The CABE CONFESSIONAL Bike Skeletons in the Closet - Share Your Tragic Bicycle Decisions, Regrets

[OC_Rolling_Art]

I may be the only one with two confessions here...

In the early '80's somebody who knew I was into bikes supposedly had the original 5-seater (a quint?), an early bike (teens maybe) that was used and belonged to the Santa Monica Pier for decades. The guy had the bike and either a postcard or an old photo showing provenance but I passed because it was like 14 feet long. The price was $500. A bicycle regret that is seared in my brain, I tell myself it was bogus.

 

[velogarden]

In 1990 I was asked to provide technical {mechanical , liaison and transportation) duties to 4
elite Italian women cyclists during the Tour of Texas. Maria Canins was the most accomplished competitor representing Italia. Maria discovered a fine old western saddle in an antique shop in one of the stage towns on the race route. Her idea to get the saddle back to Italy was to pack it in her large zippered bike case. I offered to buy her Moser race bike and fulfill her dream of owning a real Texas artifact. The Moser was useless to me in a 53CM size so a year later after fending off many lucrative offers I sold it to a buddy after I made him promise not to change a thing on the bike and sell it back to me and nobody else should the need arise. The red and white Moser on the car roof was Maria's. That I Regret!

 

[tim elder]

Just got off the phone with Charlie Churchill and we were discussing this very thread and I brought up my regret of selling Gertrude my Schwinn key board, full of keys back in the early 80’s. I had a box full of lock barbells with keys and tags and never thought I would need another key, I was wrong. Another item was a large package of NoS ribbon spokes that I had in my hands and set back down thinking I would buy them another day. They were gone the next day when I went back. 45 years of these regrets.

 

[tim elder]

Just got off the phone with Charlie Churchill and we were discussing this very thread and I brought up my regret of selling Gertrude my Schwinn key board, full of keys back in the early 80’s. I had a box full of lock barbells with keys and tags and never thought I would need another key, I was wrong. Another item was a large package of NoS ribbon spokes that I had in my hands and set back down thinking I would buy them another day. They were gone the next day when I went back. 45 years of these regrets

 

[1817cent]

Back in the 90's i refurbished/restored several old ballooners for the Bicycle Barn in Walla Walla WA. I just had an interest but really didnt know what i was doing. I would change out original parts with repop stuff from Maple Island Sales and Memory Lane and just pitch the old parts in the trash. In the process i discarded several prewar speedo's, usable tires, stems and other usable parts. Today, i dont throw anything away when working on old bikes..

 

[Archie Sturmer]

I put some gold-tone skull (not skeleton) valve caps on a few black bikes; I just thought that they seemed like the kind of artsy-things that humans might do, from time to time.
That’s what I was thinking, at the time.

 

[49autocycledeluxe]

I regret selling all my bikes and parts except one around 2005-6-7 before they were worth anything

 

[Pedal Pusher Charlie]

Just got off the phone with Charlie Churchill and we were discussing this very thread and I brought up my regret of selling Gertrude my Schwinn key board, full of keys back in the early 80’s. I had a box full of lock barbells with keys and tags and never thought I would need another key, I was wrong. Another item was a large package of NoS ribbon spokes that I had in my hands and set back down thinking I would buy them another day. They were gone the next day when I went back. 45 years of these regrets.

Your board was the best, a treasure, nearly complete as I recall, with up to 5 of some of the original Arnold Schwinn Yale Jr. AN code keys in brass and some in nickel hanging from the hooks. There were some original Cyclelock keys as well. It was not exactly hidden but out of the way at the back of the shop. (We had a 2nd board too.) By 1990, about 70% of the key hooks were empty. I wish that I had bought one of each code at the start. For certain, Tim, your original keys sure made a lot of collectors happy!

 

[SJ_BIKER]

I had a chance to buy this original paint 1936 Goodrich hanging tanker for 1200 back in circa 2012/13 and I passed....when it's quiet it haunts me

 

[Fritz Katzenjammer]

About thirty minutes ago I failed to properly seat a roadbike tire before running up to 105psi.

About twenty minutes ago the friggin thing went off like a grenade and scared me half to death.