dmarkun

Not a good thought, I know - and I'm actually feeling pretty healthy (Lord have mercy on me) - but ride with me on this. If I DID drop over dead, would the family take my guitars and amps and bikes, throw them in the pickup, and make a stop at Goodwill? There's used CD stores where you can drop off a box of CDs and get a few bucks. I was wondering if there were any bike stores who might buy half a dozen bikes - maybe for cheap, but at least it's not Goodwill. It would be like: "We are in such grief. Can you pick up all these bikes and give us a little money? We have no idea what they're worth." Truly it won't matter to me at the time, but I would like them to go to a good home. I need an end-of-life directive for my metal children. But a simple one.

"Just start selling them now," you say?

"Over my dead body." (Lord have mercy on me).



Random happy photo. Fountains make me happy.

sced

Depending on how long you think you have left, give one away every (pick interval here) to a good cause or home. There probably isn't life changing money involved here.

rccardr 

If I drop tomorrow, Mrs. Doc knows who to call. That person gets one free bike of their choice from the stable to coordinate shipping to those who have been deemed recipients of one bike from my collection. It gets a little complicated because my daughter and SiL get to select something first, but otherwise it all goes to people who appreciate a fine bicycle.

cyclophilia 

Do the research and tell your heirs where to take the instruments and bicycles after your demise.

Then play your guitars, ride your bicycles, and enjoy your life.

We are blessed to have wonderful bicycles and musical instruments in our lives.

fender1

This is how younger forum members get deals to post about! Cycle of life my friend. Pun intended….

SurferRosa

Got any wool jerseys in a medium?

Polaris OBark

1. Who cares? You won't, because you will be dead.

2. The pump detracts from the otherwise aesthetically perfect bike.

base2 

My Father in law had this idea to give all his stuff away to those he cared about & die with nothing while expressing his wishes for final disposition of his ashes. Pretty sure it was Nordic of some flavor. It took him about 10 years.

He died last thanksgiving (13 months ago.) The wishes for his ashes were never fulfilled. His wife got the few things that remained, the house, & everything else that actually mattered.

It's like being proactive with how the old saying goes: "Please Lord, don't let my wife sell (hobby things) for the price I told her I paid."

Man, I miss him.

Drillium Dude 

Someone should start a new sticky: 'Why I Deserve Your Bikes When You Die'. It could become a clearinghouse, and might even spawn region-specific assistance networks

DD

squirtdad

OP's bikes are clearly not my size so it does not matter

this does make me think to add a couple of notes instruction on this.....for my stuff not enough for a will thing

it is pretty easy if no friends/relatives want there is a great bike charity that I work with/donate to and they get the lot

that could change with a special bike

jeirvine 

I made a Google doc, shared with my wife, with a moderately detailed description of my bikes, trumpets, guitars, and amps. It includes serial numbers, what they are, key features, and what I think they are worth. I also list a contact who will help sort/sell/disburse them appropriately. Now I don't worry so much about the dying.

DiabloScott

I told my wife kind of the same thing. Call up one of my bike buddies and give everything to him to sell and he gets to keep 20%.

canklecat

I'd probably leave my bikes to two or three generous bicycle buddies to do with as they see fit: keep, sell, give away, scrap for parts (one is a mechanic, mostly wheelbuilder), convert to sculpture or bongs. In this area they'd quickly find buyers or takers for bikes in my 56-58cm range.

gearbasher

I'm not married. I have no will. Let my three brothers and three sisters fight over my stuff. It will be fun to watch, whether it's from above or below.

Bianchigirll 

My sister, closest relative, knows my bikes are valuable but nothing about them. On my very long to do list this winter is making a book with a pic, description and approximate value for each bike and my tool box.

My firearms are in a trust and they go to a friend to either buy or sell off and give the proceeds, minus a handling fee, to my daughter.

Colorado Kid

If you know Jesus, it wouldn't matter. I had a dream that I was in Heaven and Jesus gave me even better bikes then I had here.

Retoocs

My wife had a friend who collected Barbies. Huge collection, tens of thousands of dollars with many NIB limited edition dolls. When she passed away, her friends wanted to help sell the collection to pay for things like funeral costs. Well her sister was the next of kin, didn't care and threw it all away. She saw it as a burden to deal with her stuff.

My wife's dad was a professor at the local university teaching theater for basically his entire life. He amassed literally the entire history of the school's theater performances while he was there, like 50 years worth. He spent hours cataloging everything. Not even the school wanted it since the department changed emphasis after it merged with another department. The history of it was really cool to see, but who wants binders full of every playbill from the last 50 years? It all went to the dumps after he passed away.

If your family doesn't share your passion about your collection, put it in the will to have it go to someone who shares that passion. If it is not in the will, it might end up going to the dumps.

nlerner

How deep a grave does one need to dig to be buried with about 20+ bikes? Asking for a friend.

ehcoplex 

döstädning (Swedish Death Cleaning...)

El Chaba

Of course when I die I will not have any use for any of my material possessions let alone those that are cycling related. I would like for those things to get into the hands of people who will appreciate them as I have. My wife has a general idea of value will likely seek help with the disposition. Our general agreement is to price the items fairly, but not to compromise on the price. As a matter of fact, I have given explicit instructions to end all negotiations if the buyer shows any signs of being a bargain hunting bottom feeder. I also cannot rule out coming back to haunt somebody who gets one of my machines and tilts the saddle down at some negative angle or jacks the bars up to an inappropriate and disrespectful height.
Several years ago, I handled the disposition of the cycling items owned by a friend who is about 25 years my senior. The idea was to get the items into appreciative hands while being sensitive to the value. We took his stuff to a swap meet and resisted a number of offers from resellers to buy the entire lot. During the course of the day, we heard stories about projects that the various components would go toward or complete. It was gratifying and I like to think that we honored the original owner. It was a great collection of stuff, most of it in good condition…lots of Campy Super Record and C record, nice tools, etc.

clubman 

Dibs on the OP's SR Maxima. Sweet bike!

Maybe C&V could have a sticky where we all place documentation of our bikes and parts and let our spouses/friends know how to get at it. Then the forum could provide accurate evaluations and recommendations.

Bk Biker

You'll be dead, do you really care?

Inusuit

My goal is to minimize the hassle my wife will deal with when I die because at that point I don't care what happens to my stuff. My bikes are not worth worrying about. I will donate them to my LBS or bike co-op when I'm unable to ride. I have been taking stuff from my other collection (firearms) to auction after passing some to my son and grandson.

Kobe 

My son is cheap enough and computer savey enough to be aware of their value. He's my size and know the custom is special to me, so hopefully he'll keep it and ride it.

iab

When the snowplow kills me today in our "blizzard", I know 1 person who may schlep over 6 hours to haul the crap out of the basement. Realistically, most bike people have their sweet spot. Most bike people do not take over collections. So expecting to find the unicorn to do as such for any collection is a desperate delusion.

Your crap is going into the bin, get over it.