sailorbenjamin

This cute little thang was cheap on CL and the guy said he'd even drop it off at my house for an extra ten bucks since he was headed this way (saved me a couple of hours and a bridge toll). He set it on my porch and I handed him the money and as he was driving away I got to thinking, "that's kinda small". It's a 24". Couldn't tell from the CL pics. So I decided to just lube it up and sell it. Greased the hubs, bought some tires and couldn't get the fork bearings to spin true. It's got a bent steerer. "@#@$#@$!" There's an identical fork on ebay, been there for a year now. Right color, right patina, wrong size. 20". One of my Friday night drinking games is checking Ebay, TheCabe and RatRodBikes for a 24" Columbia fork. I could get a generic chrome one for like $50 and if one of my daughters or a neighbor kid got excited about it, I'd do it but I'm already $150 into a $100 bike and it doesn't take up much space so screw it. It's been in the basement for three years now. I put it on CL every now and then but I've never had a bite. Not even one.

jethin

I hope you had a full Tron suit to go with that one.

ThermionicScott 

Probably my 1964 Armstrong 3-speed. I got all excited by Sixty Fiver's "For the Love of English 3-speeds" thread and bought a shiny one off eBay for $175 or so. And it certainly is that. But the frame is about one size too small for me to get full leg extension with the stock seatpost, and it's just not as thrilling to ride as my drop bar bikes. So it really only gets ridden on the occasional tweed ride:



I've acquired a 23" frame (actually two) but haven't summoned the motivation or tools to transfer all of the parts over yet. I really should just find a better home for the thing.

USAZorro

get in line. lol I'll do what I can to save you from yourself. Just another service I provide for my friends here in C&V.

Chrome Molly

I've had a few:

• Schwinn collegiate that I mashed up with a SA 3 speed hub and told myself I was going to use it as my bike to transport myself to the studio where I teach my indoor cycling class. I take the car since I have found that even with primer coated POC's I still hate bike racks scratching my bikes.
• Miata 1000, yes it's an awesome tourer, but in the back of my mind it's getting clearer that I may never do multi day self supported tours. I have more appropriate bikes for credit card touring. It's the only bike that I've ridden less than 50 miles this year. Still have this one, so it's a have instead of a had...
• Raleigh Wyoming that I shimergoed and decided it was too small, it was redundant in the fleet even at that time. Somehow the raleigh "555" tubing was never going to measure up to "531" in my mind, even if I had no possible way of drawing a comparison.

Then there are the meaningless frames I still have hanging around:

• RRB taiwan built frame, rides nicely but I'd intended it as a fast gravel bike. Sort of hard to bring myself to throw parts at that when I have the Poprad and the Croll drop bar bike. When I want to go slower, then there's the Roberts. It mocks me on daily, it would be a really nice frame of the right gravel rides. I have most of a tricolor group just staring at me, hmmm...
• Gitane TDF, someday it will be restored to original with all the wacky plastic parts on it (already have most of them). Keep this one around because it's stiff but not punishing yet wicked fast.
• KHS Flite 800 853 frame, this could be a killer fast road bike, but then again I have one of those. Even went so far as to list it on CL with a wacked up 8 speed shimergo sort of group on it. Wouldn't you know, somebody bought all the components off it, so now I still have the frame looking for an inspired moment.

Those are my first world problems du jour...

Aemmer

The CIOCC. Limited to roller duty for a few years now, but the fact I bought it new over 25 years ago is making it a difficult purge. Classic case of original owner having sentimental value, the only way it can possibly disappear is if I am able to trade it off for something else.

calamarichris

Actually, I do have a meaningless frame come to think of it. Bought it from a gentleman on this very subforum to build it up for my then-gf. We broke up just as I was finishing the build, but I can't bring myself to part with it. I have < 0 interest or nostalgia about the girl, but every '86 Schwinn Peloton is my Rosebud, and I want to own them all some day.



Probably not going to be useful to me anytime soon.

Oldpeddaller

This tandem was my winter project a few years ago. I bought it really cheaply and rebuilt using parts I had spare. I'd always been curious about how a tandem would ride and my youngest son was enthusiastic about riding one with me. Just finished it and said son went off to University, now paired off and living a long way away. Good Lady wife totally against riding anything with two wheels, she prefers four legs and a tail! Friends would rather ride their own bikes. So, I've ridden it solo a few times (pathetic I know) and as things stand it's just a curiosity in my fleet. But - it has earned more than it's purchase price since when hired out for use at weddings! Maybe not so meaningless after all?

gomango

Built this Miyata to use for fishing trips to the Mississippi and local city lakes.

At least, that was my excuse at the time.

It kind of sits around and looks sad most of the time, as I ride the tires off my Fargo for most all-purpose runs.

The Fargo is much more useful, although the Miyata is a real hoot when it snows.

[IMG]Untitled by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

cs1

The bike is just so so. But @ThermionicScott wins the most dapper rider award.

lotekmod

Probably my Flandria three speed:



Like ThermionicScott, I got sucked into the 3-speed thread and this bike popped up locally for a good deal and in great condition. I love the looks of the bike, and it is comfortable to ride. The problem is I live in a hilly area, and in fact I live on the top of hill that requires 300ft of climbing over 1/2 to 3/4 mile to get home, depending on which way I go. I have geared it down with a larger cog on the rear, but it still isn't the ideal bike for my area so I rarely ride it. But it looks cool so I keep it, and my 6yo daughter has already claimed it to be her college bike so it looks like it will be around for a while

The Golden Boy 

At this point, the bikes I don't ride much... I know how cool they are, I just don't ride them enough. One is sentimental to me- and it's outrageously cool. The other is really cool and would be really hard to re-obtain if I were looking for another one.

thumpism 

You obviously have not ridden it solo in the right places. Might I suggest a ride past a sidewalk cafe on a nice day? Call it trolling if you like, but I had an old yellow Schwinn Twinn and more than once was approached by sweet young things wanting to play stoker, at least for a little while.

thumpism 

Is that the larger cog in the photo? If so, you need to go larger yet to make it a climber. My Raleigh Sports has a 48T front and came with a 16T rear. I found the rare 22T Sturmey cog for it and when I learned that a Shimano Nexus 24T would fit got one of those. Puts the gearing into a much more reasonable range. I had to use two chains to make one long enough and if a larger cog were available might go for that, too.

TickDoc

Oh yeah. Bought this on a whim because I liked the frame. Thought it might be fun to try something fixed. Thought it might be more fun if it were a three speed fixed.

I hate anything fixed.

TimmyT 

72Paramount

I bought a beat up missing parts dl-1 loop. Restored it, new tires, rebuilt the hub, new Brooks saddle, baskets, bell.... Now it's hanging in the shed. Collecting dust.

Spaghetti Legs 

My time trial bike mostly gathers dust, although a friend bamboozled me into riding the bike leg of a relay triathlon earlier is year. That event moved the needle from " just about completely unused " to "almost never used". I will ride it once or twice a year to shake things up and I just in general can't bear to sell my bikes. I currently have plans to "borrow" the front derailleur from it for a build I'm working on, which would be the ultimate ignominy for a bike.

Lascauxcaveman 

Well, at least now you know. Although you might have tried it on a less expensive build. My first fixie was $50, and I thought a good way to see if I could get into fixed gear riding. Turns out I kinda dig it. The first is long gone, but I have a meaningful relationship with my current fixie.

eastcoaststeve

I just finished building a bike just because of magazine ads from 40 years ago.

I used to spend hours drooling over these ads:


























A beat up frame popped up recently and I couldn't resist....this is what I ended up with:





















And yes, I grinned like a fool when I took it around the block.




Steve

RobbieTunes

Cool. I had to laugh.
I never looked at ads when I was a kid that had anything.com.
There weren't any.

Chombi

I sure hope that this build does not turn out to be mostly a "meaningless" bike for me.....

Sure it's so kewhl,.... but bull horn bars and the down sloping top tube and funny bike "TTesque" riding position that will most likely result when I finally get it on the road??.....Frankly, I just don't see too many guys 40 and over riding such bikes anywhere..... So what the heck am I setting myself up for??
Apparently, I still see enough "meaning" in the bike, as I just bought a C&V Zipp disc rear wheel from a fellow BF member for it and is in the process of purchasing a more appropriate front wheel with and American built hub (Hi-E) and bladed radial laced spokes.
Now if I can at least keep the N+1 mind momentum going on it, I might actually get to finally finish this build before the end of the year, or smetime next spring, depending on how long it will take to have it re-finished.......

RobbieTunes

I really like that build. I'm hoping you finish it before I'm in a rest home, but if not, I'll always be able to ask "remember that bike that Chombi started?" The Line Seeker is a hard act to follow, for sure. When that disc rear/Cronometro front showed up, first thing I thought of was this bike....

eastcoaststeve

Ha, me neither...I was 9 in 1974 when the Yamahas came out....I tried explaining to my kids the other day that back then we used to re-read the same magazine a hundred times...they think I'm nuts.




Steve

greg3rd48 

You look like a quintessential British gentleman. Very cool.