Thoughts on Closing Out 2021

 The year 2021 has come to a close. This year saw some changes to my bike collection. A rod brake Phillips roadster and a 1951 Raleigh Clubman left, while a 1950 Schwinn Superior and a 1964 Schwinn Traveler came in. 

 

 Out: Bikes I Sold in 2021

This Phillips roadster was a re-build I did in 2018. Like so many of the really old rod brake bikes, it needed a deep going-over. These were utilitarian bikes and performed some hard work in their heyday. This bike was in good shape and a fine example of the "old style" upright roadster from Britain. Sadly, I did not ride it a whole lot. It was limited to very nice weather and shorter rides. It was the sort of bike you want if you wanted to experience the old school "sit up" type riding, taking in the scenery. 

 

This 1951 Raleigh Clubman was an example of a fine road bike from the days when a 3-speed hub was a good touring and club riding option. The frame was very light, and it had a beautiful grey metallic paint job on it. The story I had gotten was that the bike was restored by an experienced bike enthusiast in Rhode Island or Massachusetts, and it showed. The bike was very cleanly rebuilt and was a great example of the classic British road bikes of the late 1940s and early 1950s.

 

 

In: Bikes I Bought in 2021

In late spring or early summer, I came across an example of the unusual, post-war Schwinn Superior bike that was for sale. The project lacked wheels, but virtually everything else was there. It had the hard-to-find Schwinn-built brake calipers, Schwinn script brake levers, and the unusual combination of an electroforge welded frame and cottered 3-piece cranks. The blue-green color was right up my alley, and it had creme colored trim in the style of a British bike. I bought the Superior project and after re-building, I have not regretted it one bit. It's a wonderfully comfortable bike.

This 1964 Schwinn Traveler was something I did not expect to buy. I was happy being sized down one bike, but in late fall 2021, I came across a very nice example of the classic Schwinn Traveler 3-speed in an online auction. I bought the bike and have been slowly rebulding it. The bike has hit a couple snags, but everything can be addressed. The bike is very attractive, and many of the parts that usually turn up damaged on these bikes are in great shape on this example.

Looking Ahead to 2022

I am not totally sure what 2022 will bring. There's always a chance that tomorrow, or next week, or next month will bring out yet another wonderful old 3-speed bike to be rebuilt. One never knows... But I am hopefully going to do a little more downsizing of my collection, to get down to just the handful of bikes that I ride a great deal. I'll probably look into selling a bike or two come spring, when people are looking for bikes at the start of the riding season. Everything in my collection is pretty good - no real "losers", but certainly not all of them see as much ride time as I would like to give them. We shall see... 

In any event, Happy New Year to all, and may 2022 bring you better than 2021 (or 2020 for that matter) did.