I've been following this thread since you guys started it, but have yet to chime in. You guys have some truly amazing bikes, and collections of bikes. Enough to make a guy like me feel pretty inadequate... you see, I only own two bikes. I wracked my memory and can only remember seven bikes I have ever owned in my entire life, including the two I own today.
That's not to say I was not an avid cyclist. Unfortunately, for too long now, the "was" part of that was all too true. But, now, at the ripe old age of 64, I've decided to get back into it. I know it's going to be a long road, and I'm prepared for that, I'm only hoping to be somewhat "ready" by summer. We'll see.
I decided I'm just too fat and out of shape to start on my road bike. So, just to get started, I put a set of Specialized "Nimbus" road tires on my mountain bike. It's an early '90's KHS, with mostly Sun Tour components, but lots of upgrades added. Avid brakes, Shimano Deore XT rear derailleur and 9 speed gear set, Rock Shock "Judy" front fork, and other little details. Pretty dated, pretty old, but it's what I'm starting with. Because, well, so am I.
The road bike that I hope to be slim enough to ride by summer is my 100th Anniversary Edition Schwinn Super Sport, dating from 1995. It's mostly "stock" with Shimano RX100 (which is no more than 105 without the powder coating, being polished aluminum instead). I did swap out to an Ultegra crankset and Mavic CXP14 wheels, but I really only wanted the wheels for their cross sectional strength, not really caring about anything "aero".
So, there they are. Two very dated mid 90's bikes. Lots of fond memories, though, over many, many miles on both (mostly the Schwinn). I'm really looking forward to getting some weight off and putting some miles on. I've spent the last ten years back in the gym, putting on a good deal of bulk again, but I think cycling is just better for me at my age. Oh, I'll stick with the gym as well, I want to keep all of these old creaky joints moving. My focus is just going to shift a bit (see what I did there?).