My name is Rob, and I can't stop buying bikes......

"Guilty!" (raises right hand in the air)

Two years ago, I had 4 bikes.

Now I have about 4 dozen.

It's all your fault, you retrobike b@st@rds! You'll be hearing from my lawyer!

"There I was, your Honor. I was minding my own business, surfing the internet with absolutely NO INTENTION of buying any more bikes, when suddenly I came across this website....and the rest is just a blur. The next thing I remember, I woke up surrounded by bikes and my bank account was empty!"

There's at least 3 Haro Extremes in that pic - plus does one have a bolt on back end??

Get pictures in the "show us your HARO's" that's in my signature!!




..... Hang on - the pic says that's just estays there - what are the other vaults called?

You can't see the fourth Haro; it's a stripped aluminum frame all the way in the back. The Extreme Comp is a front aluminum triangle with a bolt-on chrome rear triangle. I've only seen a couple of these on the Internet over the last 2 years, and this is the ONLY one that I've seen in my size. I paid $550 for it, and I had to drive over 100 miles to get it (and over 100 miles to take it back home). I can't find ANY info on it, yet there it is.

Other than a few fairly modern bikes (Giant X0, NOS MC San Andreas, MC San Andreas DNA), and a 1989 Nishiki Ariel, all my other bikes are e-stays. The vault(s) are 40-ft shipping containers (bomb-proof).

My attitude: if it's an e-stay in my size and I don't already have it, then I'll try to get it NOW while it's available, and then stow it in the vault until such time in the future that I have time to restore it and then, of course, ride it. I keep telling myself that I'll buy some pimpin' new parts for the rebuilds, but, as luck would have it, another bike that I want usually becomes available that takes precedence. I wonder: does it ever end? I think I may need intervention. This retro-addiction is making me bipolar!

(What's missing is an emoticon wearing a straightjacket)

with a side order of

I think investing in a 40ft shipping container is a genius idea.

However your argument that all this bike buying is because you can't help it is now flawed as it really does take a sane mind to order a huge container and custom fit it out to store bikes.

Don't try and blame madness!!

I briefly looked into getting one as a workshop, but they're not as cheap as I'd hoped. Plus I don't think it'd be possible to get one to the bottom of my garden except under a Chinook

I notice the Kona came from "Bike" in Bristol. I worked there for four years - two as a grease monkey and two as workshop manager. Good shop and good times

Thanks for the compliment.

Actually, I didn't have bikes in mind when I bought a couple of containers a few years ago; I bought them because it's a virtual necessity where I live (out in the boondocks). Almost everybody has them out here because it's a great way to keep your valuables safe from opportunistic thieves. They might be able to break into my house, but I guarantee they'd have a hard time breaking into one of these.

It also keeps my neighbor’s goats from chewing on my bikes.

A couple of years ago, I started filling one of my containers up with bikes until I had difficulty moving around in there, and that's when I came up with the idea of the pallet racks and bike hooks. It was definitely an afterthought, YEARS after I bought the containers.....

.....which, in fact, reaffirms my Insanity plea. I now throw myself on the mercy of the court.

btw, I've been trying for about an hour to upload another pic, and I've tried everything, but no luck. Dang computers! We've already established that I'm unbalanced, so this is enough to push me over the edge!

Maybe I'll feel better if I buy another bike...

It's like I'm looking into a mirror! The resemblance is astounding!