What do we want from our bicycles ?

[woodbutcher]

More space! Currently got eight at Fondo mansions. Tent in the garden for the kids?

They will love that ....go for it and dont forget the campfire/ bbq. !!

 

[Andy in Germany]

I'm not much of a collector and generally stay true to my Raleigh M-Trax/Xracycle rebuild, but I'm becoming increasingly interested in refurbishing old bikes for its own sake.
Trouble is, this can only continue as long as I have space and excuses for another bike, unless I start giving them away...

 

[woodbutcher]

I'm not much of a collector and generally stay true to my Raleigh M-Trax/Xracycle rebuild, but I'm becoming increasingly interested in refurbishing old bikes for its own sake.
Trouble is, this can only continue as long as I have space and excuses for another bike, unless I start giving them away...

Im sure that there is no need to give them away there is obviously a market for so called vintage bikes in Germany .....check out Felix in Essen (facebook) for example , I have bought from him and he has some decent stuff at a price !!

 

[BalkanExpress]

I want to throw open the garage door and go “ooohhh which of these beauties will I ride today”

 

[iandg]

fun

 

[12boy]

No market here for what I like, so I will keep them..I only have a Brompton, a Xootr Swift, a Holdsworth, Special, a Surly Steamroller, a Centurion Accordo winter beater, a Cannondale rigid mtn bike, a Giant Rincon mtn bike and a 20" minivelo. I could get by without the Xootr, the Rincon, the minivelo and the Accordo, I guess, until I take one out for a ride and think, "This is really fun".

 

[iandg]

I'm working on n-1 (maybe even 2) at the moment - 1 in and 2 (or 3) out. Having taken early retirement my disposable income is less and I want to run fewer, more 'all round' bikes.

The type of riding I do has changed too. I ride occasional audax events but haven't been on the local Wednesday night bash for ages - I prefer to just go out for a steady paced ride with cafe stops on the longer runs. I also enjoy riding off road trails and I'm also hoping that with retirement I'll find time for short hostelling tours, cycle camping and bothy trips.

Currently have 4 bikes. A Surly Cross Check, Genesis Equilibrium, Henry Burton (Aravis) Audax/Tourer and a 1970s Raleigh Professional (fixed).

Just bought a Surly Long Haul Trucker frame. Stripped the HB down for the parts and using the Cross Check spare wheels for the build.

So the HB is 'gone' - max 28c tyres swapped for a 'fat tyred' Surly. When the LHT build is finished the Genesis (my 'fast' bike) will go too. Only rode the fixed 27 times last year (it's main use was commuting) so debating whether I need that as well.

Idea is to have the CC for off road riding and the LHT for the road with 1 or 2 sets of spare wheels and components/accessories that can be switched between both bikes if the need arises.

 

[Illaveago]

I only have a few bikes
A few of them I have saved from being thrown out and have liked the challenge of getting them working again, and to find out if they really were as bad as described. I have felt sorry for some and have made them roadworthy again. Sometimes it has been a challenge which I have enjoyed .
It is nice to be able to choose which bike you are going to ride from your stable. Sometimes you may have no option due to mechanical failure!
I prefer old road bikes with drop handlebars but I do have a couple of mountain bikes which I have fun on in the snow.
What gives me the most pleasure is riding along at a leisurely pace on a nice sunny day just looking at the blue sky being reflected in the polished rims, hubs and handlebars. I'm sad I know!
The stable so far.
Albion.
1966 BSA Sportsman
BSA TdF
Carlton Competition
1964 Dawes Double Blue
Falcon Ernie Clements/ Black Diamond ?
1956 Flying Scot
1971 Holdsworth Record
Puch Alpine
Raleigh Granada
Raleigh Criterium Triathlon 12.
Ooh! I didn't know I had that many !

 

[woodbutcher]

I only have a few bikes
A few of them I have saved from being thrown out and have liked the challenge of getting them working again, and to find out if they really were as bad as described. I have felt sorry for some and have made them roadworthy again. Sometimes it has been a challenge which I have enjoyed .
It is nice to be able to choose which bike you are going to ride from your stable. Sometimes you may have no option due to mechanical failure!
I prefer old road bikes with drop handlebars but I do have a couple of mountain bikes which I have fun on in the snow.
What gives me the most pleasure is riding along at a leisurely pace on a nice sunny day just looking at the blue sky being reflected in the polished rims, hubs and handlebars. I'm sad I know!
The stable so far.
Albion.
1966 BSA Sportsman
BSA TdF
Carlton Competition
1964 Dawes Double Blue
Falcon Ernie Clements/ Black Diamond ?
1956 Flying Scot
1971 Holdsworth Record
Puch Alpine
Raleigh Granada
Raleigh Criterium Triathlon 12.
Ooh! I didn't know I had that many !

What l really like having started this thread is that it has proved without a shadow of doubt that there is at least one bike for every person no matter what their taste, budget or ambition might be, and you cant say that about many other interests !
Plus more often than not you will come upon a challenge which you haven't encountered previously when restoring or just repairing bikes ....it all adds to the fun

 

[Andy in Germany]

Im sure that there is no need to give them away there is obviously a market for so called vintage bikes in Germany .....check out Felix in Essen (facebook) for example , I have bought from him and he has some decent stuff at a price !!

You show a somewhat optimistic view of my capabilities as a bicycle repairing craftsman... Also of the market for slightly refurbished elderly MTB's

On the other hand, I've long dreamed of running some kind of bicycle cafe, with a bike workshop attached, art on the walls, and in the evenings live bands and theatre...

I work in an arts centre, so I'm part way there...

 

[TheDoctor]

What I actually need from a bike is that it's a nice ride, can carry luggage and go easily on a train.
The bikes I ride most are my electric commuter, the flat-bar Ribble touring bike, my Dyna-Tech Ti singlespeed, and the Brompton. I could get by with just the Brompton.

I have sold a PDQ recumbent and a '79 Carlton Gran Tour, which financed the electric commuter.

I probably don't need the 18-speed Ribble, the MTB-based tourer, the Bickerton, the Decathlon folder, the horrid cheap Chinese folder, the Kirk I haven't built up ever, my old 531ST frame, or the two bikes and a trike my partner doesn't ride any more.

 

[woodbutcher]

What I actually need from a bike is that it's a nice ride, can carry luggage and go easily on a train.
The bikes I ride most are my electric commuter, the flat-bar Ribble touring bike, my Dyna-Tech Ti singlespeed, and the Brompton. I could get by with just the Brompton.

I have sold a PDQ recumbent and a '79 Carlton Gran Tour, which financed the electric commuter.

I probably don't need the 18-speed Ribble, the MTB-based tourer, the Bickerton, the Decathlon folder, the horrid cheap Chinese folder, the Kirk I haven't built up ever, my old 531ST frame, or the two bikes and a trike my partner doesn't ride any more.

Oh boy this is beginning to sound like confession time , l would stop right there before you do anything rash

 

[woodbutcher]

You show a somewhat optimistic view of my capabilities as a bicycle repairing craftsman... Also of the market for slightly refurbished elderly MTB's

On the other hand, I've long dreamed of running some kind of bicycle cafe, with a bike workshop attached, art on the walls, and in the evenings live bands and theatre...

I work in an arts centre, so I'm part way there...

You show a somewhat optimistic view of my capabilities as a bicycle repairing craftsman... Also of the market for slightly refurbished elderly MTB's

On the other hand, I've long dreamed of running some kind of bicycle cafe, with a bike workshop attached, art on the walls, and in the evenings live bands and theatre...

I work in an arts centre, so I'm part way there...

Did you read Booze and cakes' suggestions it seems as though there is a pattern emerging consisting of serial bike ownership linked to lively cafe society. Sounds like a nice way to spend your time

 

[Specialeyes]

It sounds like you enjoy the thrill of the chase, identifying the frame and the parts you'd like to go on it, and the building up process, as much as the riding itself. Nothing wrong with that, I'm the same and I like to build mine up to look retro-tasty and to me they are functional works of art. N+1 is an urge that last for life, or at least I've not reached a point where that urge has gone away.

This sums it up perfectly. It's the thrill of the chase followed by the satisfaction of a job tastefully done and the simple pleasure of ownership. By way of example, I'm currently getting unnecessarily excited over the imminent arrival of a Mavic groupset with the great help of @BalkanExpress which will go onto a Vitus 979 to make it 'right'. The bike was a bargain, the groupset not a bad deal, but the finished bike would probably only sell for about what I paid for it, if I chose to sell it. But that's not why I did it - it was for the reasons @booze and cake describes above, the pleasure of owning functional works of art and The Joy of Fettling (hmmm, gives me an idea for a book...)

Then there's the undisputed pleasure of riding the thing at a pace appropriate to both bike and rider! I love to see classic cars being put through their paces with only a nod to mechanical sympathy, and the same applies to bikes.

Then of course there's the question of what to do with the groupset that comes off the Vitus... and so it goes on.

 

[carpenter]

functional works of art

I really like that description