JunkYardBike

I don't because my legs feel tired after 50 miles on any bike.

clubman 

very low...

JunkYardBike

Not sure I get your meaning? My legs will get less tired on a recumbent?

OldsCOOL

I dont but that's probably because I really really like the only two I have.

JunkYardBike

Don't get me wrong, I like finding interesting vintage bikes, I like learning about them, and I like working on them. But I don't get the lust thing.

Henry III

After my framebuilding course my instructor Doug Fattic really pounded into my head how the frames we built are on the same quality or possibly better then the more sought after brands...Colnago, De Rosa, etc. When ever I would bring something up about a name brand like that he would just kind of shoot them down and give me a story behind them about how they were about kicking out numbers. When you here stuff like that over and over from someone like that you start to question "grail bikes". He had a Confente built Masi just for him, a couple of curvy Hetchins along with a lot more other frames that he used for display pieces in class. Showing us imperfections and things along that nature. So I feel the bike I built for myself there is my grail bike as it's got what I want and fits me like a glove and in the end built specifically for me and not just a nice production built bike.

monsterpile

I don't really have a grail bike because it would probably be too expensive and I wouldn't want to keep it. A few years ago my grail bike was a Ti frame road bike. I got super lucky and got one on CL for a killer deal. I found that I didn't enjoy it as much as other bikes although I did like it alot and I would rather have the cash since I could buy a bunch of bikes with that or pay off part of the car. I finally sold it last month for a nice wad of cash and it went to someone that will enjoy it much more.

bikemanbob

I can't say I have a grail bike, but if a "so called" grail bike becomes available at the great price, it immediately becomes one for me.

JunkYardBike

Nice post. At the end of the day, it's function over form for me. Of course, I can be awestruck and appreciate the skill of a master craftsman and enjoy that person's product, which if executed well should be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. I just don't get the objet d'art fetishism.

Drillium Dude 

I guess it all depends on the definition of "grail bike". It can be any number of things; in my case, I'd seen a lot of Colnagos, talked to people who owned them (and yes, was even impressed by the flashy pics in the catalogs) - and when I finally got mine, I found it lived up to the hype while it was under my butt

I keep it in nice nick, but I still ride it every chance I get. It's about the bike, alright - in more ways than one.

DD

noglider 

Huh? But you have that oh-so-nice Trek!

repechage

But he has a rusty old Carlsbad Masi frame that HE WON'T SELL.
Things we have and are not that important we are willing to sell.
Dire circumstances excepted.

Soma Roark

Combination of too many awesome bikes out there and being happy with what you already have.

aixaix 

You absolutely nailed it!

Captain Blight

I suppose this is about it for me. I'd like to find a Raleigh International in my size, that would give me the Pro, the International and the SC trifecta. But other than that, and since the deal on the full-chromed Motobecane fell through, I really don't have a 'grail.'


I'm putting a hell of a lot of effort into figuring out who stole my Centurion, though. That's kind of a grail, too.

Ultraspontane

I don't because I understand the human aquisition impulse. You yearn after something for years, but after you get it, you yearn after something else. I just try to enjoy the bikes I have which serve my needs just as well as any other bike would.

Arrowana

At the moment, I'd just be happy with the bikes I have working fine. And even when that does happen, it's not like it is easy to just pick something and say, "This is the bike I'd like to have more than anything else." as there are way too many out there that I'd love.

unterhausen

This factor killed my bike lust for the most part. I saw a full panto Colnago when I was 15-16, and really lusted after that for some time. I think the thing that still makes me want those '70s Italian bikes are the pantographing and the chrome. I could never talk myself into chroming one of my frames, and pantographing was not really easily available to me.

KonAaron Snake 

If it were truly function over form, you wouldn't be on a vintage bike (at least not one with "vintage" parts).

I'd be a lot more interested in seeing bikes posted rather than threads like this. I don't see you posting too many bikes here.

Picchio Special

The impetus to surpass the icons is an important aspect of contemporary excellence, IMO. I highly doubt that Fattic is being dismissive (and certainly De Rosa was not about "kicking out numbers" during the classic era.) It's also possible to conclude that the past masters were seeking a different sort of excellence. There's something uniquely American, IMO, about the desire to analyze the "old world" masters on the way to a goal that has a lot to do with technical perfection and taking things to the nth degree (accompanied by a certain inferiority complex centered on the lack of a clear American "tradition" or "path" with respect to certain craft work). That's one reason we have guys like Fattic as successors to guys like DiNucci as an aspect of a competitive stance toward guys like De Rosa and Masi. I'm oversimplifying, of course. But I think a certain sensitivity toward craft traditions, toward cultural differences in definitions of excellence and aesthetics, and an understanding of history as in some sense alive rather than moribund go a long way in appreciating past works. And Americans are notoriously future-focused and have difficulty seeing themselves as a product of the past. "We can do better," and we don't need some old Italian guy tied to inferior ways of doing things to guide us.
As a historian, and someone who at least attempts empathy toward the cultural models and values I encounter, I love the whole nexus of connections old racing bikes have: to technical developments and ideas, iconic riders (especially "lost" ones like Bitossi, Massignan, et al.), epic parcours, etc., etc. Which is why I love pre-1980 Italian racing bikes, and why I don't have a "grail." (After all, Fattic isn't building for Tour de France winners and World Hour Recored holders: Masi and De Rosa were, along with some lesser known guys like Branca and Marastoni.) My interests are too varied and ever-shifting, and there's too much cool stuff to narrow the focus beyond a certain point. I'm always learning, and learning to appreciate new things.

JReade

I have bikes that I'd like to own, but I'm not so sure I'd be able to know the difference between them to say "this is better than that"

scozim 

I'm with several others - perfectly content with my stable. I always keep my eyes open and have a list of "nice to have's" but I'm not actively searching. But I don't really have a single "have to have" bike out there.

noglider 

Yes, and the more I collect, and the more wonderful bikes I own, the LESS attached I am to each one. It's a form of *****-dom, really. I'd do any bike, so to speak. So which one is my partner for life? Eh.

I bought my McLean frame when it was one year old, and now it's 29 years old. I've decided to keep it no matter how well it serves me. This way, I have at least one I am devoted to, no matter what. I won't keep replacing it with a greater and greater bike.

Edited to add: Oh goodness, the system starred out the vernacular word for prostitute.

noglider 

Picchio Special, you make some good points, but one reason to want a bike whose workmanship is more meticulous than necessary is to make sure the builder didn't skimp on the important stuff. For instance, maybe we don't need filed lug points, but if a frame has them, there's likely not to be a gap between down tube and bottom bracket shell.

Another point is that when workmanship is impeccable, you figure at least one person in the company shares your passion for bikes and cycling. And that's a warm feeling.

Some of us feel that anything worth doing is worth doing well.

KonAaron Snake 

Picchio - I think you really nailed this...that being said, I'd LOVE to try a frame building class some day and ride my own Corsa Speciale.It's weird, the more I have, the more I appreciate certain ones more. Having more different bikes has made me appreciate my Koga Miyata all the more (and it makes me regret selling my 916 all the more). I've also further confirmed that my Merlin holds its own against anything around for me. Other bikes I appreciate less...

I got to ride the Sachs tourer this weekend and was very disappointed. It handled like a truck, though I think there are some adjustments I can try. It felt like I was on a LHT...granted, an exceptionally cool LHT, but an LHT nonetheless.