Tour de France then and now

[Pete]

Sounds like you have alot of junk then!
I used to have 8 or so bikes myself before i moved to Finland, the most i have owned here is about 4 or 5.
Now i am down to 2 bikes, a Bob Jackson roadbike and a nice DMR mtb for mucking around (and breaking my ankle) on.
My wife has 1 bike and my son has a like-a-bike, which he has yet to master (he isn't even 2 years old yet).
I have a few frames in the shed and probably enough parts to build up another bike out of.
However i've been thinking of selling the lot off and buying a nice cyclocrosser, the whole one bike to do it all thing is very appealing.
If anyone here is thinking of selling old bikes or parts to make room in the shed, it might pay to check what you actually have.
Old lugged steel roadbikes are going for good money these days, particulalry if they are of good quality. Toeclips also are in demand, however only the steel variety and not the crappy nylon variety.
The whole fixed gear scene has created a new market for old bikes and parts, you wouldn't believe how much people are prepared to pay for stuff!

[elämä]

andy andy andy!

[Rosamunda]

The whole fixed gear scene has created a new market for old bikes and parts, you wouldn't believe how much people are prepared to pay for stuff!

Good to know! Do people sell on huuto.net?

I guess that is why we keep the old bikes, for spare parts for all the other bikes. Or for future generations...

My middle kid has a bike with no saddle which he jumps around on like a ballerina on wheels (I guess it is sort of parkour for bikes???). Useless */%&*/?* thing. He can't take it on the bus (not allowed - it doesn't fold) so we have to drive him + bike to wherever just so he can play around with it

[Upphew]

20" suspension, zillion-geared mtb for him to "wreck", really riding off road (10eur bargain on huuto!)

Keep an eye on front fork, if it gets too loose, it might get really dangerous to drive. Cheap + full suspension + mighty jumps might end up in hospital. (1 alleged case of broken frame -> broken bones)

[MagicJ]

My middle kid has a bike with no saddle which he jumps around on like a ballerina on wheels (I guess it is sort of parkour for bikes???). Useless */%&*/?* thing. He can't take it on the bus (not allowed - it doesn't fold) so we have to drive him + bike to wherever just so he can play around with it

Funk that, it's got wheels and pedals give him a seat and a quick release and tell him to cycle there himself. Lazy git*




*No offense

[Upphew]

My middle kid has a bike with no saddle which he jumps around on like a ballerina on wheels (I guess it is sort of parkour for bikes???). Useless */%&*/?* thing. He can't take it on the bus (not allowed - it doesn't fold) so we have to drive him + bike to wherever just so he can play around with it

Like this?

[Rosamunda]

Yes, like that. Only not quite... but he's working on it.

He ordered the bike on-line from Tarty Bikes and it arrived about a week later. Then he broke one of the pedals and had to wait a couple of weeks for spare parts

[Rob A.]

Sounds like you have alot of junk then!
I used to have 8 or so bikes myself before i moved to Finland, the most i have owned here is about 4 or 5.
Now i am down to 2 bikes, a Bob Jackson roadbike and a nice DMR mtb for mucking around (and breaking my ankle) on.
My wife has 1 bike and my son has a like-a-bike, which he has yet to master (he isn't even 2 years old yet).
I have a few frames in the shed and probably enough parts to build up another bike out of.
However i've been thinking of selling the lot off and buying a nice cyclocrosser, the whole one bike to do it all thing is very appealing.
If anyone here is thinking of selling old bikes or parts to make room in the shed, it might pay to check what you actually have.
Old lugged steel roadbikes are going for good money these days, particulalry if they are of good quality. Toeclips also are in demand, however only the steel variety and not the crappy nylon variety.
The whole fixed gear scene has created a new market for old bikes and parts, you wouldn't believe how much people are prepared to pay for stuff!

Well....I used to have over a hundred about five years ago...one of my collecting obsessions... ...in various states of repair...probably about 30 to 35 in good to excellent condition....mostly old road bikes....I sold or gave away quite a few of them....maybe there are twenty left....

I've kept some of the ones that seem to have the most sentimental meaning....a beautiful old Raleigh Super Course...1972-3 ...which required only a few changes to bring it back close to original....though I kept the aluminum rims....and the replaced saddle is a very nice old Brooks leather model, but I don't think it's quite original.... I also had a couple of old Carltons...can't remember the model....one with that very tiny Huret rear derailleur from the 1960s....but they're both gone.... a bunch of Peugeot's...those heavy old early 70s ones...I kept one in nice shape... a Gitane TdF...still have this one...really nice, though actually too small for me...original MAFAC Racer brakes....

Lots of old Japanese bikes...the most interesting is a mid 80s Zunow....immaculate shape.... old Schwinns ...even most of a Swedish Crescent Varldsmastar (sp??).......which for some strange reason has original Reynolds 531 forks and Campagnolo drop outs...on what is otherwise a rather crappy design of a bike.... I could go on and on....

[oompah18]

Go on & on? Please do! I will.....
My old road bike is a Giant Trooper, bought in 1980 something..... I remember the first time I rode it home from the shop, I kept thinking the chain had come off, but in fact it was just the VERY low gears , just perfect for commuting in hilly Anglesey! It has taken me round UK & Europe, especially surviving the Cols! It still works very well on Finnish roads & I will never sell it. I don´t even mind when Men In Lycra overtake me, (usually on pale blue Bianchis round here )
My other road bike, of the Italy to Prague fame, is a Claude Butler tourer, but I have taken off all the carriers & also put on my trusty, old Brookes. The only trouble is, the gear levers are soooo low down, a little old fashioned. i have no idea how much it would cost to get thwem moved nearer the handlebars, but that is the only downside. (I can´t repair anything except the basic stuff, no idea how I have survived the long tours, just been lucky I think!) I can cycle much faster on this bike than any other I have ever ridden. I changed to spd last year too, which looks cool, but I do have a little trouble sometimes!.....
Anyway, after all these years, I still have fat thighs which don´t exactly look flattering in lycra shorts, & I NEVER, but NEVER cycle on anything without cycling mitts, I feel naked without them! Silly me.
Anyway, also from me:
Go Andy Go! (or should it be Allez?!)
Finally, I did watch the last 5 mins of today´s stage, mark Cavendish was awesome again, timing to perfection!

[Jukka Aho]

Well....I used to have over a hundred about five years ago...one of my collecting obsessions...:D ...in various states of repair...

Oh, we had a guy a bit like you here... click, click, click. ;)

(Note the most suspicious part: “Suurin osa pyöristä on naistenpyöriä”...)

a Swedish Crescent Varldsmastar (sp??)

Världsmästare. That’s Swedish for “World Champion”.

[Pete]

[quote="Rob A]I could go on and on....[/quote]

Well now is the time to sell if you are thinking about cutting down what is left of your collection!
I haven't owned anything particularly collectable, however i have built most of them myself to suit my own particular (and questionable) tastes.
Some were cheap and cheery and others a little bit more flashy yet not too far out of my modest means.
I'd like to have a bike for every purpose but we can't afford it, don't have enough space and the wife wouldn't let me anyway.
I love anything with wheels and would love to go for a spin right now if i could. Night rides are great fun.

[silk]

I just saw one of these on a Vancouver street



Maybe the rider escaped from the circus... Cirque du Soleil is in town.

[Rob A.]

Well....I used to have over a hundred about five years ago...one of my collecting obsessions... ...in various states of repair...

Oh, we had a guy a bit like you here... click, click, click.

(Note the most suspicious part: “Suurin osa pyöristä on naistenpyöriä”...)

... Yeah....and in my case I ran out of space.... But there's a story to it all....the bike collection obsession only started in 2001.... that summer I bought the old Raleigh Super Course from my brother....and I could not believe just how nice a ride this old bike was.... ...I was hooked on these vintage bikes ...and at that time people were simply not interested in these old bikes.... They were throwing them away or selling them for prices like $10....$20....$50...and, of course, having no clue about their quality. This all suddenly changed about four years ago...these vintage bikes in reasonable shape now sell for prices like $250...$350 and so on.

Most of the bikes I got for nothing or very low cost...I think the most expensive was the Zunow...quite rare and this one is in perfect shape...I think it cost about $200 ...the frame was too small for the person selling it, but the exact size for me. Also in the early part of this decade, many of the suburban Vancouver communties still had what they called Spring Clean-up Week"....people would "recycle" what they didn't want by putting the stuff on the curbside....and what us scavengers didn't want, would be picked up by the municipal workers....only a couple of small communties still do this though....I think many people viewed it as unsightly....and well, I guess it was....some people's tastes in furniture is, well...almost nauseous... I got a lot of good bikes that way....probably a lot of it was... "Mom" throwing out some bike that "Junior"....now in his 40's and weighing 95 kilos, last rode 25 years ago...

I also collected lots of of old bike compnents...much of which I still have...though these I got mostly from second hand bike shops for very low prices...again because there was so little intrest in them ....

My best bike find was an Italian racing bike, a Cramerotti...the paint is a bit scratched up..., circa 1988/89...the frame built in northern Italy, but marketed by a local Italian immigrant....Campagnolo components...I've upgraded it a bit with modern pedals and modern brake/shifters....also I put on tubular rims and tires.... I use it as my "good weather" commuting bike...

a Swedish Crescent Varldsmastar (sp??)

Världsmästare. That’s Swedish for “World Champion”.

....and Crescent did make at least one really good bike with the very unSwedish model name, Pepita Special.... I've never seen a Pepita...

[Rob A.]

Go on & on? Please do! I will.....
My old road bike is a Giant Trooper, bought in 1980 something..... I remember the first time I rode it home from the shop, I kept thinking the chain had come off, but in fact it was just the VERY low gears , just perfect for commuting in hilly Anglesey! It has taken me round UK & Europe, especially surviving the Cols! It still works very well on Finnish roads & I will never sell it. I don´t even mind when Men In Lycra overtake me, (usually on pale blue Bianchis round here )
My other road bike, of the Italy to Prague fame, is a Claude Butler tourer, but I have taken off all the carriers & also put on my trusty, old Brookes. The only trouble is, the gear levers are soooo low down, a little old fashioned. i have no idea how much it would cost to get thwem moved nearer the handlebars, but that is the only downside. (I can´t repair anything except the basic stuff, no idea how I have survived the long tours, just been lucky I think!) I can cycle much faster on this bike than any other I have ever ridden. I changed to spd last year too, which looks cool, but I do have a little trouble sometimes!.....
Anyway, after all these years, I still have fat thighs which don´t exactly look flattering in lycra shorts, & I NEVER, but NEVER cycle on anything without cycling mitts, I feel naked without them! Silly me.
Anyway, also from me:
Go Andy Go! (or should it be Allez?!)
Finally, I did watch the last 5 mins of today´s stage, mark Cavendish was awesome again, timing to perfection!

A "Claude Butler" is a rather impressive classic.... prior to the "bike boom" of the late 60s/early 70's in North America...English bikes, mainly Raleighs and Carltons, were quite common...at least in Canada...as the "bike boom" gathered momentum, Raleigh seemed to be there very significantly at the start then it was Peugeot, Gitane and Motobecane....then all the various Japanese bikes dominated until the shift to mountain bikes about 1985...


And as for Andy...well....I was a bit disappointed that the only strategy his team could come up with on Stage 17 on the Tourmalet was for Andy to try to ride Alberto into the ground.....hoping I guess, that Contador would crack.... Maybe they didn't have any other options....As good as Schleck's team is, Astana is a stronger team.....and of course, it's an old "truism" of the Tour that an individual can't win without a good team....

[angelabrookss]

yeah i mean to say that I have watched it every day, getting the hang of it this year, my second year watching it. It was sad to see Armstrong lose his chances for the yellow jersey... was looking forward to a duel between him and Contador.