Robin Williams’s expansive bike collection up for auction
87 custom and eccentric bikes from his collection are available
If his expansive and eccentric bike collection is any indication, Robin Williams loved bicycles—especially colourful and odd ones—as much as anybody. The Oscar-winning actor and star of Good Will Hunting and Mrs. Doubtfire who passed away in 2014, had a large collection when he died and on Thursday, Oct. 13 they went up for public sale on the online auction house Paddle8.
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Williams appears to have taken Rule #12 of the Velominati—which states the correct number of bikes to own is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned—very seriously with 87 put up for auction by his children to honour Williams advocacy for charitable causes during his lifetime. While building his collection he also frequently auctioned off many bikes for charitable causes and would sometimes throw in a ride with the buyer as a bonus. At it’s biggest, his collection numbered over 100 with many of the bikes being custom builds (usually 54 cm frames) and many were as eccentric as the man himself.
The collection is worth taking a look at and includes single-speeds, a Trek Madone from Lance Armstrong Discovery Channel Team, a chopper, an odd indoor trainer, steel, alloy and carbon frames, performance road bikes and a unicycle.
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“He had such a passion for the sport and the bicycle,” said Williams’s friend Jim Ochowicz to the Wall Street Journal, a former pro who manages the WorldTou BMC Racing Team. “He loved the colors, the design, the engineering. When I rode with him, he’d often be on another bike, and I’d be like, ‘Whoa, where is that one from?’”
The auction will benefit two charities that were close to Williams. The Challenged Athletes Foundation promotes sports and active lives for those with physical challenges and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation focuses on curing spinal cord injuries and improving the lives of people with paralysis.
Cycling was more than just exercise for Williams who fully embraced the sport. “I think it gave him a different outlet,” said Ochowicz. “No one likes to talk about work all the time. You’ve got to have a hobby. This was his.”
The auction is open until Oct. 25. Check out Williams full collection at paddle8.com/auction/robin-williams/
