hhk25

I have some nice vintage bikes - 80s era steel tourers mostly. I never ride them because 9 times out of 10, I just jump on my modern hybrid out of convenience.

I was going to give away a mint 1984 Trek 520 to someone at work who needs a bike but I’m tuning it up right now and damn, the thought of giving it up is killing me. Especially if the new owner doesn’t appreciate it for that it is - a glorious example of Made in USA steel bike history.

But it’s been sitting in my basement, unridden for three years. It should be enjoyed. Anyone else feel conflicted like this?

The Golden Boy 

Yeah. Totally.

There's people that go through bikes like underpants... I can't do that- Most everything I've had, I've really appreciated- and most things I sell, it's like pulling teeth getting rid of it.

Chuck M 

I've given away modern bikes to people I thought needed them more than me. But I won't do that with even bike boom bikes that are not really that valuable or collectable. Also, 27" tires, friction shifting, and older components would possibly not be what someone needing cheap and dependable transportation need to deal with.

slow rollin

It's not easy. Everyone seems to have different levels of attachment to objects we have acquired over the years and how it impacts your storage space. Currently I am telling myself to ride my new acquisition for a month or two, and make a decision after that..
My issue is when I look at a bike or object I can remember the good times with said item, and then I want to keep it.

SurferRosa

As I see it, you have options:

1. Give him the less minty one.
2. Rent a bike to him.
3. Buy him a skateboard.
4. Don't talk to that person anymore.
5. Change jobs.

RustyJames 

These seem like reasonable suggestions…

AdventureManCO 

Not anymore.

You've done a great job of preserving your Trek for the years you've had it! Maybe it's time to let it go.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ty-thread.html

soyabean

When I get BSO dumpster finds that have wheels 24" and under (teens and kids), those I fix up and give away to kids or parents of kids that really really really ask for one and show some enthusiasm to want it.

I also volunteer my time to fix all kids' bikes and supply free parts.

I don't give away adult bikes, PERIOD.

I'll go only as far as doing free tune ups for friends&family on the expectation they MUST bring beer (I emphasize on it often). If the repair/parts exceed the value of beer, I stop and tell them to scrap the bike and buy a new one at a LBS I recommend.

The moral problem here is that if something is given free to someone, especially if they don't even want it, they will never value it, and treat it as trash.

You can expect the gift bike to be left outside in the winters, forever with no air in both tyres.

They wil say, "Meh who cares. I didn't pay for it anyways."

Sorry, but workmate who is WORKING at WORKPLACE for WORK PAY can go to Walmart and pay for a brand new BSO if that's all their cheap arse can afford.

I resell bikes and when there is one in my personal collection I don't want anymore, I still sell it. and at a premium profitable price. My buyers are often excited they are now the owners of a brand new looking showroom of a bike.

hhk25

Haha, love it.

3alarmer

.
...I think I might be in this "If it's cheap or free, it will never be valued by the recipient" camp. I've turned down lowball offers on CL bikes I'm selling, out of some forlorn hope that someone who appreciates it will eventually come along. But I'm running low on time for that to happen. I need to face up to the idea that the world has moved on, in what it appreciates in a bicycle, except in small enclaves of enthusiasts.

Aubergine 

This is a very helpful thread for those of us who struggle to find a new home for bikes that we just are not using enough. It pushed me (finally!) to pass on a couple bikes and wheels, and I'm going through my bins full of parts now.

Aubergine 

I don't think friction shifting or 27" tires are any problem. You can still get decent and even excellent tires for that size. As for friction shifting, it's not the friction that causes issues, but the downtube shifters. If you move the shifters to the bar (thumbless or bar cons) or stem, shifting is much less off-putting for newer riders. And older components . . . As long as they don't use delrin(!) bike boom components they are pretty durable in my experience.

clubman 

I gotta ask...what size?

panzerwagon 

Your forgot:
6. Move to a different city
7. Plastic surgery

genejockey 

No. If I start feeling like one of my bikes is not being ridden enough, I ride it.

hhk25

54cm

abdon 

You think you got it bad? I have bikes not even my size that don't want to let go.

gearbasher

A younger guy I ride with asked me to leave him one of my bikes in my will. One day he wanted me to work on one of his bikes. When he was carrying his bike down my basement, he must have banged it off the wall 3 times. Well, he's out of my will.

Wildwood 

It's only a little Trek.
Don't sweat the small stuff.

soyabean

Then just put it for sale.

A buyer that makes the effort to come over and pay $50 for it, at least shows some enthusiasm to want the bike.

But giving stuff away to someone that doesn't even want it? No.

Steel Charlie

Hoarding crap serves no purpose. Just becomes WTF when you croak and someone else has to dump it. I give away stuff (and bikes) frequently. I never feel bad about it or regret it. And I still have boxes of accumulata that need to go. Process

Aubergine 

Don't you have a bike charity in your area? I take most of my old bikes and parts to Bike Works in Seattle. They do a lot of work getting bikes in the hands (or feet?) of kids and adults who need transportation.

Chombi1 

You can't get too attached to that Trek if you are committed to give it awY already as you might be disappointed to see the bike possibly not taken care of as you expected. It moght have been better if you can find the guy that will match your expectations of how the new owner will treat it, like a well sorted, late 70's Peugeot U08 or an 80's P8 9r similar. Then if the C&V bug bites him, graduate to the Trek.....

roadcrankr

Quote:
Originally Posted by SurferRosa
As I see it, you have options:

1. Give him the less minty one.
2. Rent a bike to him.
3. Buy him a skateboard.
4. Don't talk to that person anymore.
5. Change jobs.

You two guys are funny as hell. Thanks for the laugh.
No way I give away a mint '84 Trek. Unless that coworker is a lady. And it leads to something.

Strawbunyan

"You can expect the gift bike to be left outside in the winters, forever with no air in both tyres. They wil say, "Meh who cares. I didn't pay for it anyways." "

I just want to add that, while i understand this, it is not always the case. Maybe mpre entitled folks who never had to want for much may feel this way but I grew up poor and if someone gives me something i wouldnt have otherwise i charish it as irreplacable....because it is.....someone gave me a set of realllly nice sunglasses once and I remember a friend being upset that i wouldnt let him put them on his big wide head. I told him that they are 200 dollar sunglasses and I wasnt letting him ruin them. He responded with "you didnt pay that for them"(he is the guy you are talking about...) i explained that while i didnt purchase them, if i have to replace them, their valie exceeds my income and ill have to go back to my 5 dollar walmart glasses.


not everyone can show how much they may value something with money. someone may being willing to spend top dollar to prove they will appreciate something but not have the money to prove it and they may treat that same item if gifted as a prized possesion.
on the flip side ive watched millionaires spend top dollar on Lambos just to light them on fire in their backyard...meanwhile every kid who grew up poor and could barely afford the Lambo poster that was on their wall would have gladly accepted that car and probably treated it better than they treat themselves.

I am not saying you are wrong and it is likely in this day and age of waste and lack of want you are actually more and more right each passing day. The fear that someone may not care for an item we have memories with, the way we would, is understandable and valid (even though sometimes it may just be a Hoarder crutch excuse to keep stuff we dont need)
Take it on a case by case basis, and maybe take a chance on someone once in a while.....it is just a bike, may be a cool bike, but just a bike...if you cant take it with you when you die and you have 20 more and giving one away may improve someone elses life? Go for it.

I dont know OP or his co worker but I vote give him the bike. Even if he rides it once, it is more love than it has gotten in the basement theblast 3 years.