High-End Bicycles, Tandems & Triplet Headed for Classifieds…. (Yes, this is hard)

I’ve apparently reached the point where it’s simply more painful to see a very nice collection of bicycles sitting unused than it is to part with them.  I’ve only reached this point two other times in my life; once in California before moving to Georgia when I parted ways with my first collection of Raleigh racing bikes and then again in Georgia when I parted with my last two Raleigh’s and a few mountain bikes.

However, as I came to grips with the need to sell my first Harley-Davidson – a bike I’ve hardly ridden since July when it was in essence replaced by our Road King – I also took a look around the garage and realized I was surrounded by bicycles that had gone un-ridden for far-more time than just a few months. To a one, I continued to tell myself they all served a useful purpose and would no doubt be pressed into service in short order.  Frankly, I believe those were simply wishful thoughts that delayed the inevitable: at some point they’d have to go!

Now, it’s not like we’ve given-up on tandems and cycling as that’s not the case.  However, there are only five bikes in our stable that have seen use on a regular basis during the past few years while the others just collect dust or continue to draw-off resources as I continue to “tweak” and “upgrade” to keep them relevant… but for what purpose I really don’t know.

What’s Going on the Block?

So, with that, here’s a preview of what we’ll be posting out to the various classified ad sites in a week or two.  The photos are also just what I had on hand; new photos will be taken once I get the official classified ads built.  Pricing is also TBD, but anyone who’s interested is welcome to make an offer: just recognize this isn’t a fire-sale.

The first two are a matched set:

1999 custom-made Erickson Signature Frame & Fork (steel) with matching carbon fork: Seat Tube 52cm ctt x Top Tube 52cm ctc in pristine condition with ~ 3,000 miles of use before it was “retired” from active duty.  It comes with a pair of custom stems and color-matched Zephal HP pump.

1998 custom-made Erickson Signature tandem road bike (steel) with matching steel fork as well as a matching True Temper Alpha Q composite fork.  Capt Seat Tube 52cm ctt x Top Tube 52cm; Stoker Seat Tube 39cm ctt x Top Tube 31.5″.   Sized for up to a 5’9” stoker with a very generous stoker compartment. The frame is in good condition with normal wear and tear for 20k miles of use: a small dent in the top tube and minor paint chipping along the rear stays. Fully assembled less saddle and pedals outfitted with Campy Chorus 9 Speed, daVinci cranks, Phil Wood / MAVIC CXP30 wheel set.  [Sale Pending]

1999 Bianchi MegaEXO, Mercatone Uno/ Bianchi Tour de France replica team bike with matching composite fork:  Seat Tube 54cm ctt x Top Tube 54cm. Built for display but never ridden and in like-new condition.

Custom-made Ritchey Road Logic road bike (steel) with matching steel fork: Seat Tube 48cm ctt x Top Tube 50.5cm ctc with 700c wheels in excellent condition and less than 8,000 miles of use. Fully assembled and outfitted with Campy Centaur compact triple group, Campy Chorus wheelset.

2002 custom-made Ventana Conquistador de Montanas, full-suspension off-road tandem with Stratos S5 suspension fork signed by Sherwood Gilbson. Capt Seat Tube 17″ ctt x Top Tube 22″ ctc and Stoker Seat Tube 15″ ctt x Top Tube 31″ ctc. In good condition for an off-road tandem that has been used for technical single-track, i.e., the bottom of the boom tube shows several deep scratches and dents… but nothing that affects the integrity of the frame.   Exceptional built kit featuring SRAM X0 gripshift & rear derailleur, daVinci compact drive, FSA carbon bars, recently updated Fox frame shock, Chris King / Velocity wheelset and Hope Enduro hydraulic discs with Thomson posts and stem.

This one may or may not go….

We’re still on the fence about our triplet. I clearly didn’t think-through the logic behind our triplet acquisition and most likely “created” a need that didn’t exist to justify buying a triplet after getting “bitten by the triplet bug”.  Of course, like everything I get my hands-on, I can’t leave well enough alone and really went over the top with my “update” of what was a nearly new triplet.  We love it… but it’s a lot of bike to have sitting around waiting to be used a couple times a year, if at all.  So, we’ll see if I flinch between now and when I get around to posting the classified ads.

2008 Precision-branded triplet built by Dennis Bushnell: Capt Seat Tube 54cm ctt x Top Tube 56cm ctc; Stoker #1 Seat Tube 49cm ctt x Top Tube 29″ctc; Stoker #2 Seat Tube 44cm ctt x Top Tube 29″ ctc.  Less than 1,000 miles.  Aluminum frame with Reyonlds Ouzo Pro Tandem composite fork. Complete updated in 2012/13 with $1,000 custom paint job, brand new White Ind/Dyad wheelset, new Thomson seat posts, FSA handlebars, 170 x 170 x 165 crankset w/spare 175mm crankset, Shimano DuraAce 10 speed shifters and rear derailleur, 6 composite water bottle cages in like new condition with just hard-to-see two minor dents on the lower 1/2 of the rear internal tube from a fall-over incident in the garage (Doh!).