I would suggest N + 1 + (GRAIL * Y) = Number of Bikes

Y = an arbitrary, user defined number describing the number of grail bikes the user desires.

You just have to accept that every time you acquire a grail, it just turns into another unicorn.

Does IABs bike rhyme with a female body part? Oh wait, no, does it have a female name?

Mulva?

Dolores?

Is this a Zen Koan?

The "grail" is the expensive bike you tell you wife you'll probably never find so she agrees ahead of time that you get to buy it if you ever find it.

If it is teh bike that I think it is, i agree that it is a special bike. I used to have one very similar to it but it wasn't my size, so I sold it onwards.

Wow, and I thought I had it nailed with my N + 1 + (GRAIL * Y) equation.

With the 4+ week lead time I suspect that there is more to the story. Could be that it is undergoing a re-paint. Or it could be that it was found in Outer Mongolia where some TdF racer who was fed up with the race politics in the 1960's and headed off on a world tour/escape but flatted both his tubulars and traded it for a small Yak and a brick of goat cheese, and which is where the bike was recently found in an old cave by an errant tourist/cyclist, but with fears of radiation decided to head west instead of east and is currently traveling towards the Great Wall with the original condition 1967 race bike strapped to his BOB trailer, the tourist/cyclist posted a CL ad via his cell phone and managed to arrange the deal and plans to have the bike to a shipping station by April 30th or so, hence the 4-6 week waiting period.

Or he could just be waiting on decals before he shows us what he has coming.

My grail bike is simply a spotless Raleigh Professional in mink and 54 cm. and I'll tell you why...My first 10 speed was a 74 Record. I loved it...So I would haunt the local bike shop looking for stuff to add to it. While in there I'd see these gleaming pieces of artwork that only adults could afford. Of course, I'd say to myself...I'll have one of those one day. Now I mean to.

I'm not a racing fanatic (though I do watch the TDF, Giro and the Vuelta) so I really never got into rare race bikes like some of you. Good luck in your searches...

The Raleigh Pro is a worthy grail bicycle. I saw my first one when a was a teenager, in the window of the local bike shop/Raleigh dealer. It was a blue mink, it really looked like it could just fly away. In the other window was a black Competition, sleek and deadly. I wanted them!

It took me awhile but I have been able to own and ride both. The Pro lives up to all my expectations ... Actually, so does the Competition. Wonderful bikes.

Scott

My grail is a rare Fat Chance mtb frame. Only a handful were made with "F***'n Fat Chance" on the downtubes. I don't know if any were made in my size. They were available only to insiders and as a frameset only. If I ever see one, I will pounce. There have been repro decals, but usually they reverse the order of words to read "Fat F'N Chance".

Um ... SCIC team bike? Salvarani team bike? Filotex team bike? Bianchi team bike?

Incidentally, I'm personally looking for a Grandis, any era, and have some very nice bikes to trade.