I love my brother, but I also love my bikes, maybe I love bikes more 😆

But he wants a SH bike for about £300, now I can build several bikes from spares that I could sell him, but to be honest even if I put on the oldest shittiest kit I have on it then it would be worth more to me than £300, & I suspect it would make more if I sold the components on the classifieds.
So the question is should I just start a search on eBay for something, or bite the bullet & let him have my old shit for £300?

Cheers.

Brake fluid is thicker than blood.

Tell him to do one…..

Or you could do your brother a favour and build him something you know is decent instead of something he goes and buys.

Are you loaded?

He’s your brother!

I would find him one in the ads, why should you sell him one of your bikes if they are not for sale?

How much old bike stuff do you have / do you like your brother?

The only problem with building something up is if it goes wrong he’ll be straight back to you to fix it / replace it.

For £300 on eBay / classifieds you should get an ok 26″ wheel bike surely? Think I paid £150 a few years back for a bit of a retro Kona full suss (u’hu) – double the budget and there should be something rideable – especially if you look for a hardtail. Also then you haven’t sold him the bike so he’s not going to come back to you to replace parts.

I’ve always fancied one of those single pivot Marin’s from the late 90’s / early 2000’s……

Just build him a bike. You’re not even using the spares, and you probably never will.

Help him buy something for £300, then when the parts start calling over sell him your ‘spares’.

Agree with ads – you have a mountain of bits – which you haven’t sold! Make him a bike!!

Get him a bike built, yeah your probably losing out on some money but if your brother takes to the MTB your laughing and have a new riding buddy.
And if he doesn’t take to it he’ll probably use the bike a handful of times and you can buy it back in a few months to get your parts back. Win Win.

If I had the bits, which I have, I would build him the bike and just let him have it. I wouldn’t charge him.

It is a serious dilemma for me, but to be fair if I sell him my old shit then I know I’m going to liable for it for at least the foreseeable future. He laughed when I said forks & shocks were a serviceable item, then nearly passed out when I said forks need servicing every 100 hours & it would coat a few quid to do so.
I think my real problem will be with the ongoing commitment 🙁

How much do you love your brother is more the question. More than you love spares you’ll never use.

Oh, I gave him a bike before, a pretty special to me RSP, my first proper MTB from the 90’s, he gave it away without asking.

My sister, I’d just give her a spare (have given her some bits and pieces over the years). My brother, I probably wouldn’t even return his message.

Oh, I gave him a bike before, a pretty special to me RSP, my first proper MTB from the 90’s, he gave it away without asking.

Tell him to go and buy his own bike then.

Marin – Member
How much do you love your brother is more the question. More than you love spares you’ll never use.

Or to put it another way, if I offered a Turner Burner with decent kit for £300 would someone buy it?

So I’m just giving my brother money right? Although I would if he was short of it.

Cheers.

2nd hand voodoo bizango on ebay.

Build a bike and loan it to him. On the provision he can’t sell it or give it away without your say so and if it gets nicked he owes you £300. Still yours if and when he gets bored of it.

Personally I would look after my brother as best I possibly could even if it wasn’t reciprocated. But that’s just me

If he’s got money and has not respected the gesture last time round, I’d say **** him (unless it was ages ago AND he’s sorry) and tell him what your old bikes are really worth

Or lend him one at no cost other than he has to book it into your “approved” LBS once a year for a full service

I get asked ‘bike advice’ all the time at work (like many I’m sure). I rarely give actual advice anymore unless they’re a standout case. My stock in trade answer is now buy the one you like the colour of.

You know what, for £400 on bike to work (£300ish in real life) you can get an actual bike. Someone at work bought a Felt 27.5 thing with suntour forks. All he has to do is pick the colour.

Oh, I gave him a bike before, a pretty special to me RSP, my first proper MTB from the 90’s, he gave it away without asking.

You have your answer .

but to be honest even if I put on the oldest shittiest kit I have on it then it would be worth more to me than £300, & I suspect it would make more if I sold the components on the classifieds.

Would this be one of those mytical spares boxes that like houses has a massive value “if” you ever sell it. Are you ever going to sell the bits? If not they are worthless.

Your bro gave the last bike away? To a disadvantaged child? To someone more deserving? Or just cos he didn’t give a toss about your stuff?

Buy one for £150, sell it to him for £300, boom!

wallop – Member
He’s your brother!

That’s the point, and I can emphasise.

He’ll no doubt expect perpetual free replacement of parts, and complain bitterly about being robbed to all and sundry (especially the rest of the family) when he breaks something.

He’ll no doubt expect perpetual free replacement of parts, and complain bitterly about being robbed to all and sundry (especially the rest of the family) when he breaks something.

Sadly, this. I just couldn’t be arsed with the chew myself. Help him buy a £300 bike if you absolutely have to get involved.

“ah mate you can get a new bike with a warranty and support for that money….” <point to halfords special of choice>.

everyones happy.

So this seems to be boiling down to…..

A) The right thing to do is build your brother a bike vs iB) is your brother an ungrateful wretch who doesnt deserve such a nice act?

Only you can know the answer to this. Its not about getting value for money on a box of old spares.

The thing is, and I’ve sort of been there and done that with bikes and family, is that even if you build a ‘nice’ bike it won’t get looked after and they won’t be able to repair it themselves and they either won’t be able to afford (or won’t pay) to replace stuff when it wears out or breaks.

Show him this thread, problem solved.

Surely give him the bits and help him build it? He can then do all his own maintenance, and yours in return. Maybe?

epicyclo – Member
…and I can emphasise.

Predictive text eh?

I learned long ago, never sell anything in family.

Better to “lend” them something (ie as far as you’re concerned you’ve given it to them) and say “Use it as long as you like, just look after it”.

The moment money changes hands, then you are under an obligation as far as family is concerned.

my brother sold me a bike. on the cheap. i didn’t realise it was cheap at the time – only when i came to sell it three years later and sold it for more.

At the time it might have been my third bike – but was probably what got me in to MTB properly. So all this is his fault. I might go and complain!

Right then, as said I love my brother so I’m going to ask if he wants me to build him a bike based on an old Stiffee frame with lots of old kit, the only thing I will charge him for is the rear wheel which is new & unridden which cost me about £130 & make it clear that that is all he has bought, the rest I have given to him, seems like a good compromise to me, thanks for all the input.

Cheers.

Nooooo, not the Stiffee. What size/year is it ?

Not to mention,building a bike up from spare bits is deeply satisfying(to me anyway)

If it were me i would just let bro have one on long term loan, or for a nominal fee. Given plenty of retro stuff away for below market value to strangers so certainty wouldn’t be counting beans for my brother.

Nooooo, not the Stiffee. What size/year is it ?

2002/3 original round tube 19″, I have decided that I don’t want to give away the Turner Burner or the new Charge frames I have, although I would of used the Charge if I had forks to fit the head tube.

If it were me i would just let bro have one on long term loan, or for a nominal fee. Given plenty of retro stuff away for below market value to strangers so certainty wouldn’t be counting beans for my brother.

I’m not counting, but if I’m giving him something that cost me £130 & I haven’t used it then It’s not used so he can pay for it or buy his own!

Cheers.

Yep, but I wouldn’t be splitting hairs.