Vintage Road Bike Values

[kemmer]

Exactly!
You just never know, when a trend is going to come out of thin air.
I’ve always felt that those hand made, artisan built lugged steel framed bikes would become sought after some day.
It might be a hundred years from now, but someday, people are going to marvel at the high quality, craftsmanship built bikes of the late 50’s early 90’s.
Coinciding perfectly with the golden age of Campagnolo made components.

This might sound completely absurd, but I think someday there will be Huffy Cranbrook collectors. They came in a zillion color combos with a variety of accessories, there are models with chrome fenders and even 3 speed hubs. and they are a "1st bike" for a LOT of people. They're also fairly durable and well made, especially compared to everything else wal mart sells. It's a perfect recipe for a collectable. Every time I look a the massive pile of leftovers I have from parting them out, I think "somebody might want this stuff someday". I'm not convinced enough to start preserving them, but it could happen.

 

[cyclingday]

Sometimes we end up wanting something that we never wanted back in it’s day.
Some of those most distasteful designs become highly desired once their time has come and gone.
People at car shows will flock around the perfectly preserved AMC Pacer or the Ford Pinto, just because they were so hokey and lovingly remembered as the car, that weird neighbor down the street drove around in.
They were so ubiquitous at the time, but you almost never see them now.
So, when something like that pops up in a sea of Colnago’s, in a bike show, people marvel at its sheer tenacity to still exist.

 

[Jesper]

I just recently dealt with someone whose son-in-law wanted to ride what he previously had when younger (and what I have); a Crescent Pepita Special. He saw posts of mine (not a "Special") and "S-in-L" wanted to find one so he contacted me about it. I had a nice spare frame and some on the original parts, but frame was too big. He managed to find a moderately decent example for his relative (not a Special) and paid I believe about $250 for it last year. The "S-in-L" proceeded to get the frame stripped and repainted, parts replaced, etc. I was a bit surprised considering the money spent, and the end value after all was said and done. Bike looks great and the rider loves the bike so all is good, but still would be difficult to sell for much over the initial cost given time and money put into it. Mine is still original, but even I am realistic that it is no $500+ bike; maybe $300, $400 max on a good day.

I can only hope that by others like myself going out on on club/group rides will keep exposing others to the workmanship and artistry of past eras, and continue to stoke the interest of younger generations.
I am not as big of a Colnago fan as I once was, not relating to their function, but to the apparent need to intentionally make "collectors" (think Franklin mint) versions of their bikes with a special paint jobs; though I cannot blame them for taking advantage of that market. Buyers are not buying to ride the bikes, just for investment flipping as I see these frames showing up for sale as "NOS" never built-up or ridden if they were. With the only handmade aspect of them being their paint job, I would rather invest in an actual one of a kind painting then a "cookie cutter" frame molded from the same mold as the other multitude of frames without the fancy art. I am curious if they will hold their value over the coming decades (I see some listed at $25K to $50K, not sure what price they actually sold for).

 

[SirMike1983]

My choice for a premium frame would have been a Waterford over Colnago. I can see Waterford frames becoming more collectible with the American-made and Schwinn Paramount heritage connections.

One thing that has increased over the years is the "internet factor" of cachet. Old Bridgestone and early Trek frames for custom builds have particularly benefited from the "buzz" created on internet discussions. (Bridgestones from the followers of Grant Petersen and early Trek because of the hand-made in the USA thing). But those are often frames as parts rather than trying to sell whole bikes.

The market is really soft (and has been for awhile now) for stuff like a Raleigh Super Course or Grand Prix; Dawes Galaxy; Schwinn Super Sports; etc. It's mass-made but decent, mid-market stuff. If you bought in at the height of the road bike or fixed gear era, you're probably taking a loss at today's prices for those kinds of things.

I had a 1970s Grand Prix that was all sorted out - VO fenders, 70's SunTour mech upgrades, Panaracer Pasela Tires, Stronglight cranks, etc. I ended up donating to a local high school bike charity because there was so little interest.

I wouldn't plan to retire on bikes any time soon (or ever). They're fun to ride though.

 

[Jesper]

I wouldn't plan to retire on bikes any time soon (or ever). They're fun to ride though.

Thankfully, my stuff will just be to pay for the ever increasing beer prices when retirement comes. I would still have thousands of dollars of stuff even giving it away at well below present market value. I only bought one bike as an minor investment years ago, sold it for a profit; and now it's back after trading for some stuff I never would have built-up (since I have better examples of same); already had an offer to buy it, but I'll wait a couple years. My investment is in my health.

 

[Real1]

Raleigh Grand Prix and Super Course, while nice bikes in and of themselves were a dime a dozen in the used market. Now, when you get to the Competition /GS, the International and above, the prices have been steadily rising over the last ten yrs.

The International although with a wonderfully nice Campy set, did not have a racing frame. Many of these bikes were stripped of their running gear and put on other bikes. Sad......not sure what Raleigh was thinking at that price range. Wasn't a cheap bike.

Kevin

 

[Jesper]

Raleigh Grand Prix and Super Course, while nice bikes in and of themselves were a dime a dozen in the used market. Now, when you get to the Competition /GS, the International and above, the prices have been steadily rising over the last ten yrs.

The International although with a wonderfully nice Campy set, did not have a racing frame. Many of these bikes were stripped of their running gear and put on other bikes. Sad......not sure what Raleigh was thinking at that price range. Wasn't a cheap bike.

Kevin

I still have a '73 Raleigh Pro languishing in the shadows with original kit on it, but had been painted from what ever the original color was. Are they worth that much? I really do not follow the English bike market too much. Also have a GS in the same way, OE parts (except stem replaced with an adaptor and threadless Specialized stem; now removed) except repaint (poor), and rebadged as a Specialized; why I do not know. I got that one pretty darn cheap so it didn't matter much to me, but would be nice to bring back to a better look.

 

[Real1]

Yes they are, but they want original paint and kit. However as far as kit....the SB

I still have a '73 Raleigh Pro languishing in the shadows with original kit on it, but had been painted from what ever the original color was. Are they worth that much? I really do not follow the English bike market too much. Also have a GS in the same way, OE parts (except stem replaced with an adaptor and threadless Specialized stem; now removed) except repaint (poor), and rebadged as a Specialized; why I do not know. I got that one pretty darn cheap so it didn't matter much to me, but would be nice to bring back to a better look.

Yes, but they want the original paint and kit. As far as the SBDU bikes, they were often bought as fit-to-body frames and then the racers put on their own kits. They vary greatly in pricing UNLESS it was owned by a famous racer/bike team. More steadily valuable were the fit-to-body SBDU bikes complete with kit from Raleigh. There's even a registry for the serial #'s. Most fanboys know where they all are.....not usually a bike 'discovered' under clatter. But you gotta remember, those bikes were raced really HARD and they often had stress cracks in the cranks, frames etc. Wouldn't be my first choice for safely riding today. But the Pro bikes under the SBDU bikes are wonderful if they've had an easy life. Great riding bikes!

The more the GS is original, the more valuable it is. I have an '80 GS in that Ivory Pearl finish(most were black) and it's dead stock except for the seat. I need to completely tear it down, clean it up and tune it. Resurrect instead of restore. I'm going to ride it a lot I hope. Too many yrs on the Schwinn LeTour.....meh.

Kevin

 

[Jesper]

Actually the Pro is a '72 with Hayden lugs if I recall, chrome is excellent; but as you state not original paint and no decals at that. I picked it up for $225 a couple years ago. I confused the year with another bike I have. I think the GS is approx. '78.

 

[Real1]

Ya gotta wonder why it was repainted. Maybe they wanted a color change, maybe there was rust, or maybe they're covering up paint damage. Sometimes if the prep work was bad, you can get back to the original paint. Either way, it's labor-intensive with a potentially dubious outcome.

You didn't get hurt on the Pro, even with a poor repaint.

Kevin