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TECH NEWS
Huge 203-bike selection of classic machines up for auction
Fancy riding a piece of history, or picking up a unique wall hanger that'll get all your cycling mates talking? On May 19 the Dorotheum auction house in Vienna Austria is selling a selection of bikes that are gorgeous, historically significant, plain oddball or all three.
The bikes comprise the entire collection of architect Michael Embacher, which has been featured in two books, Smart Move and Cyclopedia. Embacher is described as having as an "interest in creative, rare, offbeat, and even bravely failed models" that led him to start collecting bikes in 2003.
It's not clear why he's selling up, but if you're looking for something special for an Eroica-type ride, here's your chance.
In the gallery above, we've picked out a dozen that caught our eye, from classic steel road bikes of the down-tube-shifters era, to vital pieces of cycling history such as the Lotus bike, original Moulton and Kirk Precision. Pop it out or make it full screen to read a bit more about each bike.
Opening prices range from a mere 50 Euros all the way to 6,000 for a special edition Alex Moulton space frame.
There's no need to fly to Vienna for the auction, as you can bid online on all 203 bikes in the collection. Take a look at the catalog for more details and lots more bikes.
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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10 comments
The Kirks were injection moulded Mg and had issues with die temperature and cycling on production. I remember one of my mates hitting a half wheel size water channel on his, all that was left was dust, paint flakes and bits of frame with inserts bonded into it. It literally disintegrated.
My friend had two, both cracked, then he bought a nice 753 Peugeot which I took off his hands for about 10 shillings. 42-19 I recall the lowest gear, lovely bike it was, jumpers for goalposts, mmm? Wasn't it?
@crikey
most of the Kirk's we saw in our workshop in Newcastle had gone "floppy" to use a great technical term - if I remember correctly, they were cast from a magnesium aluminium alloy and got their alloy mix wrong, quickly leading the frame to become very flexible and unrideable and in many cases crack.
Halfords were selling lots of Kirk's and I recall a number of the owners coming back with a replacement bike that used a standard welded tube frame
Very nice...
www.veloism.uk
I know a couple of Kirks that are still being raced and in good nick.
The Kirks all cracked and the Lotus frames separate down the middle. They are rare because they both broke very quickly.
For me the Moulton Speedsix and the Kirk. Oh and the Lotus of course
Owned a couple of Moultons, and actually almost bought a Kirk a few years ago. Also saw a Kirk being ridden though the grounds at work earlier this year. Only one I have ever seen being ridden & I really like the look of them
Couple of bikes I'd love, Lotus Sport and Sport 110. Also the Kirk
The link in the Telegraph I posted on the forum has some of the other bikes - the Cinelli is a very fine bicycle. I bet that tandem handles poorly given that the rear rider sits behind the rear hub.
I remember drooling over the Kirk at the time.