randyjawa 

For a variety of reasons, I sold off all of my vintage bikes, except for two. I also sold my entire stash of vintage components, and all went to the same buyer. The two bikes I kept are my cherished Legnano and my not finished Rabeneick...




Since then, a few more bikes have come my way, none of which interest me all that much, except for the Rocky Mountain, my go to cottage bike now and probably until I can't ride anymore (could be right now as I blew my right knee out a couple of weeks ago - doc says I need a new knee)...

Rocky Mountain Cardiac...


Early seventies Bottecchia Model Special...


Pinarello Dolemite (I think)...


Bianchi something or other with Team Proctor decals...


An early seventies Atala Norstar...


A small Cannondale something or other...


In short, not one of the bikes interests me at all and all are sold or will be sold (next spring when I get back to Canada). But things have changed for me...

I no longer look for bike frames, only complete bikes. Not having a stash of vintage components seriously limits one's build options, unless one has buckets full of cash. I do not.

I find wayyyy more time and interest in riding my bikes, now, focusing, believe it or not, on my Rocky Mountain. I do miss having a collection to look at and ride but much prefer to not having a bunch of bikes to maintain, clean, protect and heaven knows what else to consume one's time.

I spend less and less time on Ebay because I do not need anything to complete my Rabeneick build, which looks like this right now. Art to be installed in the spring...


So, even though things have changed, the change seems to be for the better. And, I do still hunt but only for one bike, an old Legnano Roma, frame set or complete bike. I really like Legnano bicycles and I have owned three Grand Premio models to date, keeping this one that I still have for sentimental and practical reasons...

friendofpugs

Randy, thanks for posting your thoughts on where you are now with N - 1. Without cycling through so many bicycles, you couldn't have created "My Ten Speeds" and for that I am grateful. I've since whittled myself down to four bikes that I call my own, only one (!) of which is a steel road bike. As someone once said, "Either you own your stuff, or your stuff will own you."

Hudson308 

Sorry to read about the knee, Randy! Hard to ride a bike without em.

Wildwood 

Thanks for your post.
Get the physical issues improved and enjoy the rides you can do.
You are as Classic & Vintage as any on this forum. Time for refurb and ride on.
Generates a certain amount of self-reflection.

As I age and change/adapt, my latest group of bikes brings me pleasure and comfort.
The framesets are all built, only 2 to tweak this winter.
OK, some saddles need upgrades, and bars re-wrap.
My parts stash (never huge) is near zero.
Nice tires on all.
Life is good.
For now.

stardognine

Sorry to hear about the knee, I know that story too well. 🙁

But I think you'll enjoy riding more, that's what it's all about. 👍 And it doesn't matter how fast you go, speed is for the young whipper-snappers. 😁😉

wrk101

I’ve cut my stack down 50% but you are way ahead of me!

seedsbelize 

I'm down to four regular riders. Would be painful to cut further, but I'm sure that time will come.

squirtdad

Sorry about the knee, but if by new one you mean replacements, they are really good now.....my orthopedic surgeon got his replaced so he could ski with grandkids

and what size roma?

Chr0m0ly 

Sorry about the knee Randy, I hope you heal up.

And thank you, I find your post inspirational, I need to do the same and for the same benefits. I want to concentrate on riding, and on getting a select few bicycles really up to snuff, instead of having about 14 that are in ridable but not beautiful condition.

ryansu

Hope the knee heals quickly sir and I will echo the above in that Mytenspeeds taught me allot and was very inspiring for a noob bike restorer

I got down to 4 bikes after selling 7 this summer but a very nice Allez came to me out of the blue so I am at 5. Glad you kept the Legnano one of my faves from your collection. Heal up in the Jamaican sun Mon

Bad Lag

I hurt my left knee about 1 1/2 years ago. I was very worried the injury might be permanent. After the initial trauma subsided, I started to ride my bike. I took it easy at first. I grew stronger over time and now my knee is back to 100%. I am certain it was only thru the physical therapy of cycling did I recover.

Keep at least one bike, forever. Ride it. Enjoy it!

I have only two bikes. One's a road racer that's very precious to me. The other is used occasionally for my short commute to work. That's it, but it is still two - one more than necessary.

ddeand 

I’m on the same page as Randy (minus the knee thing - get that fixed and healed up). Because of my tendency to get too wrapped up in my hobbies, I have limited myself to three bikes, two of which get 99% of my miles. The Raleigh 3-speed only comes out for occasional errands or British-style rides. I have a “modern” 2005 CX bike for gravel and general riding and a vintage bike for road riding. Right now, the vintage bike is a 1980 Miyata Pro with an 8-speed D-A group. I’ll be swapping the D-A kit over to a 1987 Centurion Ironman (Miami Vice) this winter. Then, the Miyata Pro frame will have to find a new home. I also have a ‘74 Raleigh International frame that I’m slowly building up that might replace the 3-speed. But I agree with the sentiment that having fewer bikes translates into more riding time.

Again, good luck with the knee!

yoyobike

Hello Randy, sad to hear about your knee... But I'm glad that I found a reliable photo of Atala Norstar. In my hometown, I found an Atala Norstar as well it is in a good condition. Do you recommend it?

Kabuki12

Yea, knees , they can be a problem. I have a "third knee"(bursa sac) that doesn't really bother me . I have had it drained numerous times to no avail, it just keeps coming back. No pain for me so I just keep pedaling. As far as my small(compared to yours) bike collection , I plan to keep what I have but not so into the gathering stage as I was. You have helped me over the years with your old web site and I spent a few hours reading and looking at the pics of some of your steeds. Your situation reminds me of when I had a vintage 356A Porsche . I owned that car for 26 years and spent way too much time restoring and maintaining that car. It used to be fun for me but when they became so valuable and buying or swapping parts with other fellow owners became unrealistic , I lost interest and sold it. It sounds like you still have an interest though, so that's good. Joe joesvintageroadbikes.wordpress

randyjawa 

The North Star is a very entry level machine, as I recall. Stamped drops, low end components, steel rims... that sort of thing. Would I recommend it? Yes and no...

No, because it is not higher end nor will it offer great ride quality. Resale value will not cover the cost of buying and street restoring (always a concern of mine). Yes, because it could well be a fun project and, for what it is worth, one of my best rides was on a dump found entry lever Lernano, The deciding factor for me would be condition and fit. If in really good condition, yes. If it fit well, yes again.

I learned years ago that a bike does not have to be exotic or high end or well known or anything else, including the silly "steel is real" mantra. In keeping with this philosophy, I like to build high end bikes but this lowly Raleigh Carlton has recently caught my attention. I was going to pass it along to someone else, but now I am thinking it to be a pretty bike that is worth my time to refurbish. Yup, like I need another project, but, low end or not, why not...?

garryg

Life is all about change,. Bad knee is not good,i had a total knee replacement last July. The good news is cycling is a reccomended exercise for bad knees and for new knee rehab. Good luck Randy and as always,thanks for MTS.