My two cents:
Bikes are terrific. They are beautiful. They can make you whoosh through the air. But unless they are Bernard Hinault's 1985 Tour bike (which locally a collector in LA picked up from a restaurant here last year), or Eddie Merckx's 'real' hour record bike, they shouldn't be imprisoned on a wall like a bird in a cage, they should be ridden. I take my Allegro out at least twice a week - expecially this time a year (the added weight makes the hills just that much harder, which is just what the doctor ordered for this bad boy).
On the other hand - if the bike has never touched the road, ever - that first ding of the paint would really really hurt. If you're planning on selling it, possibly leaving it in the house is best. But know it wants to ride.
Jill DiMauro wrote:
> Jon,
>
> Hmmmmmm.....tough question. I'd say you'd have to ride it at least once so
> that everytime you looked at the bike you could reflect upon how it's beauty
> translates into the sensual ride it gives. If the you just LOVED that one
> ride and the bike were not truly a one-of-a-kind, I'd say ride it on all
> those special occassions that it beakons you. I ride all my bikes, no
> matter what. I've never had that NOS, unriden bike problem, though. ;-)
>
> Jill
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jon Bridges <jon@icetv.co.nz>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2000 8:15 PM
> Subject: {ClassicRend]To Ride or Not to Ride
>
> Here is the question which I have been pondering lately. Say you had a
> classic bicycle which had never been ridden, would you ride it or not ride
> it? How many of you guys do ride some or all of your really pristeen bikes?
> Are there some bikes you would ride, some you would keep nice?
>
> The reason I ask is that I am just about to finish making up my first
> classic bike - Colnago Mexico 1982 with Super Record. It is all NOS, so it
> has never been ridden, and I am really divided between keeping it perfectly
> mint, or taking it for the occassional ride. I am certainly not planning to
> sell it ever, but it seems odd taking all this stuff out of the boxes and
> sitting on it on a dirty road!
>
> I guess there is the 'made to be ridden' school and the 'preserve history'
> school. Any comments would be appreciated.
>
> Jon Bridges. Auckland, New Zealand.