Selling up and leaving the hobby - Your failure experiences?

[d8mok]

Recently I’ve been having thoughts of selling the entire collection and moving onto other hobbies. I’ve no idea what hobbies since I’ve moved on again from motorbikes , fast cars etc.

I’m still throughly enjoying cycling itself and having a 3 year old daughter / own business time is always against me for 80% of my life.

I do this every so often when I feel like I’ve ticked the boxes I wanna tick and always like a clean break. Either all in or all out. One massive issue is that I know that I’d never be able to replace most of the bikes I have due to rarity.

Obviously nobody on here can tell me their success stories as they wouldn’t be on here. But has anyone sold up and then regretted it and come back ?

Don’t message me trying to vulture a psyclone , Ku , Xizang etc as I’m only putting thoughts down on paper and if I did sell up I’d at least take 6 months to mull it over.

I also think that in the back of my mind i know long term ill need to sell up when we eventually move abroad. It’s not a cash or storage issue to be clear.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

I think maybe pick your absolute favorites? I don't envy you having to do that though, good luck. No vultures here

 

[Y282]

For me everything is about stuff with wheels, so cars, motorbikes and classic pushbikes. The pushbikes are a nostalgia hit as theyre my first real experience of freedom and also of spannering, building and fettling. When I want to do just a little bit of this, pushbikes are the outlet. Super cheap, relatively simple and recentering. In engineering terms i think of them as sketches.

I think a good way of addressing this for yourself is to think about why you were drawn to them and what you got out of them specifically. Because theyre part of the overall spannering that i love, theyre woven into my happiness but your mileage may vary. If the happiness you get from this isnt about the bikes themselves, them keep looking at other stuff.

 

[d8mok]

I think maybe pick your absolute favorites? I don't envy you having to do that though, good luck. No vultures here

I’ve already kinda done that now. Down to 30 bikes all of which I like for different reasons. If the collection was split up I’d sell it all.

I’ve no motivation to add more and have a few projects on the go currently which Im lacking motivation.

 

[d8mok]

For me everything is about stuff with wheels, so cars, motorbikes and classic pushbikes. The pushbikes are a nostalgia hit as theyre my first real experience of freedom and also of spannering, building and fettling. When I want to do just a little bit of this, pushbikes are the outlet. Super cheap, relatively simple and recentering. In engineering terms i think of them as sketches.

I think a good way of addressing this for yourself is to think about why you were drawn to them and what you got out of them specifically. Because theyre part of the overall spannering that i love, theyre woven into my happiness but your mileage may vary. If the happiness you get from this isnt about the bikes themselves, them keep looking at other stuff.

I was drawn to them in 2008 wanting to buy a Zaskar which quickly turned into a collectiing obsession. I still enjoy it to be clear. I just feel it’s coming to a natural end since there isn’t much else I want or haven’t owned.

 

[grantoury]

I do not have a collection as such, more a wide selection of bicycles for different purposes, but I notice when I have something that looks very pretty or is in some way unique but doesn't see use, I find it harder to hang onto it. Other considerations then come to the surface, like I could use the space, or the money for different investments. The process of finding the interesting specimens is more fun to me than actually owning and preserving them, it seems. Concerning regretting selling stuff that you may never find again, I have let go beautiful bikes and was unable to buy some very nice examples and it seems to me there is always something new and interesting to be found. Perhaps an idea would be to filter the collection further and keep only those which are irreplaceable.

 

[d8mok]

I do not have a collection as such, more a wide selection of bicycles for different purposes, but I notice when I have something that looks very pretty or is in some way unique but doesn't see use, I find it harder to hang onto it. Other considerations then come to the surface, like I could use the space, or the money for different investments. The process of finding the interesting specimens is more fun to me than actually owning and preserving them, it seems. Concerning regretting selling stuff that you may never find again, I have let go beautiful bikes and was unable to buy some very nice examples and it seems to me there is always something new and interesting to be found. Perhaps an idea would be to filter the collection further and keep only those which are irreplaceable.

I don’t think I could filter it more to be honest and as mentioned I’m either all in or out.

The rarity mostly comes from condition also which is hard to find.

I don’t think reducing the collection is an option. No point since I don’t need the space or cash. There is only 1 retro which id keep.

 

[al-onestare]

Don’t message me trying to vulture a psyclone , Ku , Xizang etc as I’m only putting thoughts down on paper and if I did sell up I’d at least take 6 months to mull it over.

Have you been on this site before?

On a serious note, my take is if the heart isn't in it, life's too short to let it linger. Whatever you decide, it'll be the right thing.

 

[2manyoranges]

Recently I’ve been having thoughts of selling the entire collection and moving onto other hobbies. I’ve no idea what hobbies since I’ve moved on again from motorbikes , fast cars etc.

I’m still throughly enjoying cycling itself and having a 3 year old daughter / own business time is always against me for 80% of my life.

I do this every so often when I feel like I’ve ticked the boxes I wanna tick and always like a clean break. Either all in or all out. One massive issue is that I know that I’d never be able to replace most of the bikes I have due to rarity.

Obviously nobody on here can tell me their success stories as they wouldn’t be on here. But has anyone sold up and then regretted it and come back ?

Don’t message me trying to vulture a psyclone , Ku , Xizang etc as I’m only putting thoughts down on paper and if I did sell up I’d at least take 6 months to mull it over.

I also think that in the back of my mind i know long term ill need to sell up when we eventually move abroad. It’s not a cash or storage issue to be clear.

Yep know the feeling.

In the 1990s I was at the front of things. First bikes with front suspension on the South Downs - Manitou, PACE - then first full sus bikes imported from the 'States (AMP), while still riding state of the art hardtails as they came out. Then marriage to someone very sporty but not into MTBs - so up mountains all over the place. Bike gathered dust. It felt like I had moved on. She contracted terminal cancer and died far, far too young. It was getting back on the bikes which kept me together. Really. Six years of great, hard riding. Bike building, bike riding. Then a new partner and two kids. Bikes gathered dust. It felt like I had moved on. Ten years of no riding. But plenty of outdoor stuff. Then the Grom showed interest in MTBs - so a 9kg build for him, a review of all my bikes, a recognition that 'Long low and slack' had transformed things. A big launch into modernisation. Jump bikes, Stanton and Cotic hardtails, FS from Transition. Again back at the bleeding edge and loving it. Now, ten years of being 'back' and have had some fabulous times out there....

So...you may have come to end of a cycle, like I have done a number of times. But now I am riding hard...and loving it.

 

[d8mok]

Just to be clear. I’d continue to ride daily or bi- daily on modern bikes.

It’s just the retro collecting bit that I’m a bit bored of.

Feel like I’ve got the T-shirt and own all of the ones I want (apart from a Fat chance Ti and a Yo)