Bike collecting

RichTL

I’m not really interested in becoming a bike collector but see there are people doing this.
Just out of interest what do they look for i.e. what makes a collectable bike, how would they use/show the bikes. I’ve just seen an old bike frame in need of considerable tidying going for quite a lot of money on e-bay so this just intrigues me.

peejay78

i think most people who collect bikes do so by accident, and wouldn't view themselves as collectors. certain frames are highly desirable, px-10s for example, or certain track frames, hobbs of barbican, other classic lightweights.

i usually have about 4 or so bikes or frames at once, 2 of these are builds or projects, renovations, etc. bikes are for riding, i guess that's the bottom line.

NorwegianBlue

I think becoming a collector in terms of expensive bikes takes a long time. You need to be an expert in order to avoid making expensive mistakes.

IMHO true collectors of anything aren't in it to make money, they just buy things that interest them and don't expect to make money out of it.

Gavin Gilbert

In my case, it was an accident (honestly!) :oops:

It started about 4 years ago when I had the chance to obtain a Claud Butler that 'needed plenty of TLC'. The attraction being it was the same age as me, and I fancied an old-skool machine with big loops of brake cable and cage pedals. Looking back there was also the onset of the middle-aged-bloke need for quality shed time. And I didn't have the time or the buget to restore an E Type Jag.

Like any addiction, I slid into it. Buying parts I thought looked right and then finding out when I started researching the subject properly they weren't. And then buying up frames to put those parts on......before you know it I was controlled by this monster that sucked away all my time and cash.

Some folks seem to collect in a haphazard way, others like to stick to marques. Partly by accident, and later by design, I have developed a collection to illustrate the development of the lightweight bicycle. From fixed wheel clubmans machines of the mid 1930's, the early common use of the derailleur (I have Cyclo, Osgear and Simplex equipped bicycles), examples of Sturmey Archer machines, a '51 Rotrax track bike with inch pitch gearing.....

Most are still works-in-progress, and I don't have the space or time for any of them. But if I've helped to preserve the social history of the sport and prevented a beautiful frame from being powder-coated black and used as some horrible 'urban fixie' then it's been worth it.

bagpusscp

I am seeing a man in a white coat about it. :oops:

I even have a machine in our sitting room. :P

RichTL

Thanks for the replies.
I guess I sort of collect bikes already as I have five:
Specialized Allez - Best Bike
Graham Weigh - Winter bike
Tandem - for son & I
Folder - for when Im travelling
Hybrid - for going off road.
Most of these purchased over the last 3 or 4 years mainly with economy and function in mind. Not specific collecting. I guess any new purchases will be much more thought out and I would need to ged rid of one of the above if getting anything new as Im running out of space.

SamWise72

Was the frame you saw that Ernie Clements? The things which drive up prices on eBay are threefold;

1) Perceived quality - the top marques, Colnago, Masi etc, the great British handbuilders (Hetchins, Bates, Hobbs etc etc) people buy because they're beautiful, and because in period, they were considered the best. The Clements is very rare, and Ernie Clements went on to run Falcon cycles succesfully, which has somewhat increased interest in his old handbuilt frames

2) Nostalgia - people want the bikes they wanted as kids. Look at the prices of quite mediocre, but cool looking 80's bikes like the Raleigh Record Sprint, or Super Burner. The Record Sprint was 501 with midrange components, yet they routinely fetch over £100, when I snapped up a 531 Gazelle for £20.

3) What the internet tells you is cool. Cases in point here, the Raleigh 20 (Sheldon Brown has made them very desirable, and increasingly expensive in the States, and at least more valuable here), and any track bike (thankyou very much, fixed gear craze)

I have bikes that I bought simply because they were amazingly cheap for great bikes, and I have no objection to old things, and like a more classic look. I have bikes I bought for their reputations (including two Bates), and I have bikes I bought because I just loved them, or used to as a kid, or used to own one.

NorwegianBlue

There is another thing that drives up prices on ebay. Weird sh*t. Sometimes the price goes mad for absolutely no reason. I once bought a crankset for about a fiver for a project, then I got something better so I sold the first crankset. It went for over £50!

Now I know from past experience that I'm a pretty good salesman, and I know my description was better than the original, but there's no way that would account for a markup of about 1000%. It was weird sh*t. A three way bidding war broke out for no sensible reason at all.

That happens quite often with old bikes, frames and other bits. Sometimes you'll see something sell for peanuts and a very similar item go for a fortune within days of each other.

Sometimes I think people assume that something is valuable and collectable because there's a bidding war going on and join in. It's worth noticing that the ebay savvy collector won't bid until the last minute, so if there's a bidding war going on you're not dealing with buyers who know what they're doing. And you could be dealing with shill bidding.

IOW if you want to get something collectable on ebay at a good price, don't go near anything with a lot of early bidding going on.

peejay78

but also - if you really want it, you got to pay for it.