Forum Advise for a friend...

[Headwinds]

Serotta Pals:

I have a friend that wants to buy a bike "to keep it for the rest of his life..."

He has seen some of the mass produced brands like Pinarello, Giant, etc. But I told him to stay away from those.... I recommended instead, that he buys a Titanium bike since he lives here in Florida. I do not think carbon is a material to keep "for life" and a steel can also be a problem here because of the humidity and sea spray.

I also recommended that he gets a Concours, because he told me he could not afford a Legend.

So, can you provide me with your wise advise and recommendations for a frame "to keep for life". It does not have to be a Serotta. But remember, his budget for a frame can be more than the price of a Concours ($2500 or so).

Thanks in advance!

[Skrawny]

Remember the new "La Corsa" (http://serotta.com/pages/la_corsa.html) - a custom Fierte.

I don't think there have been any ride reports posted yet, but in a budget, it might let him get a better gruppo or wheels...

-s

[Headwinds]

But Titanium! I think La Corsa is not Ti, right?

Yeap, just checked, La Corsa is Ti....

[dbrk]

Retail on the VaMoots (not the SL version) is $2450, well-known for a sweet ride. I prefer stock geometries but if your pal wants custom then the Concours is a better deal since custom is included. Moots doesn't paint either...

Still, ol'pal, I think the notion of a lifetime bike should still include steel even in your swamp and salt. Perhaps that is naive and who am I to say but painted and well-treated with FrameGoobers(tm) it should last most adult lifetimes, in which case a whole steel CDA strikes me as a fine choice if we\ are choir singing from the Hymnal (nuthin' wrong with that).

dbrk

[Climb01742]

two other ti options: seven and merlin.

[stevep]

so far...i've had 4 bikes that should have been the last bike of my life...
but my head gets turned by some flashy upstart.
a nice speech for the wife, though
her.." a bike is how much?"
me "no, really honey, i wont ever need to do this again!"
fingers crossed while saying that as insurance against lying

[dbrk]

so far...i've had 4 bikes that should have been the last bike of my life...
but my head gets turned by some flashy upstart.
a nice speech for the wife, though
her.." a bike is how much?"
me "no, really honey, i wont ever need to do this again!"
fingers crossed while saying that as insurance against lying

Since this thread has only The Usual Suspects for a future regarding it's real content, I deem it time to more or less hijack and drift with the snows. Before that let us add Carl Strong, a great value in titanium and great to work with (add yours here: ). Now I'll drift or hijack, your call.

A friend of ours came to me awhile ago to explain that she just discovered that her husband has something like bi-polar episodes and one of the things he does that goes off the deep end is that he spends money, money that they do not have. He has spent in the last year all of their _considerable_ savings and borrowed more than 2 million dollars, most of which is also "gone." All this before she found out: trust being a wonderful thing except when it is, apparently, not.

Now my wife Aimee has a considerable indulgence for my passions and as I told her before we were married, "It's not that I love the bikes more than you, it's that I loved them before you." This has never rung a particularly resonant chord (and I do not recommend it) but it does convey the sense that I know how much I can spend, that I will do whatever the hell I please anyway, and that I regard her interest in the matter as either indifferent or as a voice to cheer whatever shows up next. She has always rather happily accepted this understanding since, well, it comes with me. But in light of this recent story Aimee speaks up the other day to say again, "I have no interest in what you spend or what you buy because I honestly can't imagine you spending us into ruin." I replied that bikes are cheaper than watches [subsititute whatever you like here] and she butts in, "spend what you like on them too, for all I care." (The kids will go to college, there will be enough to cremate me when I die from helmet-less riding, and that is that. I've signed the DNR, don't ya'll worry about what I'll cost you in hospital bills.)

Now I am a lucky sod, wife-wise, bike-wise, and other-wise (however unwise I am in other ways) but I might also suggest that bikes are not really supposed to be the "one lifetime purchase." This is why they are cheaper than divorce. Get a great bike then when you want another, figure out how to get that one. Variety is truly the spice of cycling. Getting rid of a wife is waaaaay more costly. If your wife will divorce you over the cost of a bike (or make your life a guy's hell) then divorce may be expensive but it is most certainly worth it.

On a far, far happier note: PLEASE feel free to use my profligate bike collection whenever you need to justify a purchase. Just say, "But, honey, I know this guy who has...I mean, I'll _never_ be that nuts..." Then show them the pictures but do NOT show them this post. That would not do either of us any good.

dbrk
not as funny as he hopes to be...

[GoJavs]

Yeah. Forget about the bike of a lifetime deal. I started my current collection (up to 9 now) as a way of staying connected to a sport that I had grown to dislike due to the drug allegations surrounding so many riders a few years ago. Coming out of double hernia surgery I also felt my current bike at the time (a Taiwanese-made Raleigh International) was just too dang long. So, here came the Waterford. Then, I discovered the i-bob group and here came the Bridgestones, and then....well, you get the idea...


If the logistics, space, spouse, etc allows you to have only one bike at a time, buy yourself one that will fulfill you now. But, if a couple of years from now, you decide to flip it on ebay on a lazy Sunday afternoon, don't fret. It's alright. It might be one of mine you end up buying!

[Headwinds]

Yeah. Forget about the bike of a lifetime deal....

Yeah, I agree.... Not us here in the Serotta forum, but this guys friend of mine seems either very stingy, cheap, or has different priorities?

He has been riding some Vitus crappy frame and had a steel bike that just about disintegrated with corrosion.

I will tell him about Strong, that's another good choice.

[andy mac]

if he wants to keep the bike for awhile, and may travel with it, throw it in cars etc. i'd go with an unpainted ti frame. timeless and doesn't get banged up as easily.

:beer:

[FierteTi52]

On a far, far happier note: PLEASE feel free to use my profligate bike collection whenever you need to justify a purchase. Just say, "But, honey, I know this guy who has...I mean, I'll _never_ be that nuts..." Then show them the pictures but do NOT show them this post. That would not do either of us any good.
I already used pictures of DRBK's bike collection I took a few years back at the TDFL to help rationalize my stable too my wife. It worked well, as I'm still buying bikes.
Jeff

[wattage]

I tend to agree with you on your rationale for the material of choice. Due to the micro climate (excessive UV exposure and corrosion) you must consider; UV exposure degrades all resins, salt air corrodes or oxidizes steel/AL, and can also by the way, oxidize and weaken resins. For these reasons I too would choose TI as my "life-long" bike.

What size is your friend, I may have a Concourse if he is interested.

W-

[Kevan]

extend 10 to 25 year, or lifetime warranties, that's pert near lifetime to my way of thinkin'.

[Climb01742]

longevity may be one reason to choose a bike, but lordy, aren't there far better ones? yes, that is a rhetorical question. it's just funny...how "normal" non-crazy people look at a bike purchase -- sorta like how most of us look at buying tires for our car -- versus how we, the crazy, look at it. there are many good reasons to consider a ti frame; quite a few before i'd hit longevity.

douglas, great post. the soon-to-be second mrs climb sounds like your mrs. insuring that i can, happily, ride off into the sunset on as many bikes as i like. she gets excited when something new shows up.

[Smiley]

Titanium is the perfect material for Florida that will allow your buddy to ride the crap out of the bike with no worries. My advice is have him fitted and look for a bike that meets his size needs here for 50 cents or less on the dollar .

[Fixed]

bro i had many work bikes all steel rust has never been an issue. wipe them down and bring em in that's all i do . many of my bikes in the past have been 20 years old before I ever got them cheers :beer:

[bironi]

I was wondering about those sea salt environments. My forum advice to a friend, would be to choose a bike you would really enjoy riding, regardless of material.

[catulle]

On a far, far happier note: PLEASE feel free to use my profligate bike collection whenever you need to justify a purchase. Just say, "But, honey, I know this guy who has...I mean, I'll _never_ be that nuts..." Then show them the pictures but do NOT show them this post. That would not do either of us any good.

dbrk
not as funny as he hopes to be...[/QUOTE]

Ehemmm, being new to the forum and a foreigner to boot and all, I´ve never seen the pictures you refer to and, believe me, I think they could help me a great deal. Would you kindly let me know how I could have access to them?

Thank you so much. And, sorry, but I disagree with your postscriptum.

[catulle]

On a far, far happier note: PLEASE feel free to use my profligate bike collection whenever you need to justify a purchase. Just say, "But, honey, I know this guy who has...I mean, I'll _never_ be that nuts..." Then show them the pictures but do NOT show them this post. That would not do either of us any good.

dbrk
not as funny as he hopes to be...[/QUOTE]


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Ehemmm, being new to the forum and a foreigner to boot and all, I´ve never seen the pictures you refer to and, believe me, I think they could help me a great deal. Would you kindly let me know how I could have access to them?

Thank you so much. And, sorry, but I disagree with your postscriptum.

[dbrk]

Most folks here have already been pointed to the Yahoo photo site, but I think you can find a fair selection of my older bikes (Rene Herse, Sachs, Singer, Mariposa, CSi Serotta) here: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dvicakrababa/my_photos

If this doesn't work then go to Yahoo, the photo link, and sign in as a guest to view the photos of dvicakrababa, which happens to be Sanskrit for "Two-wheeled Daddio" if you say that like beatnik or, better yet, Maynard G. Crebbs. Other pictures are on the bikefanclub.com, look under dbrk, and of course a search here in Serottaland will reveal a slew of pics.

Soon I hope to have pictures of a repainted CSi. It is coming back a version of the 7/11 Team scheme with a few minor stylized variations. I'm not usually that keen personally on masks and multicolors but Serotta's Team scheme is something I truly admire. I often go just to the painter box to make up a Team bike scheme that appeals to me.

Oh, on the thread: I still think that if you pal needs/wants custom, it is hard to beat the Concours. I love titanium bikes. I just love lugs so much more than anything else. YMMV!

dbrk

[catulle]

[QUOTE=dbrk]Most folks here have already been pointed to the Yahoo photo site, but I think you can find a fair selection of my older bikes (Rene Herse, Sachs, Singer, Mariposa, CSi Serotta) here: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dvicakrababa/my_photos


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Thank you so much. However, do you think that if I meditate a lot and do my yoga every day I might get a Nirvana like yours? Barn on the back, pond, and all? Congratulations, may you live for many years to enjoy your beautiful home and bikes in good health.

[jerk]

the jerk currently only owns four bikes; and he feels like a pauper. weird thing is, of the four bikes one is a mountain bike, one's a tt bike, one's a cross bike and one's a kermesse bike....there's not a regular "road bike" among them and that friends is mp imho.

jerk

[Too Tall]

Um gee, after reading Douglas's post I feel like I know you alot better...thanks for your honesty. Also, you've brought out what my hunch was about this fellow. Folks NEVER need a bike to last forever however it is a quick and sure bet that's what they are telling themselves or their SO as justification to make that often expensive leap...soooo all the advice previous posts gave is soooo right on. Get what strikes your fancy for all the right reasons :)

LOVE this SPORT

[tch]

about buying one bike to last forever.... But then you might be closer than you think. To paraphrase a certain president we might remember, I have lusted in my heart for many bikes over the years. But the fact is (much to the chagrin of my local dealer) I bought an unpainted Concours 5 years ago and I have not bought another bike since. It does all I need/want it to.
If I were advising someone who truly thought he was doing the "one bike" gig -- I'd tell him to buy the same unpainted Concours.

If you look at Climb's list of machines from his recent post, you might conclude he has had a happier five years than me. Nothing against Climb at all, but I don't know that that is true. You can only ride one at a time.

[Climb01742]

If you look at Climb's list of machines from his recent post, you might conclude he has had a happier five years than me. Nothing against Climb at all, but I don't know that that is true. You can only ride one at a time.

it just takes some of us slower ones longer to realize what you did 5 years ago. :beer:

[Samster]

I have a friend that wants to buy a bike "to keep it for the rest of his life..."


Main Entry: ox·y·mo·ron
Pronunciation: "äk-sE-'mor-"än
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural ox·y·mo·ra /-'mor-&/
Etymology: Late Greek oxymOron, from neuter of oxymOros pointedly foolish, from Greek oxys sharp, keen + mOros foolish
: a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (as "LIFETIME BIKE"); broadly : something (as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements
- ox·y·mo·ron·ic /-m&-'rä-nik, -mo-/ adjective
- ox·y·mo·ron·i·cal·ly /-ni-k(&-)lE/ adverb

:D

[malcolm]

If your friend rides a stock 56, Don at new horizon sports has an '03 matte finish concours with fork for $999. Search new horizon sports, it was there a couple of days ago. I think it is nos and never built

[Jeff N.]

I'll give him one HELL of a deal on an Airborne Zeppelin! What size does he take? Jeff N.

[tch]

it just takes some of us slower ones longer to realize what you did 5 years ago. :beer:
I would NEVER claim to have learned anything faster than anyone else, old friend. I just happened to be lucky(?) enough not to have any money. In the meantime, I came to understand some stuff. Education is a slow process.