one of the last true Bustraan brothers build bikes.
okay how about the Remy? well that was a gift, and Henk de Kloof is pretty unkown here too. . .
You see how it goes?
My Serotta is on the way out, it's too small
The Pogliaghi Pista is smaller yet but it's my only Pista and well, I doubt it's leaving soon.
that leaves my Trek 770, and that's my daily rider, unh uh.

Marty

This can be a challenging subject.

Lets see, in my collections I have:

The ones in my sig are keepers:
Motobecane Mirage Sport
Cannondale T700.
My homegrown Long bike.
Solid forked rockhopper.

I also have sitting in the garage:
An older Hard Rock
Another older hard rock that I'm building for a friend. (drop bars ftw).
A Hercules Girls 3-speed.
A columbia 3 speed with chain guard & fenders.

I've thought about reducing my numbers also, but haven't been able to so far.

I don't ride the Motobecane as much now, but it's my first road bike EVER and well, it looks so pretty hanging in my bedroom... I just overhauled it last summer too.

I keep the 3 speeds in case I ever find a shorter girl to go riding with. Columbia for me and the AMF for her. No luck so far. Both need overhauled.

The T700 probably gets the most miles. It's my rain bike (only one with fenders), winter commuter, and sooner or later, my loaded touring bike.

The rockhopper is just getting built up, but I grew up riding MTB's, so I like having a classic one in the collections.

The cannondale and rockhopper have rear racks, but I can't haul $130 worth of groceries home on either one of them. Unlike my long bike.

The hard rock will probably get overhauled into a school commuter for someone, much like the other hard rock.


If I had to go down to just one I'd keep the Cannondale. I just hope I never have to do that.

Well I just heard the RIH shop is closing after 90 years in business
as mr. van der Kaaij has no successor, that is just sad, but it also
firms up my decision to not let my RIH go.

see? its a very liquid equation.

Marty

I like to have a collection and hope to organise it like a museum one day. I even have a couple of bikes that I wont ride hidden away for the future. If I lost the use of my large and safe attic stoage space then I would have to thin the heard, but for now it stays.

For me first and foremost is does it fit? If it doesn't fit I have no problem selling it no matter how much i might like it. I have tried to make a few bikes fit me. Eventually I figured they didn't fit well enough or something else came along that fit better. The other question is how does it ride? If it doesn't ride well or serve a utility purpose it is gone. If I have multiple bikes that serve the same purpose I would thin the herd with the one I rode the least.

I am currently unemployed as well, but I don't have bills that most people would have to deal with. I have been selling off spare parts right now, but I do know the first few bikes that would be put up for sale if it came to that.

The doesn't fit thing is questionable. Almost any bike can be made to fit, with a bit of ingenuity and planning. Take note of this well thought out set of modifications to this old Raleigh. Hard to beat that - no more fit issue.

I should note that this particular modification does not work well if the bicycle is too small...
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=186111 http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=186112

Randy, good thing this guy also removed the chain. That will keep him out of trouble.

I am doing my best to get it down to 4 bikes. The Merckx, De Rosa, and the Ciocc are all keepers but I don't know whether to keep the Serotta or the titanium Colnago. Decisions, decisions...

This Colnago was purchased for parts but I decided against it so I am selling it. I think I priced it too low ($1550) because even in the dead of winter, I have received a lot of emails about it

That's an anti-theft measure.

I would guess you priced that Colnago at close to frameset price. Most of the buyers of it are probably looking at running a 10+ speed group on it.

Re: posting on the Madison WI CL site.
I've done that if I knew I was going to be visiting there. A few hassles and games coordinating along with the usual CL stuff, but yeah I cross-post there sometimes.

I am mentally sorting things out and deciding what needs fixing to sell and what needs stripping to sell and what will likely sell in as-is condition. And it's not like I've got hundreds to sell off like that guy in Los Angeles recently, just less than 20. And I think the Centurion might be getting an edge over the LeTour.

Dang, you think I could get $1000 for the frame/fork alone? I've been watching Master Olympic frames on eBay and they seem to go for about $800 or so....hrm, I may have to re-think my strategy here.

I generally look at it as a combination of types and genres. I need a classic NR era bike, a classic SR era bike, etc. A classic Italian, a classic English, French etc. One modern drivetrain bike (my Merckx, for when I ride with people that are faster than I am), one bike I don't mind getting wet, a fendered and racked bike, etc.