Culling the herd
 

I've started this thread several times and something or other keeps me from getting it posted, maybe I'm supposed to keep all of them, maybe? Nah, just computer and phone glitches.

Anyway, what parameters or decision process do you use to decide what to keep and what to get rid of**********

I'm thinking fit first, if I just like it second, quality third. Quality can trump though at any time. Functionality and style or form factor is there too.

I'm about to be unemployed again and will need to first lighten the load if we have to vacate, and second to raise revenue to stay off the first to some extent. I'm going through the culling decision process now, actually have been for awhile by offloading the bikes that don't fit. Now I'm into the fit good enough bikes.

Help.

I should add that the local market is not a happy place currently and is getting downright strange at times which is affecting my selection/culling process

Thanks for any guidelines.

I had a thread of my own on this topic.

purposes of bikes

I don't know, I love them all. But I tend to sell the high zoot bikes I come across because they're worth a lot more to other people than they are to me. AS long as I make money over my investment, I'm happy.

Good question, and a very serious answer. Here's how I go about deciding.
#1. Does the bike fit me. I can deal with too small, but too large and it gets flipped.
#2. Does it serve a purpose. Any bike I'm riding or my son's are riding stays.
#3. Does it have a future purpose. I have two or three that fit this catagory. I'm not riding them, but they will be replacing bikes I currently ride.
#4. Is it a C&V desirable bike. Current bike's I own such as a Nishiki Medalist, Centurion Ironman and Nishiki Ariel with raised chain stay are serious C&V bikes that most folks would hang on to whether they ride them or not.
And the rest can be sold.

Basically I think it's a process of ranking the bikes you like most, and I don't think logic should enter into it:
Go with your heart, not you head. - That way you will be able to live with your choices.

I like to have 5 or less bikes total with little to no overlaps. That ensures a good rotation where nothing is superfluous. I currently have 4 bikes (vintage road, modern road, mtb and cruiser) and a vintage road frameset destined for modern parts.

First and foremost for me, does it make me smile when I look at it and when I ride it. If I don't get a "giddy" (for lack of a better word) when I walk down to the basement and pull it down off the hook and grin like a fool while riding, it's out the door! My 78 Raleigh Competition is the UGLIEST bike I've ever seen, it's covered in rust, built with random parts but it makes me smile when I ride it, so it stays. I have some stuff to get rid of myself so I'll be making similar decisions myself this spring.

I judge first by how often I ride a bike. Then, I judge by how comfortable it is. How much will I get for it probably comes in about third. Quality is my last concern.

I've been trying to keep 5 slots. This may change to 6 soon, with one incoming beater/commuter not being counted.

1. 70's Fuji Pro - given to me by my fiance = sentimental value
2. 80's Fuji Pro Super Record - my grail bike. I'll probably never come across another.
3. 80's Fuji Design Series - most efficient and fastest bike I have ever ridden.
4. 70's hi ten bike - comfy and I have had it for so long. Not worth much, so I might as well keep it.
5. 80's Fuji America - Not the fastest. Not the most comfortable. What does it do that others cannot? (not implying it is a crappy bike) disposable and sitting on the chopping block awaiting appeal
6. 70's Romic(incoming) - ugly commuter. Not paying much. could be flipped to get my money back. disposable, if need be


Additionally, I have the following, which could much more easily be liquidated immediately if I had to:

1. Newer aluminum Fuji - awful ride. Need to get around to selling this one. I have no reason not to.
2. Fuji Opus III frame - Will probably get traded very soon, just need to work out the details.

1-Does it fit?
2-Is it designed for the riding I'm doing now?
3-Does it have a duplicate in the herd?

Answering 1 with "yes" gets it kept.
An addtional "yes" with 2 gets it kept again.
An additional "yes" with 3 gets it set aside for getting rid of.

The best components go on the best fit that is intended for the riding I do now.
Unfortunately, all of mine now fit, all have good components, and all are for the same purpose.
Which means at least 1 or 2 bikes should leave the herd this spring.

That's a very painful process to go through. If there are some that just do suit you, it's a little easier. If not, perhaps some that you don't ride often and which could bring a decent amount of money.

Note: This is historically not the best time of year to get top dollar for your sale. March or April would likely see much more spirited bidding for a nice, valuable bicycle.

I went through a similar, agonizing process last year. Being self-employed really sucks in a down economy. 5 bikes, a couple of them real keepers, even for C&V. Had to sell them all. I wont go through the whole painful decision making process as I sold them off one-by-one; but, the last one I sold was the least saleable, and most practical.
If you end up having to have one bike, make it the one that is the most practical one that you can do the most with.
http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/w...Trek730001.jpg

1. Does it fit?

2. Is it a duplicate? (If so, pick one to keep, and one to let go).

3. Is it marketable?

4. Would one like it be really hard to find later if I regret the choice?

Example: I have two bikes that overlap right now (OK, I have more than two, but I am using these two as an example). A lugged steel Trek 950 MTB, and a Univega Alpina Pro MTB. Both the same size, both fit the same, both are in similar condition. The Trek is an easier sell around here, would sell for a higher price, and is easier to find later if I decide it was a mistake. I think the decision in this example is pretty obvious.

If I really needed to trim the fleet, then I would probably just keep the one most versatile/practical. In my case, that would be my 2000 Trek 520 (all the vintage stuff would be gone). If I wanted to maximize my cash, I would sell them all except the Univega MTB. It would bring the least $$, and MTBs are pretty versatile IMHO (just not quite as road friendly as the 520).

However "rare" and "unique" my bikes are (or I think they are), I have found them all within the last two years (turned over the entire keeper fleet). So I could find them all again.

+1 Selling right now sucks $$ wise, so I would try to wait til Spring if that is possible.

Noglider,
Thanks for the link. I had posted in that thread but I loose track with the phone browser.

Rocco,
Funny you mention a Centurion Ironman. I've got a badly repainted one, coin flip with that and an 80's Schwinn LeTour (sentimental vs quality). I'll have to get it ridable and put a couple miles on the Centurion before I flip the coin.

I've got a bill payer bike fairly quickly complete or as a frameset that I like but will sell for move/storage funds if life gets ugly. A couple others I can convert to trendy format and sell. I've got a Hawthorne 3-speed earmarked for someone for what I have into it (he doesn't know though), but shipping that fendered beast will be a project and a half. And among others I've got the Motobecane Grand Jubile currently torn down, I suspect it will bump tow or three out of the herd but I haven't even rode it yet.

Thanks for all the thoughts and inputs, helps to clarify and order my thoughts.

I am a bike enthusiast but not a bike collector. I limit my bikes to seven.

I presently own 7 bikes. 3 are modern mountain bikes; 1 is a cyclocross bike, and 3 are vintage rides. I want to keep my vintage rides at 3. When I find something better, I take one down from my three slots and put up the newly acquired bike. Of my 3 vintage bikes, each serves a different purpose:

European Peugeot Variant: The bike has fenders, lights and generator, rack, and kickstand. I ride this bike to church and to get my coffee. This is the only bike that has a kickstand. It is heavy and slow, but a great commuter in my small community.

Giant Cadex 980c: I recently purchased this bike and made the necessary repairs for road riding. The bike is in excellent condition and should provide great enjoyment (I bought it late in the Fall).

Unknown Japanese Rebuild: I bought it from a garage sale for $20. I completely disassembed it, had it powered coated, and transformed it into an attractive and reliable ride. I eventually sell the other two when I find something better. I don't envision a day in which I will sell this bike.

Although I keep 7 bikes, I have several others (normally 3-5) that I will eventually flip. Flipping has been very good to me and has paid for all three of my vintage rides and a 2011 Giant Cyclocross bike. (I have the advantage of working part-time at a bike shop and making employee purchases.) Some of the bikes that I sold were a Schwinn Tempo, Batavus Champion (I didn't make any money on this bike), Saint Tropez Riveria, Falcon Harrier, several Peugeot Mixtes, Bridgestone RB-1, numerous Schwinns (varsities, travelers, etc.), and others.

I think you need to do what makes most financial sense. I really like some of my bikes a lot, but truly I would sell them before a lot of other things if I needed to generate cash to live on. Bikes can always be replaced at some point unless they are one offs.
Just don't sell guns or tools, you can always make money with those :D j/k sorta...It all depends on the work outlook in your profession really. I will disagree respectfully with the use your heart to decide argument and weigh in on the use your head side.

Fit, of course, is first. If it doesn't fit then it doesn't do you any good.
After that, which would be the hardest to replace. I've got a few bikes that I got great deals on, and one in particular that I got a smoking deal on. For what it would cost to replace it, I'd probably never own one again...or at least not for a long time. The other bikes, even though I like them and they're nice, would be much easier to replace.

They are all for sale.

quoted for truth, a keeper is only a keeper until someone else wants it bad enough to pay.

Where in WI are you? Madison is always a premium price bike market. If you're even close to here, list them on the Madison CL with gas to drive here in mind. As much as it would pain me, if it came down to paying the bills, I would sell my nicer bikes that I love first and keep the crap that wouldn't get me much cash. I can't wait to get my Ellis-Briggs built up, it fits me like a glove, and I know it's going to be a pure joy to ride, but once built up it will also bring the most money. My Cierra fits me well, rides fine, and functions fine. Though I don't love it Nearly as much as my EB, I would sell the EB way before the Cierra if I thought I might need it to pay bills. Though when it came down to it, I'd keep anything that would literally get me nothing and sell everything else. As said, bikes can be replaced as long as they're not both super rare and gotten on a really smokin' deal.

My problem is that I don't even get attached to my whole bikes. I get attached to what my frames "could be". I have a problem. Lol.

Well put! I have no logic to what I keep in my collection. I usually have a dozen or more really good bikes I call my own. However...

I am trying to cull my heard. I just sold these two guys and have some more of my high enders listed on Ebay at the moment.

This is what I let go recently.

198? ALAN fully rebuilt and on its way to Taiwan as I write this...
http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpe...ull_Side_4.jpg

And this 1983 Gardin "Special" that I really did not want to sell but the price I got was stunning, in my mind...
http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpe...Full_TQF_5.jpg

What would an ALAN like that cost? Never seen one. Beautiful. ^^^

I'm really surprised that nobody's mentioned this criterion:

How often do I ride it?

('course ALL of my bikes are "riders". No garage queens here!)

SP
Bend, OR

There is a 58cm Alan Carbone for sale near me in SoCal.

Is the one above steel though? I'm not into carbon bikes. Unless Carbone is just a name.