Where are you looking for your next barn find?
#26
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Seems like there are too many large volume "pros" and full-timers these days, using technology to quickly snap things up before applying their useless middleman fees. And it looks like the phenomenon has reach Italy as well, where there are untold treasures lurking in basements and attics. Guys there taking advantage of the global desire for Italian steel, and can't completely blame them...
#27
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I spend almost as much time getting rid of bikes as I do actually working on them. Being a frugal old Yankee, I can't seem to let anything go that has even a shred of intrinsic value, hence I tend to become inundated with bikes and parts of all kinds. The old adage of garbage-in, garbage out is taken quite seriously here, and I cull my "herd" on a weekly basis. I am constantly struggling with it.
Just yesterday I had a conversation with my wife about it, and I've decided to up my game a little - seeking out and retaining only bikes that really flip my switch, and letting go all of the others.
Just yesterday I had a conversation with my wife about it, and I've decided to up my game a little - seeking out and retaining only bikes that really flip my switch, and letting go all of the others.
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#28
Junior Member
I'm new to the game, but here in the southeast US I have found the most luck on Facebook Marketplace. CL is pretty much dead compared to Marketplace. Things do go quick though, so I check fairly often.
#29
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Perhaps as an addition to my initial (or our initial) barn find posts, would be a barn (or "forgotten") find of a...newer variety? Hidden gems that have the geometry specs and/or capability of vintage steeds (race, touring, etc)--perhaps even the lively feel of them--but are not sought after as they were never meant to be the apex of a particular genre? Maybe I'm speaking for myself as a younger C&V guy. Maybe this is appealing to the contrarians among us? Miyata Triple Crosses and other "Cross" or hybrid type bikes being based off touring geometries yet having more clearance. XO-1 descendants and other bikes. Sport or endurance "road" bikes that actually do just fine, if not very well when outfitted with much better components.
Again, I may be talking about myself here, or I may be looking at the vintage steel market as an already saturated and 'conquered' land, and thus I go in search of other potential lands to discover. We all are looking for different things in a bike, and some of those include aesthetics on top of feel or performance. I know the requirement well. Will I receive comments of "Nice bike!" from total strangers if I'm riding something apart from a vintage black-and-chrome Paramount with plenty of polished pieces? Probably not. And yes, part of me does lament the lack of classy chrome frame elements adorning production bikes. And lugs. Sloping top tubes and visible welds would have to be accepted aesthetics while obtaining a lively ride, feel, performance, and features/capability (and for potentially not that much money either).
Whichever find is happened upon, it will still have to contend with matching or bettering my Paramount. Even if I wish that bike were a couple cm taller, it's never the less a high bar (heh!) to clear in my mind.
To future discoveries!
Again, I may be talking about myself here, or I may be looking at the vintage steel market as an already saturated and 'conquered' land, and thus I go in search of other potential lands to discover. We all are looking for different things in a bike, and some of those include aesthetics on top of feel or performance. I know the requirement well. Will I receive comments of "Nice bike!" from total strangers if I'm riding something apart from a vintage black-and-chrome Paramount with plenty of polished pieces? Probably not. And yes, part of me does lament the lack of classy chrome frame elements adorning production bikes. And lugs. Sloping top tubes and visible welds would have to be accepted aesthetics while obtaining a lively ride, feel, performance, and features/capability (and for potentially not that much money either).
Whichever find is happened upon, it will still have to contend with matching or bettering my Paramount. Even if I wish that bike were a couple cm taller, it's never the less a high bar (heh!) to clear in my mind.
To future discoveries!
#30
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Andy_K
Seem to recall you posted photos before back when you got them but can't recall looking at them if you did. There are really a lot of photos and mot seeing too many of one item.
That isn't a simple purchase, that's the clean out of a high end store! I'm guessing $4500 for a bulk price? If less it was even more impressive. Wow
Seem to recall you posted photos before back when you got them but can't recall looking at them if you did. There are really a lot of photos and mot seeing too many of one item.
That isn't a simple purchase, that's the clean out of a high end store! I'm guessing $4500 for a bulk price? If less it was even more impressive. Wow
#31
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I totally agree. The older I get the less I want (it seems), but the stuff I want, I want to be rich and fulfilling.
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#32
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Andy_K
Seem to recall you posted photos before back when you got them but can't recall looking at them if you did. There are really a lot of photos and mot seeing too many of one item.
That isn't a simple purchase, that's the clean out of a high end store! I'm guessing $4500 for a bulk price? If less it was even more impressive. Wow
Seem to recall you posted photos before back when you got them but can't recall looking at them if you did. There are really a lot of photos and mot seeing too many of one item.
That isn't a simple purchase, that's the clean out of a high end store! I'm guessing $4500 for a bulk price? If less it was even more impressive. Wow
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#33
Full Member
also nearby...
...retired now. ....used to ride bikes in NYC during '70/80s.... ...just returning to biking now in the east hills of Tenn.
A bike collector told me never to use EBay or buy foreign bikes on Ebay or non-EBay cites. ...(Too many scammers, false truth tellers, shipping issues, etc.)
She uses freinds who know she is collecting bikes. But her most frequent buys are from local and no-so-local bike shops, however.
If you are a collector or know someone who is, how do they find the goods?
Thanks, Rob Bartsch
A bike collector told me never to use EBay or buy foreign bikes on Ebay or non-EBay cites. ...(Too many scammers, false truth tellers, shipping issues, etc.)
She uses freinds who know she is collecting bikes. But her most frequent buys are from local and no-so-local bike shops, however.
If you are a collector or know someone who is, how do they find the goods?
Thanks, Rob Bartsch
#34
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Vintage Bike shows/swap have provided a few like my treasured Robin Hood. Most of the others have found me via a network of other collectors, friends and family. Lots of friends find deals on bikes that are not their style and let me know. I was alerted to two vintage by the minister at our church this summer. She saw them along the roadside!
1971 Robin Hood
1987 Raleigh Canada derivative from a local antique store.
1971 Robin Hood
1987 Raleigh Canada derivative from a local antique store.
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We are what we reflect. We are the changes that we bring to this world. Ride often. -Geo.-
We are what we reflect. We are the changes that we bring to this world. Ride often. -Geo.-
#35
Banned.
In this City, there seems to be no shortage of d-bag bike flippers. Anything which is advertised gets scooped up post haste, many times relisted within hours right back on the same site they bought it from... fully "serviced" of course, and for many multiples the original offering price. It's almost as if they sit around all day hitting refresh on their screen waiting for something they can flip to pop up. Pure filth.
For the non-collector, non-flipper, it takes a little more strategy to find a bike you want in the size you need. Patience too. Unadvertised bikes, or anything else unadvertised, eliminates the d-bag competition element. Asking around is as good a method as any I guess.
For the non-collector, non-flipper, it takes a little more strategy to find a bike you want in the size you need. Patience too. Unadvertised bikes, or anything else unadvertised, eliminates the d-bag competition element. Asking around is as good a method as any I guess.
Last edited by prairiepedaler; 12-09-20 at 11:07 PM.
#36
Junior Member
I prefer swap meets.
Scambio 017 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Scambio 039 by iabisdb, on Flickr
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Scambio 026 by iabisdb, on Flickr
2019 Imola Scambio 13 by iabisdb, on Flickr
2019 Imola Scambio 49 by iabisdb, on Flickr
2019 Imola Scambio 48 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Scambio 017 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Scambio 039 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Scambio 088 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Scambio 026 by iabisdb, on Flickr
2019 Imola Scambio 13 by iabisdb, on Flickr
2019 Imola Scambio 49 by iabisdb, on Flickr
2019 Imola Scambio 48 by iabisdb, on Flickr
I wish there was something like that around here, the nearest I've seen was four hours away and nothing like the meet pictured above.
I found FB a waste of time, in all the years I've been watching there I've yet to be able to make a deal, or worse yet even get a reply.
Its also a nightmare to search, set the distance to search 100 miles and it gives me things half way across the country or completely unrelated items.
Most on CL around here are asking top dollar regardless of quality or condition.
Unless the auctions start back up, I don't foresee many deals in the near future.
Nearly all the auctioneers have gone to live online auctions only and there hasn't been any deals
at all Everything gets bid up to the moon,
Selling wise, locally, its pretty slow, everyone wants it for free. $50 seems to be the limit lately.
I've always been amazed at how many decent bikes are listed in other areas but not here.
All we see is Walmart junk and rust lately.
#37
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My opinion only. the single most important thing to keep in mind when buying any vintage road bike is... Know your frame size, seat tube height and top tube length. Bring a tape measure with you and verify the numbers. Any frame that doesn't fit well will not let the magic happen and will not get ridden, don't guess.
There are bikes out there with long top tubes that I can't make work for me, I have bought this lesson a few times and had to sell them on because the bike didn't "feel" right no matter how I adjusted the fit,, the difference between fit and not a fit is is less than 1/2" (13mm) in top tube length for me. For reference my bikes that are keepers are 21" X 21" (53.3cm X 53.3cm), I'm 63 and 5' 9" tall.
: Mike
There are bikes out there with long top tubes that I can't make work for me, I have bought this lesson a few times and had to sell them on because the bike didn't "feel" right no matter how I adjusted the fit,, the difference between fit and not a fit is is less than 1/2" (13mm) in top tube length for me. For reference my bikes that are keepers are 21" X 21" (53.3cm X 53.3cm), I'm 63 and 5' 9" tall.
: Mike
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Steel is real...and comfy.
Steel is real...and comfy.