In my previous post I mentioned that one of the reasons I am riding so much is that my bicycle collection has reached its optimal point; I don't need any other type of bicycle, and would only get rid of what I have in order to upgrade in some way. I don't see that happening any time soon, so I thought I'd share my "stable" with you.
Bike #1. The Commuter.
This is the bike that I put most of the miles on in 2010. This is probably a 1997 GT Force equipped with Shimano RSX STI shifters. STI shifters are how modern bicycles change gears, with the mechanism built into the brake levers. I picked this bike up on Craigslist for $100 even. The frame is custom butted CroMo steel, and is a really great ride that is super comfortable. I replaced the standard GT seat with a Brooks saddle that I already had, and proceeded to put over a thousand miles on this bike this year. I don't know if the bike is "special" or not, but I do know that I have only seen one other on Ebay, and never another one on CL. the guy I bought it from posted his ad with no photo, and I happened to be the first caller. He "upgraded" to an aluminum frame, and since he lived in an apartment I ended up with a great deal on a modern road bike.
Bike #2. The Angel bike.
This is a 1992(or so) Univega Prestige bicycle. This one is my weekend bike, and is for sure my rarest and probably most valuable bicycle if I were to resell it. Incredibly, I got this bike for $120, also on Craigslist. In this case, the bike had belonged to the seller's roommate who had left it behind when he moved to a different country. The photograph of the bicycle attached to the ad was terrible, but I know a thing or two about a thing or two and emailed the seller with a buy offer immediately. When I got to his house in the evening I was lucky enough to find this beautiful fillet brazed frame with full first generation Shimano Dura Ace STI group, in my size, no less. The bike had strange "Profile" brand time trial style bars and a Cinelli stem that I had to switch out altogether. It now wears some nice 3TTT bars and a matching stem. This is probably the rarest Univega ever - it's built of Tange Prestige OS steel tubing, and wears the serial number "50". I have done lots of research and even consulted with a guy who worked for Univega, and this bike is exceedingly rare.
The full bike - I need better photos of it now, but this gives you the idea.
Fillet brazing is a mark of quality construction.
Bike #3. The singlespeed/fixed gear
I documented the ressurection of this frame in a couple of blog posts last year
here,
here, and
here. In those posts I was turning this bike into a road bike, complete with Shimano Sora STI shifters. I rode this bike many miles before I found the GT, and when I did I had a hard time deciding what to do with this bike. I was riding my old Suteki as a single/fixed, and since the Falcon frame is much nicer, both aesthetically and tubing wise, the Suteki was retired and this became my single. you can find reasons all over the web why you need a fixed gear or a singlespeed, so I won't get into that, but I'll tell you that I live in Dallas, so I really don't think I need gears at all. I love this bike, and in fact I rode it to the State Fair of Texas this year, from my house in Plano.
I love this bike.
Bike #4. The vintage/cruiser/city bike.
This bike is my 1974 Schwinn Suburban 10 speed - this is the bike that I use to run errands, the bike that I use to pull my daughter's trailer to the park, and my all around hop on and go bike. This bike was given to me by my great neighbor, and while it is heavy, so is a Cadillac, and that is what I would compare this bike to. I really haven't done anything more to this bike than cleaning and replacing the heavy steel wheels with a set of alloy wheels. Most of my other bikes require special shoes to be ridden, but this bike is ready to go no matter what I am wearing. This might have been the best gift any non-relative has ever given me.
The Schwinn and I are on the left. Hubbard from
Biking in Dallas is on the right.
Those bikes are really the "core" of my collection. In addition I have a Schwinn High Sierra mountain bike that I plan to use as a more urban type of cruiser bike, but I am in need of a saddle for it, so it really hasn't turned a mile this year. I also have an electric bicycle, which is great fun, but is more of a curiosity than an important part of my collection. I have done a post like this before, and I'd be surprised if I do another one. Like I said, I think that my stable is pretty solid now, so I don't forsee a lot of changes. I may tell you a little bit more about the Schwinn MTB and the e-bike at some point, but not today.
