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BOULDER, Colo. -
Boulder is, ahem, a hub of bicycle collecting, and this weekend's Vintage Bicycle Swap will draw serious collectors and sellers from around the state and beyond -- as well as casual local riders looking for cool cruisers for the weekly Happy Thursday rides.
Hundreds of restored (and not-so-restored) bicycles will be available for purchase or trade in Central Park next to the Farmer's Market from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Keith Murdock, of Gunbarrel, founded the event 12 years ago and runs it as part of Walk & Bike Month, which is organized by the bicycle-advocacy group Community Cycles.
"A lot of people come looking for a bike to complement their $3,000 mountain bike, something that they're not afraid to have stolen," says Murdock, 58. "But there'll be some vintage bikes there worth many thousands of dollars." And some unusual buyers show up, as well.
"Last year, (Led Zeppelin's) Robert Plant came by pushing a new cruiser, looking and pointing at the bikes with a friend," Murdock says. "I walked over and said, 'Robert?' to catch his attention. But he told me, 'Shut up!' sort of laughing, because he didn't want a scene. Well, people came flocking, asking for autographs or whatever, so he took off. He was playing Red Rocks that night."
Murdock himself has a collection of "about 20" bikes in his garage/workshop. His prized possession is a 1937 Shelby Airflow.
"It's got this really long tank for a top tube and these big, swooping, loopty-loop handlebars," he says. "It's pretty rare and worth about $5,000 fully restored."
A software developer for Lockheed Martin by trade, Murdock says he has an "eye for design," and that he was drawn to bike collecting about 15 years ago when he was unemployed.
"I found an old bike, fixed it up and put it in my yard with a sign on it. Someone bought it almost immediately," he says. "So I went looking for more and found a super-rare 1960 Bowden Spacelander at a garage sale. Only 522 were ever made, and they were made of fiberglass -- not great for performance but great looks and well-known to collectors. I paid $300 for that bike and sold for $1,500. That's what got me obsessed."
Murdock's Web site, www.oldbikeswap.com, lists his picks for the 10 best bike swaps in the country.
"The one in Ann Arbor, Mich., is the biggest and the best, because of its proximity to all the old bike manufacturers in the Midwest," he says. "My goal is to track down every regular bike swap around the nation. There's got to be hundreds."
Valuable brands to look for at Saturday's Vintage Bike Swap in Boulder include Dayton, Cleveland Welding (which made Western Flyers and Road Masters), Murray (makers of the Mercury), and Schwinn.
To see a permanent collection of vintage bikes, though, head over to University Bikes on west Pearl Street and look up.
"We have a bunch of cool, unique bikes hanging from the ceiling," says general manager Lester Binegar. "My favorite is the Scorcher. It's a 100-year-old bike, functional and burly that could handle any kind of road. It's got a lantern and wooden rims."
University Bikes also has an Elgin Robin, a World War II model produced by Sears,that Murdock secretly covets.
"That bike is worth thousands," he says. "The swap always turns up a gem or two like that."
