Missed the bike of my dreams on ebay, will i find another one?

[mozdog]

Basically I've been after an early 90s rockhopper in green but have been slacking on looking out for them recently and I've just seen that this one that is pretty much perfect got sold a couple of weeks ago in my size, my local area and for a price i'd be more than happy to pay. I'm pretty gutted I missed it so wondering if you guys reckon another one like it will come up if i'm patient or should i take the plunge on something a bit different (like a different colour etc)?

 

[JCS]

How about this Stumpjumper. It's a stunning bike.

 

[markoc]

Part of the fun of this game of Retrobiking is the enduring search for the right bike/part/widget

Keep looking. You'll find one.

Facebook shared interest groups are a pretty decent place to look (about the only useful thing on faceache) and their search function is really helpful.

 

[player]

Sods law that and happens to me every so often. You keep on looking for months and the one week you go away from the Internet you see one thats sold for peanuts and local just for good measure.Keep looking as said.

 

[Roasted]

I'm in an opposite, but similar situation. I've found what I'm looking for, but it's for an obscene amount of money over 5,000 miles away.

Do I bite the bullet or wait to see if something pops up closer to home, bearing in mind very few of this particular bike made it to this country?

For you though, even if you got something else you'll still want that Green Rockhopper, so I think you should wait.

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

when the itch needs scratching, nothing else will do.

My 93 Fire Mountain may be my favorite bike, and it cost me £50. A 92 or 94, or even a 93 Lava dome would not have done it. Equally, My Lotus took me 20 years to find.

Keep looking

 

[fettler]

Keep looking, they were popular bikes so one will turn up. Unfortunately the law of sod states none will ever be as cheap or as close to home as this one.
It might take months or a year or two to find the right one in the right size, only you can decide whether it's worth the wait for the right unicorn. Try setting up a search on eBay for Rockhopper so you'll see all that are listed although you'll have to sift through the modern ones. You can post in the wanted forum here also and keep bumping the thread occasionally.
It took me over 10 years to find my unicorn hub set in the colour I wanted but I was a happy chappy when I did.

 

[bikeworkshop]

“It is better to travel hopefully, than to arrive”
- Robert Louis Stevenson.

“And the true success is to labour.”

I think here he is talking about fixing that old bike back up again.

 

[BlackCat]

Patience, grasshopper.

Collecting old bikes is, above all else, an exercise in delayed gratification.

Most of us showed up here with a vague idea of tracking down a particular, very personal piece of nostalgia.

For me, I’m still looking for it, 14 years later. Picked up one or two unplanned bits and pieces in the interim though

Tip on eBay, from one who has missed out many times on something he absolutely had to have.. If you need something that badly, put a bid in there and then, when you first spot it. Playing tactics and holding off bidding until nearer the end date risks allowing life’s other, less important, activities conspire to distract you from your one true goal. Logging in later to realise you forgot to bid, the auction is closed, and some clown (undoubtedly a denizen of these parts) has snatched your prize for a handful of magic beans, tends to sting.

 

[fettler]

put a bid in there and then, when you first spot it

Another good ebay auction tactic is to message the seller ASAP and ask if they have a buy it now price in mind. They might offer a good deal to end the auction. Also ask if you can go and have a look at it, waving some real cash under their nose will often make them cave in.