Just me?

[FairfaxPat]

What's the old saying---"If you want to hang with the big dogs, you'd best be hanging around the big trees"--- I like old bikes, and most of them aren't that expensive, but there are always exceptions, and this bike is one of them. It's not just a bike, but an Iconic first representation of a purpose built custom MTB that basically started the present era of Mountain bikes, as separate from road bikes. It's also beautifully built, handcrafted by a master designer/builder and they aren't making any more of them! So it's worth whatever the buyer thinks it's worth, and there are some Big Dogs out there! -- Oh, Jamabikes, the owner is out riding it Today, and I rode it yesterday, no reason not to, it is a bike after all- albeit a pricy one.

 

[jamabikes]

The fact that some one is going to buy it and just put it in a museum or collection just makes me feel sad is all. I just can't comprehend someone spending that much cash on a bike they can't even use for it's primary purpose. I feel the same way about cars,motorbikes,books and paintings too.

 

[93hero]

I've got a 23yr old bike in the garage that never gets ridden sat next to a 33yr old car that never gets driven. Best never come round my place!

 

[jamabikes]

I've got a 23yr old bike in the garage that never gets ridden sat next to a 33yr old car that never gets driven. Best never come round my place!

Is that because you don't want to use them or because you can't use them?

 

[highlandsflyer]

So are we at the point of understanding you would want old bikes to cost less to buy now than they did new?

If that is the case, it surely does not apply to all of them? Some of them must be worth more in light of their significance, and if that is not relevant to you you can surely appreciate it might be to others and be somewhat less sad about it?

Personally if I came into the kind of money necessary to start throwing together an MTB collection that Breezer would be right up there on my list of desirable acquisitions, and given its rarity and significance 25k would be a bargain.

Not entirely. It's the fact that any bike can be worth so much money when it cant be ridden. Cos let's face it if you bought it you couldnt ride it.

I drive my car, and it is certainly depreciating much more for being driven.

You are right in part though; if I bought it it would most likely be hung on a wall all but a day or two a year.

Like a painting, its primary purpose would be as a beautiful piece of art.

As art, I still see it is a total bargain.

Are we pretending that anyone would want to retain cycling as the primary purpose of such a bike? No.

However, it is perfectly possible someone might use it regularly in that role, as well as appreciating its significance in another role.

I really don't begrudge anyone that honour.

Certainly doesn't make by butt tighten in the way some of the obvious garage queens seen here and other places do, relatively common and recent bikes that have been retired from active service because their new owners have some form of O.C.D.

I will be interested to see where this bike ends up.

 

[93hero]

Nothing wrong with the bike, just can't bring myself to ride it... It's pretty.

I am cheating slightly with the car because the last time I drove it, the crank shaft decided that it would rather be on the outside of the engine and blew the bottom end to bits trying to get out. That was in 2002, and I've just never got round to fixing it

 

[jamabikes]

Glad to hears it's being ridden pat but I'm sure if some one spent over 20000 dollars on it they may not ride it.

I do get the whole bikes are art bit, but I just can't fathom spending that much on it. Would i spend £500 on a bike just to look at? Possibly. Anymore than that i couldnt personally justify
Anything that makes me worried about damaging a bike during use makes me sad.

So to answer the question "just me?" looks like it is

 

[kampos]

Just my £0.02+ vat ; I live quite near Goodwood so once a year I can get to go and see "priceless" old cars go racing -- and don't forget we are talking £millions for some of them -- and they really do go racing and get dinged etc. Point is ; most if not all of these cars were once garage queens ; massive interest in historic racing has brought them back to their home i.e. being used. This Breezer ; as 1 of only 10 of the first ever non-adapted MTB frame ; has to be saved/preserved in usable condition until the same thing happens for bikes. If that means it hangs on someones wall for a while ; so be it.

If every member on here put up £1 ; then it could be put in safe hands ( and I'm not saying mine ).

 

[petitpal]

I think the point here is that this isn't just any old retro bike and has absolutely no reflection on the current market value of anything. This is, as has been pointed out quite a few times, an expectionally rare beast. And, to be fair, the person who will buy it won't be someone short of readies; everything is relative after all and some people are just loaded. Jammy, jammy, gits. (Probably the equivalent a £100 to me - i.e. you'd notice it but could survive without it if push came to shove).

Personally I'd buy it, if I could - as fairfaxpat has already pointed out it's a beautiful, craftsman built piece of cycling history. God bless JB for making it and fairfax pat for doing such a wonderful job in putting it back together.

 

[highlandsflyer]

Looking at the news regarding one of the versions of The Scream, I wonder why anyone would question the relatively paltry sum of 20 or 30k for a very rare, iconic handmade bicycle.

Mountain biking is one of the widest spread and active participant pastimes in the world today. Were it a niche interest I could understand some might be shocked that a totem of its emergence and evolution attracts a high value.

It is the price of the average new car, that would most likely be a worthless pile of scrap within a decade.