Mirror, mirror, on the wall, am I really a Cilo Cycles collector🤔?

Looking into the ‘honesty mirror’ on the wall, I ask myself if I’m a Cilo Cycles collector. The mirror says ‘quite possibly’. Hmmmm……..I challenge the mirror with the definition of ‘a collector’. Apparently, and according to the mirror’s friend, Google search, a collector is “A person who collects things of a particular type as a hobby.” OK, I fit that definition.

The next killer questions that the mirror asks me are; ”Do you consider yourself an extreme-hoarder-type of collector AND does collecting interfere with your ability to function in everyday life?”. The answer to both of these questions is undoubtedly, No! Phew! The mirror doesn’t send me for counselling to ‘collectors anonymous’.

I ask another question of the mirror’s friend, Google search, about things on the web that fuel and encourage collectors. I was surprised to see that natural-born-collectors can be nurtured and encouraged at a very early age. There is quite a wide selection of books for very young children with titles such as; In a jar, 5 ways to get kids collecting, Lost and Found, Bug collecting, Word collecting, Memory Jars, and my favourite title, Dakota Crumb – The Tiny Treasure Hunter. YouTube, as does TV, also provides a host about collecting as well.

Anyway, back to my mirror on the wall, who asks me another killer question; “Why do you ask me if I think you are a Cilo Cycles collector?”. Hmmm……a question about a question. Anyway, here was my answer, and with a few images thrown in to bring my words to life.

Firstly, some background: My Cilo Cycles collecting, actually, let’s call it ‘Cilo cycles interest’, started when I bought an old 1970s Cilo, which you may have read about in my Cilo posts. Unlike all of my Swiss work colleagues, who had all grown up with the brand and have had at least one Cilo cycle in their lives to date, I knew nothing about my acquisition or the company. This brings me to a ‘collecting insight’. When you’re mildly interested about something and you don’t readily get information about it, you start looking harder for it, and then you find more stuff, and before you know it, the collection has started, and can grow steadily. This is what happened to me with Cilo Cycles, so let’s get into some of my collection……….

The Cilo bikes

I started with one, have had as many as 12, of which I have had 9 all at once, and now I’m down to my keepers, with 4. The rest have been restored, ridden and sold, and here’s my rationale for keeping these four:

⁃ The Cilo Ranger MTB was a NOS (new-old-stock) find and it has those amazing Swiss, ATZ forks, which were fully serviced recently by the designer, Francis Glatz. You can read his amazing story in the interview at the bottom of this post.

⁃ The red Cilo Racer is my ‘ride-in-all-weathers-anywhere’ bike, and I’ve had some epic rides on it.

⁃ The original condition 1974 race bike, and NOS 1981 race bike are just great examples of what Cilo cycles did really well, and were famous for. I like the 1981 bike to ride the most out of the two of them.

⁃ NOTE: I’m definitley not looking for another Cilo Cycle. Honest!

Posters & Stickers

Once I had got into mild Cilo Cycles collecting mode, I found several sets of these NOS shop posters, and which I have a few for sale if you’re interested. The one thing I do have a weakness for, and since childhood, so maybe I was a young collector, is stickers/decals. I’ve got some original Cilo Cycles stickers/decals and I’m not planning to stick them on anything either. They’re staying in my sticker/decal collection (Oooops! Another collection admitted to by mistake…).

Cycle shop posters from the last century

I probably need to go to ‘Stickers Anonymous’. Maybe.

Water bottles/bidons

It took me a looooooong time to find a Cilo Cycles water bottle/bidon, but once I found one, loads turned up in a short space of time. Now I have ‘a collection’, and with a few duplicates.

Jerseys and kit

With all of the cycling collectors that I know, one thing is for sure. When a bike has been bought, the next thing to get is the jersey, which is needed for rides, decoration, whatever, etc. I like cycling jerseys for their designs, fabric evolution, stories behind the teams etc. I’m also lucky in that these jerseys all fit me as well.

Model Cilo cyclist

What can I say. A classic collectors purchase for the collector who has everything. It sits in a glass cupboard.

No collection is com-Pete without one, apparently.

Special Cilo Cycles category on blog

Finally, it’s a collectors dream to be able to write about their passion, and I’ve managed to put together several posts in a special Cilo Cycles category (In the main menu) on this very site that you’re on now! Read on if you haven’t already.