Restore - buy a retro race bike
Buying, 'dans son jus', restore or ... A personal quest ...
Restore of reject? Passion versus ratio.
If you have a passion for something and you don’t have to worry about money than (almost)
everything is possible. If you have a passion and financial resources are in anyway limited than
it’s sometimes wise to think twice or more.
Take the Starnord Merckx or the Chesini Precision for example, or the Richard Depoortere … or even
the Masi Gran Criterium.
Mother of all questions: does the bike make my heart beat faster?
No … don’t bother and don’t waste any more of your time!
Yes … Oh … the story begins...
If you decide to purchase the bike (only you can make this decision, no one else can do it for you), it
can be interesting to have a maximum price in your head. Especially if you want to build a collection
on the long term and if you want to get back at same point in your life the money you invested than
ratio is also to be considered in this stage of the decision-making process.
Once the purchase and all its emotions are passed the next question arrises, do I restore or not?
And how do I restore?
A good cleaning and brushing is always the best start. You get to know your bike better, you discover
the hidden secrets of your bike, for worse or for better.
Once cleaned and polished, for me, mostly the job is done. To respect your bike the most you don't need a full restoration. But sometimes the bike is aesthetically speaking, no longer to look at or is structurally not right. Major restoration is required. And that opens the wallet if you have to sandblast, rechrome, repaint (sometimes different colors) and put new decals. But some specimen are worth it ...
