PhilFo 

Today saw me fall off the wagon a bit, but I'll get back on soon.
A friend of mine in South Philly sent me a CL ad for a Puch branded SLX frame. I did some research and found (thanks to BF) that this was a Bianchi produced frame, actually SLX tubing with Gippiemme dropouts. So my buddy picked it up for me and with this I'll have my late 80s race bike which I will build up with a Superbe Pro group. In exchange for picking this up, I'm going to give my friend my Raleigh Super Course MkII with Carlton fork. So I'm at N+1 again, but when I pick up the Italian lightweight, I'll be back down to the current number.
What I really need to do is advertise some of these. I've just been so busy with work and the looming prospective of no work (the healthcare network I work for is shutting down our facility and cordially invited us to apply for a new job on our employee portal.) Lately, I've just been exhausted all the time so unloading the four extra frames I have has not been on my priorities list.
Phil

AdventureManCO 

Don't feel too bad. Since this thread began, I got rid of quite a few, and picked up a couple along the way. I now have the Trek 970 (1993) and the 1986-ish Schwinn Cimarron - both nearly too small for me But deals too good to pass up, and the Cimarron was a straight up rescue, w/ original XT everything, so how could I not? It revived a love of those late 80s and 90s mtbs, which was one of my first real bike loves, before anything with road bikes.

I have also been narrowing down by ideal bike size (road bike-wise), which ends up around 55cm. I can go about as small as 54 (comfortably), and up to about 57cm (comfortably). 55-56 is ideal, with the former being even moreso. Funny thing is, I have a total of one (1) bike that is actually a true 55cm. Hmmm...

In other good news, I went on a ride with the family that kept going and kept going, as we stayed out for about an hour, riding around, and I now have a lovely new path to take, especially for evaluating a bike and deciding which one may be next to go. And there are several that will be.

smontanaro 

I sold a bike today, here on BF, a mid-50s Automoto... Now to pick my next victim candidate.

AdventureManCO 

I was just looking at that! Nice work!

IdahoBrett 

I had a N-1 event today. Another Schwinn. Maybe I should’ve just gotten into Schwinn’s? No.

I should be happy. I’m not though. I liked doing the work on the Varsity and was proud that I made it rideable.

But as the buyer and I were chatting up the bike in the driveway. The rear inner tube went BANG!

I had aired it up in the cool garage earlier to 80-85 psi and stood the bike on its kickstand in the bright sun about 15 minutes before the buyers arrival. So I thought at first it was the heat from the sun over expanding the tire. After some reading on the physics of that it was highly unlikely the cause.

I’ve ridden the bike a couple of times on the tire/tubes. As recent as 2 days ago. They’re brand new Kenda tires and tubes. I used the rubber rim protector that came with the tire set. I didn’t see any burrs or other defects on the rim.

The buyer bought the bike anyway. Minus thirty bucks and I gave him a couple of spare tubes. Bad tire not holding the bead? Bad rim? Bad installation?

I felt terrible and hope I didn’t sell a problem.

I should be in a double celebratory mood. One less bike and 6 years sober today. Maybe I should go for a pedal on a bike I rehabbed.

jdawginsc 

Congrats on the very important milestone! And celebrate the rehoming of the Schwinn. An inner tube is not a big deal and you made it right!

daverup 

Were the new Kenda's wire bead? The Varsity rims wouldn't likely take those pressures without..

IdahoBrett 

No they weren’t. That is another thing I read while researching the cause. Schwinn rims aren’t usually happy with foldable tires. Another thing that piled on my foul mood yesterday. It’s another one of those nuances that I’m ignorant about. Sure I can work on a bike. I fix stuff that flies six miles in the sky for a living. But there is a mountain of nuances that come with bicycle maintenance that I just don’t know. Bikeforums helps a bunch.

On a lighter note I may have a couple more bikes with interested buyers. The past six months in IdahoBrett’s Bike Shop was quite the flurry of bike rehab extravaganza. Five complete overhauls, one frame build up and several tunes, services and modifications. Whew! I can’t keep them all as much as I’d like to. Some hobby money needs to go to the house project budget now that the weather has turned. Mrs.Idaho has been subtly hinting about projects. Happy wife is a happy life….

Mr. Spadoni 

A few bits here, a few bits there. Just offered some chainrings made for people with strong legs on the sale page. Have ridden past the te apartment complex that now has three bikes in the scrap bike and haven’t stopped to look once. BTW the Honknalgo now is only lacking a chain before it goes on a maiden voyage.

AdventureManCO 

I have fallen short yet again...




Not sure what it is, and don't know if I'll ever know, but it is definitely higher end, and rides like it, too.

Yet, I am still far below my 2024 beginning total. However, I will be posting bicycles for sale. Tonight. It will happen.

Trav1s

This one may be gone sooner than excepted. I have a shorter coworker looking for a bike and this looks to be a potential fit. Cleanup underway.

AdventureManCO 

To make up for my indiscretions, I did post 3 bikes for sale this evening.

However, I'm so dumb...so far, the only bikes that I'm listing for sale are the ones that fit me great, and haven't done anything with ones in other sizes yet lol.

Rest assured, more will be moving. This is just the start.

AdventureManCO 

3 have left the LeGrande Garage today. The Allez, the Trek 600, and the PX-10. Hurt a bit to see them go, but they will be in good hands.

Here is where we currently stand:

Bikes: 12
Frames: 3

More will be sold!

AdventureManCO 

I've been going over and over w/ the list, and I think I'm going to (hopefully) be down to less than 10 bikes. I know it will involve some hard choices, but honestly seeing some nice bikes leave, initially feeling a bit sad before they went, but then feeling completely content about it afterward, means that I think we'll be just fine seeing others leave.

I've found myself (as usual) drawn to more of the projects. The MT750 and the ST990 have both been projects, but they've been so fun to have and work on, that I think they are still keepers.

The Guerciotti is solidly in the keep category. If Jeff (DD) is reading this, I think I finally get it (RE: Italian frames/handling). And the group on there is completely holding the bike back, so that is going to be fun to rebuild that one w/ a much nicer group and lose some weight while we are at it. I had the 'lightbulb' ride on that bike the other night, and so I'm excited to see how even better it can get w/ better wheels and components.

My son continues to show interest in some of these old bikes, and loves to jump on bikes that I'm riding to tool around. His Midget got a flat, so we grabbed the little PXN-10 and he had a blast on it. Its just a hair too big for him, but he'll grow into it real soon. So I don't want to get rid of that one. But if we keep it, it will be his and I will not be counting it in my list, as I won't be riding it. I still also have the TdF, and it is roughly around the same size (52-53cm), so I'd like to put that one together and have him try it and see if he likes one over the other. And then maybe we can get rid of whichever one he doesn't choose.

I think the Sports Racer will probably go, and probably the Ironman? It's such a great bike, that I think it needs to be ridden more, and it is a bit redundant to a couple other 80s road bikes I have. The 'Mystery Meat' will continue to see duty, and we'll make a decision about that one once I have more miles under it. So far, it is performing great - a longer stem will go a long way into helping the ride/fit.

IdahoBrett 

Thy number be four. Thee count for the day stands less than one on a hand. Or one less counted upon thy foot. (my lame attempt at a Monty Python script adaptation)

At N-4 so far I am halfway to my self imposed goal. A rather fine Cannondale touring bike has a new owner today. I breathed a sigh of relief when he did not choose the Italian.

cheers

AdventureManCO 

Excellent!

A good reminder to all that we are in fantastic 'bike selling' weather. Now is the time! Git 'r done! (me included)

M A V

I feel like I should be here. I started as an opportunistic collector in 2013, when I was lucky enough acquire a dream bike for me, a 1972 Paramount P13-9. Since then if I've found it interesting, I bought it. Lately I'm much more selective on what I want to hold on to and not flip. I work at a bike shop so opportunities to add are always presenting themselves.

I currently have some important bikes in the collection and I've been working to document them. I'd like to move toward having less "C" bikes and keep the "A" and "B" tiers. The current market is terrible for selling, so I'd have to really not want to have something to sell it right now. But, it's something I need to be actively doing.

I'm dealing with bikes in three storage units, I lost count after 100, since they're not all in the same place. Some of the "C" tier is not where I currently live, so I dont have access to sell those. When I had a basement, I was able to organize (first 2 pics) and display. Now, I have access to quite a few "A" and "B" but some "C" has worked its way in (rest of the pics).

IdahoBrett 

That looks to be an AWESOME collection M A V !!

noglider 

I went down by one bike not out of choice. I kept my beloved 1962 Rudge Sports 3-speed at my mother in law's place in Florida. Her apartment building occasionally sweeps through the bike storage room and removes bikes it considers abandoned. The normal process is to let us tag them as still desired. The last time, they didn't ask and just assumed. I'm in the process of making them compensate me for this, and they are dragging their feet, as they don't want to be responsible.

I haven't bought or built a bike for myself in a few years. Now I'm down to seven:

NYC:
1. 1974 Raleigh International, used for commuting and general purpose
2. 1996 Lemond titanium, used for fun weekend rides
3. 1975 Viscount, converted to fixed gear for short city rides
4. 1971 Raleigh Professional track which I raced on in 2014 and virtually never ride

High Falls, NY:
5. 1971 Raleigh Super Course, for fun on gravel and roads, and for hauling
6. 1982 McLean road racing bike, for "pure pleasure"
7. 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem which I ride with my spouse

jdawginsc 

I guess I should concurrently work on the mint-green Cannondale to move on and the Raleigh challenge bike before I have to find a part time retirement gig...

AdventureManCO 

I'm going to use today to take pictures of all the others and likely post several of them for sale - we'll just see what happens!

I think noglider has the right idea w/ the number. Under 10 is manageable, but over that things start getting a bit out of hand, due to my own space and constraints. I do tend to think that the people that are still 'bike people' but only own one bike, probably ride the most, have the most up-to-date maintenance, and probably the most enjoyable experience. All of that energy and time, poured into one bike. The idea is alluring and romantic...I just don't know how realistic. I'd want to be there, but how to choose....???

RCMoeur 

My observation is one-bike riders fall into one of 3 categories. Surprise, fear, and... wait - wrong list.

1. They only have or can afford one bike so it does everything they ask (or dies trying).

2. They only do one form of riding, whether it's triath-trialing, neighborhood cruising, etc.

3. They bought a (insert sales buzzword here) bike intended to be a "Swiss Army bike", e.g. great to have with you and good at a few things but not great at any one thing.

4. (wait, 4? you said 3!) They have a physical challenge that is accommodated by a specific type of bike.

Even in my most cash-deprived days I typically had more than one bike so I would have bikes that were optimized for some form of riding (even if cobbled together from third-hand parts). So going down to one bike may wait until I'm in category 4 above mumblesomething years from now.

AdventureManCO 

I like the somewhat philosophical direction this is going. For someone that has access to roads, gravel, mountains, snow, etc. just what would be a good number?

Now, I've seen that joke cartoon (or is it just a diagram), showing 10-20 bikes, each one for a specific purpose, but assuming a bit of overlap is realistic...

Could one (again, assuming 'one' is an individual that loves bikes, loves riding bikes, wrenching, etc), potential get away with:

1) Road bike with 2 sets of wheels - 1 for road, 1 for gravel
2) Some sort of atb / mtb for when the desire hit to go a bit more off the gravel road
3) Some sort of Sat/Sun ride 'collector' bike that is fun to take on the retro rides and get all nerdy over?
4) Some all-weather commuter type bike?

You could even get away w/ combos - 1 and 3, or 1 and 4. 3 and 4 are polar opposites, so not really anything there.

For me personally, I like the idea of a do-anything, bugout bike - something that you could take, throw in the back of a vehicle, and no matter what you'd face, you'd at least have some sort of 2 wheeled transportation? An older 'atb' would be perfect for that. I like the idea of a fast road bike that is exhilarating to ride, something that reminds you of why you ride. I like something of an older collectible bike, but obscure enough that you don't see them often. A commuter, yes.

I could probably come up with another two dozen random idea for bikes, and then I'm sort of lost in it all again.

IdahoBrett 

When I told Mrs.Idaho which bikes I listed for sale, she asked "are they the ones you don't like?" I said "no, I like them all." Then she thought about it for a second or two.

Her response that followed was because she knows me very well after twenty years together. "Well don't go selling a bike you really like, because you'll just buy another one if one comes along."

AdventureManCO 

Haha yep. That is what mine says as well, something to the effect of "oh, so you are selling some? So you can buy others?' Truth is that she is right

But! Knowing this, the super ultimate special plan is to try and sell so many in a blur that any that are picked up cannot possibly equal the number sold. So some get sold (win), some get bought (win), and in the end, I end up with a little more space (win).

It's the winning combination! lol