steelbikeguy

I was fortunate to pick up a pair of NOS Mavic MA-2 rims from the LBS at a very reasonable price about 20 years ago. I think Nashbar was clearing out some Mavic MA-40 too, so I picked up two pairs of them. Used one pair of the MA-40's, but still have the others.
Of course, considering how hard it is getting to fit new tires onto those rims.. maybe new rims would be easier? In the meantime, I've had good results with the EZ-Clincher tire jack.

I was fortunate to be a bit paranoid and bought toe straps, Brooks saddles, 8 speed chains, SunTour freewheels, etc. about 20 years ago. I also "inherited" a stash of SunTour cogs from a friend, which was helpful. Even bought some spare Avocet computers, since I really do like them.
More recently, I picked up some spare SunTour Cyclone derailleurs, after having a couple of the lower pivot springs break.
As well as this has worked out.. so far.. it would be easy to end up with too much stuff. I think I've got enough stuff to last another 10 years, which seems reasonable.

Steve in Peoria

3speedslow

I’m going to enjoy the therapy of getting rid of a lot of stuff now that I can move back into my home...and convert the third bedroom into a proper bike room. But I also enjoyed buying that stuff but now only want what I need and deem necessary in the future.

Big juicy rationalization!

Trakhak

Don't forget Direction 6 and Pitch 10!!!!

Kozo Shimano, the son of the president of the Shimano corporation, was an undergraduate student at Johns Hopkins University when I was working in a local bike shop in the early '80s. He once asked me what I thought Shimano should do to make the people running U.S. bike shops happier. I said, "Stop coming up with new stuff!" I'm sure that they took my advice to heart.

clubman 

I bought some street rides and one collectible in the 80's, just to get hooked. I then spent $5000 on 2 nice, new '90's fast bikes and that was it for that approach. Then, over time, it was another $5K on at least 50 or 60 C&V bikes, including a whack of old parts with which to fetishize and rebuild frames. I sold some nice bits for about $4K when ebay was easy and still have more to mess around with. Sure you spend a few grand on consumables over the years but you don't notice that. Overall, big fun.

Cougrrcj

I don't think that I'll ever spend more than $200 for a bike -- because I know I'll spend another $X-hundred to reconfigure it to make it 'mine'. On top of the normal consumables that you'll want/need to replace, there's wheels, brakes, shifters...

I spent $135 for my '84 Univega Viva Sport six years ago because after becoming a BF.net member, I felt that I wanted needed a 'better' frameset than my trusty old 26.5-pound '75 Fuji S-10S. By the time I was done with outfitting it, I was into it for another $500+ for wheels, tires, tubes, cables, shifters, derailleurs, brakes, brake levers, seatpost, saddle, crankset, pedals, bar tape... AND yes, it weighs in at almost a grand total of two pounds lighter than the Fuji...

Same for the '86 Miyata 710... After all was said and done, it is ~3- to 3-1/2-pounds lighter than my old Fuji. So 10-15% off the bike weight.to get it to 22.3 pounds. Does anybody else see the problem here??? I'm a 195- to 200 pound guy. The total weight savings off the bike is somewhat insignificant over the potential weight savings off of myself!

merziac

Most of this is a drop in the bucket, over time yes it can add up but is far more sustainable than many other things.

My big one before this was drag racing motorcycles, I used old Kawasaki's that were cheap and almost never broke and I mean never, gas, oil, tires and chains were the main expense for equipment.

There were upgrades along the way that were costly but still minimal in the grand scheme of things.

Twice a week for 20 years, 1000's of races, 10's of 1000's of passes, azz whoopins given and received, several big wins, 8 or 9 track championships and more "fun" and education than you can imagine.

The entry fees alone could have ran a small country but with minimal outlay for the bikes and gear, the $$$ was tolerable especially compared to most of the people who end up mortgaging themselves to go faster and do it seriously and seriously end up divorced, out of a home and worse.

No idea how much I spent, the first 5 years I did it, I won a lot of races and the program was pretty bare bones as I rode to and from the track on the race bike so I may have made money in the beginning as the entry fees were comically low compared to today.

I think the fees are at least $50 for the regular weekly races now days with a couple big ones a month that are at least a $100 dollars so $4-600 a month just for entry fees.

Again, bicycles are a drop in the bucket compared to many other obsessions.

Gashouse

I have spent twice as much on tires for the old Schwinn I ride than I did for the whole bike.
I am resurrecting a PX 10 . Right now, I have spent $250 on it . Will probably spend $50 more, soon.
Again, more than I paid for the bike. Doing all the work myself will give me great satisfaction
When it is done I will regret none of the expense.

repechage

I would have advised small parts support, new stuff is their stock in trade.
For a short time, a bike shop could order small parts direct from Shimano USA, the lead times were not that good though and the minimums were such that it really turned a shop into their own parts warehouse.
Jockey wheels, cable anchor fasteners I think were the only parts the shop I worked for purchased.

squirtdad

you need a bike with the full DuraAce AX with dyna drive in that case

I am a low count bike by forums standards.... 3 bikes each with a purpose

One is my "best bike" ride hard and long (or as hard as I can ) current is 85 team miyata with 5800 105 11speed
two is Cino/eroica bike current is 84 Team miyata with durrace 7200/7400 mix....but soon to get a mishmash of 105 triple/mega range freewheel/rx100 front/deore XT back for some low gearing
three is a "city" bike leave it out, throw a leg on it and do and errand or go for a beer and bring some beer back. Currently a 82 nishiki that I got new and did a ton of work one......soon to be replace by the SR semi pro I just got (this is going to be to let go of)

future up to 4 bikes may happen if I ever get a custom. (or dive of the deep end and get a fully modern bike....hate to say it but the cervelo caledonia caught my eye)

genejockey 

Yeah, the AX series in either 600 or DA... Problem is it didn't sell and now it's really expensive. It interests me but not enough to do anything about it.

My Lotus Supreme has Dyna Drive cranks - the 6200s, and I actually have a pair of 6200 pedals in good condition - smooth bearings and original blue velcro straps. I rode with those for a bit, but I had to decide whether to invest in cycling shoes that would take slotted cleats, or just use the adapters I'd bought and put on clipless. I went with the latter. I had to raise the saddle since my feet were no longer below the pedal axle, and I found the bike feels a lot more stable now. I think it moved more weight forward onto the bars. Supposedly, one advantage of Dyna Drive was that your saddle, and I guess your whole position would be lower and thus more aerodynamic, but I like the handling better now.

CV-6 

How is this for a reality check? I buy tubular tires that cost more than the tires on my car.

squirtdad

my understanding was the dyna drive crank/pedal combination required that the frame be sized differently for the correct fit. some frame had a size that indicated the equivalent standard size

genejockey 

That makes sense. My Supreme measures 57cm x 57cm, though, c-c, so it doesn't seem like they gave it a shorter seat tube matched to a longer top tube. The seatpost is awfully short, though. With the Dyna Drive pedals, the saddle height that felt right was just at the max extension of the Dura Ace seatpost that came with it. With the clipless pedals, I had to get a longer seatpost. But the Lotus Classique I just bought has the same problem - I need a couple more cm of seatpost than it came with, so I'm thinking it's down to the 'fistful of seatpost exposed' approach to bikefitting they used in the 80s.