jeirvine 

Offer to go riding with him, and if the bikes need a tune up, to do that for him for free. Then he'll either realize he's really not gonna ride anymore, or he'll be indebted to you for helping get them on the road.

lotekmod

This is the right approach, you have to demonstrate the shared interest and get him back on the bike. This will put you in good standing with her entire family. Then when you get him riding again put him on a new carbon fiber bike and go riding with him, sandbagging the entire ride, especially the hills. Pretty soon you'll be inheriting his "old junk". Mwuhahaha! All is fair in love and vintage bikes!

jeirvine 

Tim- Glad to see more Velocipede co-op guys here. We need to organize a Baltimore C&V ride some time. I know Lars has some nice old steel too. I regularly ride the Raleigh Team Pro I got from there.
-John

The Golden Boy 

Truth be told- that was a really special bike.


And my size...

Sixty Fiver

My nephew is seeing a nice young woman who has a house on the lake where we like to fish with a private dock, my advice to him is the same I offer here...

Don't break up... at least until winter.

turky lurkey

+1 On offering to restore them.

The projects themselves will give you something to do rather than sit on the couch during down time while visiting, and you will always be able to ride the bike's while visiting. Last time I went to visit my in-laws I actually brought a project bike with me to work on.
On the other hand if I were the father, I wouldn't be letting anybody work on my bikes, at least not without me being right there supervising. Perhaps, if you get along with him you could work on the bikes together and then go riding together. You would likely be forever in good standing with him after that.

Also +1, Let us see the Pics!

repechage

You have the strategy all wrong.
Offer to help him repack, clean the drivetrain of one, and advising that the Phil hubs probably won't repaving, but if they do that is a wheel tear down and ship to Phil anyway.
You will get, to know the parents, (useful), they will appreciate you, (you are useful) and you might even offer to go for a leisurely ride, also useful.
Going in with the steely eyed presentation of an opportunist… not good.

gear64

+1 on this. While I wasn't interested in the bike in the context of the OP, I fixed up my mother-in-laws '54 3 speed when she thought she might interested in cruising around the neighborhood a little. Even after divorce she offered me the bike when she felt she was done with that phase of her life. Don't know if it will ever be worth anything financially, but I hang on to in the event one of my daughters develop a sentimental appreciation for it.

photogravity

You have dibs on one of iab's bicycles, Kactus?

iab

Bring back a thread from 1 year ago exactly.

Outstanding!

repechage

I admit I read the month and day and neglected the year.

I guess a good time to check in to see if anything became of this relationship.

SteveSGP

Did I mention the cute little kids size Cyril Guimond (I think) road bike with a three speed freewheel that's out in my mother in laws barn?

Perfect size for my 8 year old daughter who is absolutely dying for a road bike like Mom, Dad and bike brother ride but the mother in law would rather let it collect dust.

autoteacher

I would restore the both of them all shiny and nice and ride them by his front door every day, the little pri!(.

leicanthrope

Worst case scenario, if you're patient enough, the traditional 11th wedding anniversary gift is steel.

mapleleafs-13 

yea i did the same thing.

he should update the thread and let us know if there was a happy ending to the story. Meaning if he got the bike or not, we're not worried about the gf part

mapleleafs-13 

it's weird i don't even know how i did that. i was just reading like i would normally on C&V and saw that. WTF

Kactus

I ain't telling!

Null66

As a man getting close to the wrong side of this equation, this is the answer.

Worse case you go on a ride, best case things work out...

SJX426 

Who knows, the dad may be in his 3rd trimester of becoming a C&V guy. Better to leave them where they are! They are his.

OldsCOOL

Wow, Zombie ThReAdS!!!!!

oddjob2

Let's ask him? @wearyourtruth

wearyourtruth

the girl and i are no longer dating, but we have become pretty good friends. i met her parents a few months ago and we talked for a long time about cycling (they were both really avid in their younger days). later her dad told her "don't tell tim, but i would consider possibly selling him the bob jackson"

i don't think he's ready to let it go yet, but i am pretty confident i'm at the top of the list. honestly i think her mom is more willing to let it go than her dad is. it's not her bike to sell, but that will probably work in my favor ultimately!

her mom's eyesight is failing and she has been considering purchasing a tricycle. she can see well enough to stay on the path/road but not well enough to avoid rocks, twigs, or small potholes that might buck her off the bike. i have been working on sourcing one for her, which is similar to what you all have suggested. the dad is a little too sharp to fall for "oh let me just polish up that bob jackson for you" plus we both know HE has the skills to restore it if he really wanted it nice and clean.

Rocket-Sauce 

A different sort of bike.....

Yesterday I was out walking the dog and saw a guy trying to hump a vintage Vespa into his garage. I walked over and my jaw hit the ground when I saw what he had crammed into his garage. He had 3 fully restored Vespas all from the early to mid 60s. There was a little 50, a GL, and a 150. He also had several incomplete scoots including a very cool '63 GS (like Sting's in Quadrophenia). He also had some incomplete Lambrettas in pieces. The coolest thing by far was his Lambretta 550 (Lambretta Lambro - the history of the 550) with the enclosed bread delivery option. He started it up and it sounded sooo cool. I asked how much he paid for the 550 and he said "You don't want to know". He uses the 550 for camping at rallies. He has been lving right around the corner from me for the last 10 years! I can't believe I never even saw him or his cool bikes before.

photogravity

Calling @puchfinnland. This is right up his alley.

puchfinnland

yes it be true-
I had over 7 vespas at one time, even the coveted 90 SS race bike , one of only 3000.

my first was a 67 supersport I restored completely,
then from forum member
jeirvine

I purchased his just found GS 150, we both had vespas and were in the club.

That i took 3 months to restore,
I moved to Finland and bought a PX 200, which I built a tuned motor 70% power increase and would do 83mph
I restored a 63 GL for my old wife
I had a 90 SS
another 150 GS I found
a russian vespa called a vjatka

and then another early 60's vespa i was going to make into a custom but it never happened and I lost steam
only scoot i still have is my gs 150 and it is still in storage at my parents house.
Bicycles are far easier and enjoyable now!