Saying goodbye to my beloved Novara Buzz
 

Man, after 15 years, a guy gets to love his bike, you know what I mean?

In my mind, I’ve decided that with my age and lifestyle changes, it’s time for me to get a new rig, one that looks forward to the next 15 years. My heart, though, is still attached to this Novara Buzz which has been a terrific companion as I transitioned from a guy living with his girlfriend to father in a family of four. Really, the bike has been a trusted companion to me, from bike festivals to bar runs, from winter commute slogs, to hauling kids and cargo. It’s truly been my perfect definition of a sport utility vehicle...and I’m emotionally attached!

I don’t really have a reason to make this post, other than, I suppose, as a therapy to help me get comfortable with my decision to move on. I opened the computer to hit Craigslist, but just couldn’t do it, so I came here to cry first. We’ve all got to move on at some point, right? I mean, it makes no sense to keep a bike forever, right?

I guess I just wanted to go on the record once for a bike which never got the limelight— it never did the big rides, the fast rides, or was the subject of a BF thread— but was always my ride-or-die for the past 15 years. So many good memories derive from this bike. It’s hard to say goodbye.

Thanks for the shoulder to cry on, folks. Now to CL to do what needs done...


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...717af649d.jpeg

If you say so. But fwiw, I recently re-acquired a bike I sold in 1987, a bike my father bought for me in 1978, and now that it's home it's not going anywhere. No matter what other bikes come in the door, there is no good reason to let go of a bike you love. Period.

Sell it and the odds are very good that at some point you'll regret it and find yourself seeking another one like it. That's been my experience both with bikes and guitars - and frequently you spend a LOT of time, effort and money to recapture something you shoulda just kept. I write this as I ponder how I have a custom Mercian and two vintage Raleighs in my stable, all because I stupidly decided I needed to part with a rattle-canned '71 Raleigh Competition I fished from a trashpile and rode for a few years. It was an awesome bike that if I'd had a lick of sense I would have had painted and fitted with bottle bosses - and I'd still be riding it.

I don’t understand. This seems like the last bike to sell after the fast ones, the long ride-ers.

sure, purple, yellow, and red on grey are not traditionally befitting someone on the road to grandfatherhood- but if you don’t already have a Rivendell to replace this...

What are you doing, man?

Dagnabbit! What you say rings true! I need a defense if I’m gonna do that, though, because my wife will be pissed. I guess I could say it’s not really worth anything, which is kind of true; I could get $400 probably. I could also sell one of the other bikes I care less about, like the old Motocane Gran Jubilée. I did recently give away the Schwinn Collegiate, too, so maybe she’d be satisfied to know I’ve reduced the fleet size...

Well I gotta hold onto my dreams a bit, so the fast roadies stay at least through next season to see what I can pull off in this next round of winter training. I also did just order a Breezer Doppler Cafe+. Not quite a Rivendell, which I contemplated, but similar! I’m not quite ready to go full-on Rivendell!!

rustystrings61 that story about the ‘78 bike is remarkable, btw! Was it serendipity you found it again, or did you know the buyer from ‘87?

Further notes - I am old enough to be a grandfather, and only the fact that I entered fatherhood late in life has kept me from that title. I HAD a Rivendell and sold it because the money from selling that frameset and all the blingy bike jewelry went to family needs. We also had matching Quickbeams and both of those went a long time ago. My custom Mercian remains as my only bike with any appreciable value, and it's in the same category as my one really nice guitar - it's a keeper for life, because I've learned that if I buy something I really, really like and it works for me and continues working for me, be happy with it. This is why despite pressure from dear spouse and her family, I continue to drive the 1997 Ford Ranger 4-banger 5-speed I bought used in 1999 - it works, it always works, and it is the ONLY motor vehicle I have ever had in my life that has NEVER left me stranded.

My stable has grown over the last few years, but it has all been for very small amounts of money because I'm a not only a vintage bike guy, I'm a CHEAPSKATE vintage bike guy.

Truthfully, a modern-ish mass-produced bike's MONETARY value after 15 years is pretty much nil. If you're talking about hand-built lugged and brazed, okay, those retain more value because of the artisanal thing - but even then, the value is much less than one would expect. I considered myself lucky that I got about 60 percent of what I paid for my Rivendell when I sold it, and maybe 50 percent of the parts value.

f there are other bikes in the stable you can part with, AND you need to part with something, send on the ones you aren't bonded with. From your initial post, if you sell this one you WILL resent it and you probably WILL look for another one like it. I spent more than 20 years seeking just a Puch like the one I had sold and had pretty much given up, when THAT EXACT BIKE surfaced on FB Marketplace. Not odds I would think are repeatable.

Yeah, so I decided to try to keep the Buzz and sell some other stuff! First up is a supercool Tanjor Aero trailer that’s been hanging in the garage for a few years, since the kids started riding on their own.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4214cc18b.jpeg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...067f88737.jpeg


If anyone is near Ann Arbor, here’s the CL listing: https://annarbor.craigslist.org/bik/...234211494.html

Is that bike laying on it's drive side...SMH

What am i looking at on the rear wheel?

It’s all about the hitch.

That’s a pair of the original Monkey Lights, multicolored LEDs that create cool patterns as the wheel spins.

The short form - my Dad bought me this unsold 1976 Puch Royal X in March, 1978, and it was my primary bike until I stopped riding seriously in '83 or so. It traveled around with me from place to place for the next few years, and along the way it picked up a nasty, distinctive scar on the headbadge when I wasn't sufficiently careful with it. In '87 there was this '65 or so Fender Vibroluxe Reverb Amp that I just HAD to have, so I sold the Puch to a friend of mine in Macon. A couple of months later I realized I missed the bike and contacted the friend, only to learn it had been stolen from his back yard while he was inside eating lunch. I looked around but no luck, and I wasn't riding then anyway, sooo ... fast forward to c.1997, when I start riding again, and I started looking for a white 23-in Puch Royal X. Nope. It was a one-year-only freak of a bike that I suspect was offered to allow Puch to use up odd parts inventory - the same frame as the Puch Royal Force AND the assorted Austro-Daimlers, silver-brazed Reynolds 531, but with a dog's breakfast of parts.

Fast-forward again to 2019, when I am playing around with FB Marketplace. On a whim I key in "Puch." Immediately, up pops a 23-in white Puch Royal X, and even with bad pix I know what it is - and it's only $100. It's in Stone Mountain, near Atlanta, so I locate a bike shop that would be willing to ship the bike, make a deal with the seller to have him deliver it there, send the shop the money to pay him and to box it up and ship it to me. It finally arrives, I take it out of the box and get a really eerie feeling. All of the box stock parts that I had left on my old one were on this one; everything I had changed to my personal preference, saddle, pedals, rear derailleur - those are all NON-stock parts, but NOT the parts I put on it. Someone has fitted wheels similar to the stock ones, but NOT the stock ones. But look, someone HAS fitted it with a 6-speed SunTour Ultra (narrow) freewheel that is identical to the one I had .... then I look at the head tube and freak out, because there is the scar on the head badge. It is my old bike, period.

Someday I may get a bee in my bonnet to put it back closer to how it was when I sold it - but that means finding a set of Weyless hubs and some Mavic Montlhery tubular rims AND an old French Ideale 90 saddle, and all of those are pricey collectibles now. For now, it rides beautifully, better than I remembered, apart from having a hard to keep adjusted headset - which I remember from way back when, too.

Anyway, here is the long form of the story, with pix.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0ca1ad8f31.jpg

Keep the bike. You might like having a backup, or perhaps you'll find a way to re-purpose it.

Until now.

I feel better about that now.

Keep the bike, pass it down to one of your children.. if you have space in a basement I see no reason you should sell it. After all many here have multiple bikes and from the looks of your house in one of the photos you probably have a basement, hang onto it and one day one of your kids when they are old enough to ride and appreciate it will ride it,

Don't sell it, because you will regret it. I had...yes a GMC Denali Road Bike. I stripped most of the crappy components off it, but left it behind when I moved. I know its a crappy bike but the frame was super sturdy, and I could've built it out with better components. Your bike looks great, and its an old friend to you.

OT, How do you like the Giulia?

After 30 years, I gave away a Peugeot PGN10. I had to. I foolishly bought this larger bike at age 17, and tried to make it work for 30 years. It got harder as I got older. I was teared up as I gave it to my daughter's friend. I gave away a child, it seemed.
Not even a few months later, someone had the exact same model on FB, and this time in my size. I bought it, and don't regret it single cent.

Glad you kept yours. When your kids are able enough, ride with them on your Novara Buzz. Have your bike age with your kids. And even if you buy a faster, slicker bike, not all rides are meant to go fast. And before you pass on to the next life give it to your child. Tell them the value it meant to you. Make it part of your family and its history.

I second this. If your lifestyle allows you to own a Giulia, you can store this for a few more years (assuming SWMBO allows). It may not be a flashy one, but when the time comes and you can hand it off to one of your kids, and tell 'em "it's yours, take care of it" I'm sure he/she will be excited (assuming size fits).

The Giulia is fantastic! This is my second one; I did a 2 year lease on the first, and didn’t want to drive anything else, so I got the second one spec’d out exactly how I wanted, and coming into my second year with it, I’m considering buying out the lease and keeping it. Great cars, unlike anything else.

Your "old" bike has disc brakes and all those trick components???? What does your new bike have - a Mr. Fusion and hoverboard attachment?!

Thanks for the encouraging words to keep the Buzz, folks. I really do like it. My strategy to appease my wife (who I think looks upon my bikes and other hobbies as matters of excess!) is to be able to say that, “yeah, I bought another bike, but sold that and that,” so the killer Tanjor trailer is up on CL, and I just posted my ‘76 Motobecane Gran Jubilee flat bar conversion. If I can sell those two things, I think I can tuck the new Breezer Doppler Cafe in the garage without catching more than an “ugh” and a roll of the eyes! I also bought her a new Public C9 for her birthday; that was a strategic move to soften her on the bike front. ;)


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https://annarbor.craigslist.org/bik/...234381017.html

This is going to sound silly, but I’m really excited that the new one has a generator hub! I’ve never had one of those!