velotel
02-03-2015, 03:11 AM
I’ve got two classic mountain bikes that are apparently considered collectibles. First is a one-of-a-kind Fisher that was built for me in ’86 as I recall. Pretty unique for him actually. He was starting to experiment with over-sized tubing and wanted to have a bike built out of it included in an article I was doing. I had a series of frames built out of different materials but all with the exact same geometry, copies of a custom Salsa Ross built for me. The Fisher was one of five frames – 2 steel, 2 aluminum, 1 titanium. My idea was to eliminate riding differences due to geometry differences in order to feel what, if any, differences there were between materials.
Gary heard about the idea and proposed building a frame with the oversized tubing that, as I recall, no one was doing yet, in steel at least. A beautiful fillet-brazed frame complete with the top-line Shimano (Deore XT I think is what it was called then) cranks, deraillers, etc. – but not the brakes – and a ti-handlebar. Brakes are, hard to believe this but true, WTB roller cams, back brake under the stays. Bike turned out to be on the heavy side (Gary later said his choice of tubing wasn’t what he should have used in retrospect) but a sweet riding bike. Super reactive and a heck of a climber.
Anyway I still have the bike and have no use for it whatsoever. Actually I did ride it a couple of years ago in the Vercors during the 25th anniversary of the first World Mountain Bike Championship. Rode it with Gary himself along with Joe Breeze, Scot Nicol, and Ned Overend. Still a sweet riding bike and still looks brand new despite all the years. Since hearing that I could probably sell it for a pretty nice sum I’ve decided to do exactly that and take the money and put it into my book on cycling in France, soon to be published.
The second bike is a Litespeed copy of my Salsa but it was built a few years after the original frames so wasn’t included in the article. Oversized ti-tubing, Steve Potts Type II fork, WTB roller cams, and to really make it a bit rare the drive train is Campy OR. For years that bike was my go-to mountain bike ride, along with the original Salsa. The Salsa is now suspended from the ceiling in Vecchio’s in Boulder, part of my son’s bike collection. Same components and fork choice as the Litespeed. Currently the Litespeed is missing the stem; I took it off and put it on the Merlin that was part of the original 5 frames. Put it on the Merlin to send to my son.
Anyway, on to my question. Given that I’ve been here in France for 20 years now I have no idea what the world of mountain biking in the states is anymore and am wondering if anyone here has an idea of where the best place to put the bikes up for sale would be. Is there a forum for mountain bikers similar to this one? Or would the best thing to do be putting each of them on e-bay?
Thanks
Gary heard about the idea and proposed building a frame with the oversized tubing that, as I recall, no one was doing yet, in steel at least. A beautiful fillet-brazed frame complete with the top-line Shimano (Deore XT I think is what it was called then) cranks, deraillers, etc. – but not the brakes – and a ti-handlebar. Brakes are, hard to believe this but true, WTB roller cams, back brake under the stays. Bike turned out to be on the heavy side (Gary later said his choice of tubing wasn’t what he should have used in retrospect) but a sweet riding bike. Super reactive and a heck of a climber.
Anyway I still have the bike and have no use for it whatsoever. Actually I did ride it a couple of years ago in the Vercors during the 25th anniversary of the first World Mountain Bike Championship. Rode it with Gary himself along with Joe Breeze, Scot Nicol, and Ned Overend. Still a sweet riding bike and still looks brand new despite all the years. Since hearing that I could probably sell it for a pretty nice sum I’ve decided to do exactly that and take the money and put it into my book on cycling in France, soon to be published.
The second bike is a Litespeed copy of my Salsa but it was built a few years after the original frames so wasn’t included in the article. Oversized ti-tubing, Steve Potts Type II fork, WTB roller cams, and to really make it a bit rare the drive train is Campy OR. For years that bike was my go-to mountain bike ride, along with the original Salsa. The Salsa is now suspended from the ceiling in Vecchio’s in Boulder, part of my son’s bike collection. Same components and fork choice as the Litespeed. Currently the Litespeed is missing the stem; I took it off and put it on the Merlin that was part of the original 5 frames. Put it on the Merlin to send to my son.
Anyway, on to my question. Given that I’ve been here in France for 20 years now I have no idea what the world of mountain biking in the states is anymore and am wondering if anyone here has an idea of where the best place to put the bikes up for sale would be. Is there a forum for mountain bikers similar to this one? Or would the best thing to do be putting each of them on e-bay?
Thanks