I'm still acquiring. They ain't getting any cheaper. I'll sell them all off someday.

Good thread.



My collection of 6 vintage roadies is focused on early - mid 80's. No grail for me, just good riders, which probably explains keeping the '73 Raleigh Super Course. One addition I need to make is an Italian Columbus framed bike. I'm pleased that all 6 are ready-to-ride with matched wheelsets and mostly period correct parts. The Raleigh just got a new saddle and needs new handlebar tape. The AD is still a work in progress. The 3 modern bikes get attention as well. My focus is riding 5 or 6 days a week (20 mi min) and trying to get wife/son/daughter to ride more. The family involvement is my biggest failure.

When both kids are out of college maybe the $$$ will permit some nice(r) additions.

New treat for myself is a vintage tubular wheelset - on the road soon.

[QUOTE=javal;12692214]I follow my swedish Monark theme. That meant downsizing a bit. Space is my dilemma, so all my C&V Crescents had to go, even the 1979 with full Dura Ace (black line).

But you do still have pictures, right? That's a hint.

I agree with this, but if you're into the DL-1--and judging by your bikes, you are--spin it to win it. Tweed out and be distinctive/noticeable, old ideas are new again etc. Comfortable eccentricity can be a marketing tool. Think of the Pringles guy, or Orville Reddinbocker, or your local barbershop quartet.

I have down sized and stopped taking on projects for the most part.
I am trying to make the bikes I do have more desirable to ride. I also have the one goes out if one comes in mentality right now.
When I have free time, I want to be riding not wrenching.

Jake

Yeah, that's pretty much what I've been doing -- but I think people would like to see a possible future bike for themselves -- one that doesn't involve hours of trolling Craigslist and gabbing with a bunch of oddballs on internet forums . Now that good straight-from-the-LBS city transportation bikes are available again, I think I should probably support that move. Which is why my wife is getting a Breezer for her birthday. She's not as thrilled with old stuff as I am, anyway...

Do you have a website? If so, go to your favorite local bike shop(s), try out several types of bikes, take photos, explain the positives of different bikes for different riding styles. Post/Blog your experiences, keep riding favorite bike. Anyone who visits your website will see you're pro-bike in any form and if they're not careful they just might learn something.

*edit* RIF (Reading is fundamental) ... can you do an advocacy series for local TV? Bike Shop Visits?, Trail rides? Visit a vehicular cycling class?

Trying to get it down to 5 bikes but it is hard. I will be keeping one Ciocc, two Merckxs, one De Rosa, one Serotta and I need a rain bike so that will be six.

Im keeping the size of my collection at it is right now. Even My Super Course build is on hold. I'm trying to ride more and rehab less. Then again I have this 54cm Ciocc frame set and a Nuovo record Group.......

Like so many of you, I've decided to downsize, lose weight, and become a better person.

Seriously - I thought I had enough bikes to get by - but my recent foray into English 3-speeds and roadsters is quite an ominous development. - It's a whole new underworld within the world of C&V that I was heretofore oblivious to.

- The only saving grace in this is that all the time it takes to rehab these battered, ancient 3-speeds pretty well assures me that I'll not get into trouble with any expensive Italians.

I have a small collection and would actually like to expand it, but just a bit (really!). I don’t have to deal with temptation like many of you, because in Mexico there is basically no C&V scene, no CL, no garage sales, no flipping. Pretty much everything is acquired at least with the idea that it's going to be a keeper.

I’ve got 5 rideable bikes right now, plus 3 more projects. They’re all pretty nice, with a variety of nationalities and styles, but nothing too special either. It’s really more than enough, although I'll call 10 the limit. My family is a great excuse to collect bikes, too-- my wife and 2 sons each need at least a road bike and an mtb.

I don't want to break it to you, but if you know what you are doing, you can find relatively cheap Italians.

In other words, I predict your doom.

I would place myself here for now. I'm pretty new to taking care of old bikes, So I don't have any real direction yet. I've learned quite a bit from the folks here on the forum, and picked up a few good deals along the way.

I have enough bikes, but if another one pops up that's nicer than what I currently have, I might buy it and sell another.

I'm working on a couple of my bikes currently, doing some upgrades(which is new to me). I don't usually spend a ton of money on these bicycles, only the basic maintenance items.

However, I am trying to find reasons to spend money on a frame repaint...

Here is something I picked up that is part of some work that's going into one of them. Should be rolling when the rain stops(after Memorial Day)

I'm down to 6 and all have at least Dura Ace or Super Record groups with the exception of the all original French equipted '73 Raleigh RRA. My obejective was to sell off everything that doesnt fit, I only have 1 bike left that doesnt (the RRA) and to raise the bar of my current fleet by selling off all NON-Dura Ace and Record equipted bikes. With the excpetion off 1 wheel set and the BB's and threaded headsets I hoard I have almost no spare parts.

Essentialy its fewer bikes that are better equipted.

I'm downsizing, or contemplating it. I'm staying very focused on my Dutch collection,
although I'm thinking of drilling down and concentrating on one or two marques.
My Serotta is gone ( :yikes ), I'm considering letting my Remy go, and have
even toyed with the idea of passing the Reus on.
My Trek is my current daily rider. The Pogliaghi is my only track
bike so that stays. The RIH stays since the shop is closing and it's both
one of the last bikes built by a Bustraan and first by mr van der kaai.
And no way in hell are either of my Zielemans leaving.
I do want an early Carlsbad Masi, if I found that I think I'd be content
to stop buying.

Marty

Twin plate Nirvana does exist, your time will come.

Yes, it does.

....and I have a very nice one lined up.

Not yet though.

+1 With a self imposed limit no bike can cost more than an entry road bike at a LBS. And when one comes in, one goes out (I am a little behind on that score, got a couple of bikes I need to make decisions on).

Hard to get that grail bike with my price cap, although I got some nice ones, and nothing came close to my spending limit.

I started with a couple of real basic bikes, a 1975 UO8 and a mid 1990s Trek 800 MTB, so its been fun moving up in quality.

1987 Schwinn Prologue (9 speed DA)
1999 Quintana Roo Aerial (9 speed DA)
Unknown year Colnago Master Lite (9 speed Ultegra)
1992 Paramount Series 5 (8 speed Shimano 600 STI)
1989 Univega Alpina Pro MTB
2000 Trek 520 (stock)

Decisions needed on several more that are stacking up.

Both expanding and contracting. The 1967 Paramount, 1982-ish Ron Cooper and 1986 De Rosa stay. The Russ Denny-built Fuso goes. I'm up in the air about the 1994 Trek 520, but it probably goes. The late 1970s Eisentraut A gets repainted and built up and, unless it rides like a dead dog (which it won't), it stays. My brother-in-law
s early 1970s Gitane Tour de France gets refurbed adn out of my basement. My friend's 1975 Eisentraut Limited gets sold and out of my garage.

I have more or less embarked on a quasi-refurb. I've had an old Bianchi frame since I was a teenager - it has been reliably ID'd as a 1961-ish Competizione, the lowest end of the Reparto Corse/Columbus tubed frames. It has a red rattle-can paint job that was done by some idiot many, many years ago. It has a bottom bracket that is so frozen it acts like a vestage fo teh last Ice Age and a seatpot that is all but welded inside the seat tube. Once I solve those issues, it gets a respray (not celeste - not an option on this model; it will probably be blue, which was an option then) and gets rebuilt with the period-appropriate (meaning not as it was originally built, but stuff that fits the era) parts I have been accumulating. This one will not get ridden an lot, if for no other reason than the low gear will be about 48x24 (Campy 151 bcd cranks and Record, not NR, rear derailleur and Gran Sport push rod front derailleur will do that). But it will make a cool display bike.

I am trying to thin things out............honest, I am. But it does not seem to be going very well. While working out of town for the last 7 months I found several bikes and frames with no outlet to rotate the herd. Since being home for a month now I have sold 18 and purchased about 15. I really enjoy looking for and finding bikes......I have a picker mentallity. I have been trying to focus on establishing a keeper fleet which is currently 2 modern mountain bikes, a CrossCheck SS and an early Miyata 610. Also have a few others I'm considering as keepers.......a Super Course which needs seatpost and stem extraction, a Fuji Royale and Surly Steamroller and Pacer framesets.

That said, I am not really looking for anything for myself, just quality flippers.

I have 2 C&V bikes. 3 if you consider the city bike I am restoring for my wife. I had a C&V commuter but it couldn't handle the abuse I gave it so I sold it and now have a modern commuter.

So that leaves the weekends for riding. The 2 C&V bikes and the 1 modern road bike are enough for those rides. I can't imagine buying anything similar to what I have. I don't see the point. There are maybe a couple of more bikes I would buy. But they are specific and will take some energy to find. I spent 4 years looking for the last one and so I'll take a break before I start looking again.

Auchen, you have got to stop creating these threads which generate 4 pages of responses on day 1. I can't read it all! That being said...

This past winter our fleet gained the Peugeot tandem which I rebuilt. As I have only two solo road bikes I have no reason to downsize just yet. There isn't much I'm actively looking for but I might succumb to the right temptation.

For example, a smallish IGH bike with upright bars for my wife.

Or exactly the right special something for me. Not sure what that would be yet, but since I don't have a real superbike (the Raleigh Gran Sport probably doesn't count no matter how good it is) I could be tempted if I found one.

Maybe something like this RRA?

my collection seems to be heading towards custom built bikes on C&V frames, using parts scavenged from bikes bought and sold for parts. I don't have enough room to have a lot of bikes so if I'm going to keep it, it has to provide a function that the others do not.

I am extremely happy with my C&V road bike right now (Ironman Master).. only thing i could see is upgrading the components on it, or potentially looking for frame with paint in nicer condition, but i doubt i will mess with it much. This bike is for going places fast, and for longer rides for exercise

My Diamondback Apex frame is being built up into a 1x7 urban hybrid cruiser right now.. might turn it into a errand runner/grocery getter, not sure though cause it's such a sexy color it doesn't deserve to be turned into a work horse

Would like to get an even lighter c&v mtb frame built up with high end components. In the late 80s the Diamondback paint jobs and the Centurion paint jobs were similar.. the 1988 Diamondback Ascent has the same "purple smoke" as the Ironman.. so if the 1989 DB has grey marble paint like the ironman, that could be my "grail" mtb lol then i would have matching Road and MTBs

Right now i still keep my 2000 Hardrock around, though it's not getting ridden as much. but it's a heavy duty SUV style bike that is good for all urban environments. I've been wanting to put the knobbies back on it and take it out the mountains so i might keep it for that, since i wouldn't care as much if it got messed up vs a c&v ride

My collection of parts is starting to get bad though lol.. having tons of parts on hand makes things so much easier. Plus i tend to work on bikes in the middle of the night so i hate having to wait for the LBS to be open

there's always room in the stable for one or two flippers as well