Road Fan

Is anybody coming to the Ann Arbor Antique Bike Show, April 25? There's usually some vintage lightweight/racing stuff mixed in with the heavy cruisers and tank bikes ... We should do a brewpub visit or something, if some of you are coming.

Here's the link to the show: https://www.ann-arbor-bicycleshow.com/index.html

Road Fan

cb400bill

Mrs. cb400 and I are planning to make the event part of our Sunday. She said she would go with me if afterward we went to IKEA.

We haven't firmed up a time yet though.

redxj

I will be there like always

Road Fan

You won't be working?

Road Fan

Get her a cinnamon roll!

Road Fan

I hope to get there at 9, and will need maybe 2 hours to stroll through.

redxj

Nope, I am taking the day off. I have worked the complete month of April every day open to close so I deserve to get at least one day off. Plus, on Sunday we are only open for 4 hours.

Road Fan

Bill, please post or pm me and/or redxj when you have it firmed up. Sounds like you won't have time for a pub visit AND an Ikea trip, but there's some excellent pizza by the slice very close to the fairground, and even some small restaurants at the I-94 exit (these are all on your way). I'd at least like to meet other BF'ers, even if there's not much time. I'm flexible.

cb400bill

Sure. I'd like to me up with you guys. It's always good to put a face with a name.

Mrs. cb400 is pretty tolerant of me and my hobbies. And, she likes pizza, too.

cyclodan

Ol' Cyclo will be there. I think I have only missed one of these in 20 years.

Road Fan

Hey, Dan from the shop in Brighton, right? How's it going?

I think a decent meeting place would be between the A and B buildings. The A building is the one with heat, a real floor and real doors that close - made for bake sales and quilt shows rather than large livestock showings. For this event it's where the show bikes will be on display.

Road Fan

Ok, I propose we meet at the big front door of Building A between 11 and 11:15. A is the building that has doors that close, a normal indoor floor (not a dirt floor), and a heating system. First one on the left as you drive in the main gate. I expect to be kind of bundled up due to the cold - 50 deg outdoors most of the day today, and rainy/drizzly.

Voyageur_guy

Well what did everyone think?
I was there some nice stuff but there sure was a lot of junk. I went looking to spend some money but left empty handed. maybe i should have got there when it opened.
lots and lots and lots of schwinn stuff

Road Fan

I got a real good deal on a NOS TA front rack for a Mafac caliper brake. There was a little 1955 Diamant East German racing bike, but it was more than I thought I could spend today.

This show is usually dominated by the Schwinn and heavy cruiser crowd, not the vintage lightweights - just the way it is, and where I think it came from.

There were quite a few pre-Raleigh 3-speed roadsters by BSA, Drake, Phillips, Armstrong, Rudge, and a lot of others. Just wasn't interested in those right now.

cyclezealot

Darn.. I was in the neighborhood and did not know ... wish it was more than one day..

cb400bill

We just got home from our visit to the show. And our visit to the IKEA store.

I've never seen more Schwinn Varsity bikes in one place in my life. Had to have been over 100 of them in various states of condition. Most of them ratty but at least one NOS.

Notable bikes I remember seeing:

Tri-color 600 equipped 55 cm Colnago
80's 57cm Trek.
A 1970 Raleigh Super Course 531
A Paramount tandem with extra pedals for a child stoker,
Pogliaghi frame and fork,
DEATH FORK equipped Viscount.

After the show my wife and I met up with Road Fan for lunch. We had a nice chat about bikes over some slices of pizza. It was great to meet another BF member. Good choice of location as the pizza was terrific.

Then we went to IKEA and spent 4.5 hours wandering around that huge store. But we are now the owners of a new TV stand. I just have to put it together now.

I took some pics and will post some of those later.

redxj

That Pogliaghi was the one from this thread https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...aghi-questions removed of its parts of which some of those were for sale (wheels, brakes, and pump I think I remember seeing). But, the same seller had an older Carlton frameset that was even better IMHO.

The show is always way to many Schwinn's and trying to find vintage lightweights is very tough. I have been going for 5-6 years now and last year was the first time I ever bought a bike. This year I purchased two, but I was in line at 6:30am (vendor's pass) and was shopping while everyone was setting up before it opened to the public at 8AM. Most of the decent reasonably priced road bikes get purchased very fast from the few out of town bike shop/flippers. If you are not the first to see it, find the seller, and buy the bike quickly you will see someone else wheeling it away. I think the weather held the attendance back some from previous years. I didn't think there were as many vendors as before and the amount of stuff each had was a bit less than usual. There are always a few vendors there every year and always in the same spot you can count on for vintage lightweight stuff. Most of them did not really have all that much for sale this year.

I purchased two bikes (Miyata 710 and a rough lower end Puch), two sets of 135mm Campagnolo 52/39 chainrings, two NOS Suntour Superbe 49t rings, Cinelli threadless stem, tubular track wheelset, Suntour cyclone rear derailleur, and two NOS Suntour Superbe seat posts. My copilot bought a Miyata Team frameset, new 700c Campagnolo clincher rim, 6 speed Suntour freewheel, and a set of Campagnolo low flange record hubs.