Classtime 

What I dreamed of riding in 1974:
Peugeot PX-10
Raleigh Professional
Schwinn Paramount
Motobecane Le Champion

BUT I've had the most fun lately riding a couple of 80s from Specialized which are freaky fast:
1986 Allez SE
1988 Sirrus

merziac

Great minds.....

jdawginsc 

...Time to ride my classics by retiring would be most desireable...

merziac

Be careful what you wish for.

rjhammett

I own or have owned pretty much every bike I have desired. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a Raleigh Team Professional of Reynolds 753.

Dave Mayer

Having volunteered at a big-city bike co-op for a number of years, I've interacted with clients who come to us scavenging for vintage parts, or just to show off their latest find. I've seen many many classic steel frames from the outside and the inside.

The highest quality workmanship I've ever seen on a bike: a 80's Pinarello Montello. My favorite vintage bike: Vitus 979. My favorite semi-vintage steel bike: any Lemond with a 853 frame. If I were to buy a new steel frame: it would be a Ritchey.

steelbikeguy

I seem to have a tendency towards British bikes built with lightweight Reynolds tubing...

such as a Raleigh Team built with Reynolds 753 tubing:



and a Hetchins built with Reynolds 531C tubing.:


but something from the well respected frame builders would be nice too.

Steve in Peoria
(edit: clearly I hadn't developed a philosophy towards the correct crank position for photos at this time)

squirtdad

Hmm, not sure on this one but here we go:
(and as a note, I don't think you can discount the huge impact of high tires and light wheels have on ride)

Currently own/ride

• 85 Team miyata 58 cm with modern components (5800 105 all speed) have both clincher and tubular wheels. super nice ride, first year for triple butted tubing
• 84 Team Miyata 56 cm with mostly period correct friction shifting (was mix of durace, but put some lower gearing for cino so bit of a franken bike right now) Best riding bike I have ever had, especially with tubular tires on a bit too light for me mavic gel 330 rims). Double butted
• 80ish SR semi pro. 23 inch fun jump on an ride to get a growler bike

Bikes I have owned and liked

• 90/91 De Rosa professional. 60cm Fantastic bike, set up with 5500 105, but was a touch too big so really did not get all the the de rosa magic beautifully rebuilt by SJX426
• 89 Miyata 1400 bough new loved it great ride, died due to the infamous internal cable crack, but it's dieing lead me to the de rosa and then the Teams, so it did not die in vain
• 84 Torpado Super Strada. This punched way above it's price class. Rally nice ride and handling

Bikes on my list if the stars align

• Torpado Superlight (56 to 58 if anyone has a spare) I was so impressed with the super strada I would really like to see how the top end Torpado rides...would have to be an Italian build, whether modern or vintage not sure
• Something really cool in my size that I fall over: open to something cool, will know it if I see it
• Kirk custom (am maybe getting close to this)

repechage

Bikes to have in a collection to grab attention-

Confente - that might totally deplete the bike fund.

Rene Herse or Alex Singer

Colnago Super -1973 or prior

Masi Gran Criterium - 1976 or before

for the Americans

Schwinn Patamount ( Chicago period)

I left out Cinelli, Gloria, Hetchins and a number of others. Gloria is not well known but a strategic brand.

C9H13N 

Herse
Singer
Jack Taylor
Bruce Gordon
Davidson (I have one)

The Italians do nothing for me, and with the Davidson around it’s impossible to be excited about any production frame.

Smokinapankake

Not really a road bike kind of guy, but I will throw my MTB list in just for chuckles:

In no particular order of desireability, all steel

Moots Mountaineer
Yeti FRO
Fat City Wicked (I'm in process of restoring one of these as we speak)
Brodie Catalyst
Kona Explosif mid 90's
Nishiki Alien
Mountain Goat Whiskeytown Racer
Any Rock Lobster
Fishlips Toxic Tuna (have one of these)
I don't really know what I'd do with all these bikes, honestly, besides maybe look at them in the den.....

tricky 

I keep forgetting about bikes that I want.

Other additions to the list:

Dream custom: anything by Cunningham, Pegoretti, Richard Sachs, or Vanilla
Reasonable custom: Gunnar, Endpoint, Breadwinner, Speedvagen or Wraith

jdawginsc 

Good point...

iab

A nice italian bike from prior to 1930. Those new fangled derailleurs thingies are for swissys. I don't abide. I have 2 of those.

A bike with the first great Italian derailleur, Vittoria Margherita. I have 1 of those.

A bike with the second great Italian derailleur, Campagnolo cambio corsa. I have 2 of those, but I'll probably keep the second generation version and sell the first generation version.

A bike with the third great Italian derailleur, Campagnolo Gran Sport. I have 1 of those.

An Italian pista in all of its skinny-tired twitchyness. I had one of those, sold it, should get another.

A nice Italian bike with a ton of clicky gears. Have 2 of those.

I want for nothing.

jdawginsc 

If we are going by dream bikes...
1. My Vanni Losa I have not refinished and built yet...
2. Ciocc San Cristobal
3. Columbine, Bayliss or Gordon framed bike
4. Kharkov 1966 track bicycle
5. Zunow Hummingbird

merziac

Columbine, Baylis and Gordon.

"Which one of these is not like the other?"

Spaghetti Legs 

You can see my almost current list of bikes below. Of those my favorites are the Carrera, Tommasini, Merckx Century, DeRosa, maybe but not positively in that order. I recently got a Masi GC so we’ll see how that stacks up once I get around to sprucing it up. My interests, traditionally in racers, especially Italian, has drifted somewhat toward Rando and tourers but I don’t have anything really vintage in that line. My list, but it’s not a hard and fast one:

1. Singer
2. Merz or Merz built Allez
3. Sachs
4. Colnago Master
5. Chapman

All that being said, I don’t really hunt bikes anymore, just occasionally grab what floats by.

3alarmer 

nlerner

My most desirable has greatly shifted in the 15 years I've been on BF. For some time it was a Raleigh Int'l. I've had several now. For some time it was a Raleigh Clubman; kept my '49, sold my '50 and '51. For a while it was a Weigle. Sold the one I snagged on eBay as someone else would appreciate it more than I. For a while it was something fancy and French. None of those has proven to be a keeper. Now I gravitate toward bikes I want to ride a lot, not simply stare at. Best riding bike for me has been my Black Mountain Cycles Road. Then I had a Ti bike built based on that frame's geometry. It's the one I ride the most now.

tricky 

You really need to do a post highlighting your stable. You have some deep cuts that sound incredible. Bonus points for videos of the gear shifters from when that technology was nascent. I've never seen a Vittoria Margherita in action.

steelbikeguy

honestly, I'd love to find a Baylis in my size, and a frame by Bruce Gordon would be pretty nice. I did get Brian to put a light clear coat on my International, so it's nice to have that little bit of his work in my hands.

Columbine was different in that it was two brothers with the last name of Murphy. They did get into some interesting sorts of frame ornamentation. Pretty cool, but not sure I'd buy one (I've got a Hetchins Magnum Opus, so I'm definitely a fan of some types of excessive ornamentation).

For those not familiar with Columbine...



Steve in Peoria

P!N20

I'm struggling to get my list down to five.

ramzilla

Give me an old Shogun Samurai with a Tange 1 tubset. Or, a Centurion Ironman. But, I will always settle for a nice old Bottechia with Columbus tubing and a Campagnola drive train. 531 is nice. But, it's not as nice as Columbus. Tange is even better. But. It's got to be Tange 1, Tange 2 or, Tange Prestige.

Andy_K 

Why so few pictures on this thread?

I'm not even sure others would agree with me about which are the top 5 bikes in my collection. I might disagree with my own list a week from now, but I'll take a shot.


1. 197? Stella SX-76 -- This isn't necessarily near the top of anyone's "most collectible" list, but it's my favorite due to the combination of how it rides, the visual appeal, and a handful of unusual details (like the metric-sized Columbus tubing).




2. 1973 De Rosa -- This is a repaint, and IMO not a particular great repaint (CyclArt goes too thick/rich for my tastes), but it's what I was able to find at a price I was willing to pay. In original condition, a 1973 De Rosa would have a lot of collector appeal.




3. 1974 Masi (California) Gran Criterium -- Pretty much the same caveats as the De Rosa -- CyclArt repaint, reputable bike.




4. 1975 Motobecane Grand Jubilé Gugificazione 650B -- No one would put a 1975 Grand Jubilé high on their wish list, but with a lot of work from local torch bearer @gugie this one is a unique and special (to me, at least) bike.




5. 1983 3Rensho-built Specialized Allez -- The fact that this is the 3Rensho-built version bumps its desirability to collectors, though honestly I'm not sure how much it upgrades the ride of it versus any other Allez from the same period. Either way, it's a very fun bike to ride and to look at.

beech333

1. 1930's-1940's Alcyon - in progress, likely replacing a mystery French bike I have once it is built.

2. Cambio corsa bike - in progress. Technically, I have a donor bike too, but I might end up keeping both. I'd like a Frejus, but those seem to get lots of cracked seat tubes, so I am settling for another mystery frame.

3. Rivendell Saluki - I love this as my hauler/tourer. It's fast when I want and can comfortably carry a ton. I had an Atlantis before this and thought it would be great, but I like the Saluki far more.

4. Litespeed Appalachian - my modern bike for faster rides but it can also carry smaller loads. It brings home lots of croissants for my wife, so it might be her favorite.

5. Rivendell singlespeed - early model, bought because I could not find a Quickbeam and really like it.