Classic & Vintage - Are 'Ross' road bikes worth anything?

Somebody left their bike at the park near my house.

It's still in excellent condition even though I broke the brake whilst riding it home.

Should I just re-paint it? Replace the brakes and whatnot?

If I should re-paint it what kind of paint should I use?

I didn't steal it...waited all day and then decided to take it home with me since nobody claimed it. :D

It was probably stolen in the first place. Advise the cops mate, someone is probably missing it.

Pretty indiscriminate thief; stealing a Ross. :D

I suppose the Ross was easier to steal than a new Bianchi. Usually the expensive ones have better locks. Tis easier to break into a shack than a castle.:rolleyes:

Check to see if it's been reported missing or stolen. If no one surfaces after awhile then I guess it's yours. I'd try to see if the owner lost it or had it stolen though. Though it's probably not worth a whole lot, if you fix it up then you have decent and reliable transportation. AND IT DOESN'T USE GAS! That's got to be worth something to everyone now.:D

A very few Ross bikes were "Signature" bicycles, and from what I understand, they are actually quite nice. If it isn't one of these, what you have is a step or two above a Murray, and maybe a half step below an entry-level Schwinn.

USAZorro is right, if it's a Signature series bike (290, 292, 294 or Triad), it's actually a nice bike (I have a 292S and love it). Of course, if it's anything else in the Ross line, it's pretty much a Huffy or Murray. Make sure it's not a stolen bike that was dumped, because if you go ahead and paint it, you may suddenly make yourself look VERRRRY suspicious.

Thanks guys. I just put up a flyer for somebody to claim the bike. If nobody claims it in a week, it's gonna be a fixie. :D

If you call the cops and tell them how you found it and give a serial, they'll run the info. If there is nothing reported, they won't want or take the bike. The thing will become yours. I ended up with an old Schwinn I am sure was stolen and ditched by our laundry room so they could retrieve it later. They said it wasn't reported and therefore they didn't care. After it sat in the laundry room for so long and I couldn't locate an owner, I decided to clean it up.

I tried and it legally and easily became ours.

USAZorro is right, if it's a Signature series bike (290, 292, 294 or Triad), it's actually a nice bike (I have a 292S and love it). Of course, if it's anything else in the Ross line, it's pretty much a Huffy or Murray. Make sure it's not a stolen bike that was dumped, because if you go ahead and paint it, you may suddenly make yourself look VERRRRY suspicious.
Nelsondamus, Attached please find a picture of a Ross 290S. The better Ross road bikes have Ishiwata triple butted tubing. This particular bike is a twelve speed, friction shift with 700C rims. At 28lbs, it is not a light weight but not a heavy bike either.

Just curious for those who may have the bike and be familiar with it. I picked up a 292s in decent shape for $70 last summer. I figured when I saw the shimano parts it musnt be too bad of a bike. I only rode it 2 times last year but have been riding it 2-3 times a week now and liking it more and more. I plan on doing a few traithlons later this year and was wondering if I were to put a few bucks into making it a bit more race friendly what would be the first things. I weighed it and it is right at 27 opounds. I was wondering about getting some carbon forks and new rims. I know it wont ever be a light racer as the frame is heavy but strong which is good for me as I weigh 225#. Just curious, I figure it if I was to buy a newer used bike I would be looking at least $500-700. I dont feel bad putting a few hundred bucks in.

I saw a 70s (?) Ross Eurosport at a local thrift store the other day, but saw the stem shifters and stamped dropouts and lost interest. Didn't look to see how much they wanted for it.

decaboro- As far as upgrading the Ross to be more race-friendly, I'd put that couple hundred dollars towards a newer used bike like you said. If you look around, you could probably get one for less than the $500-$700 you quote, which might get you a brand-new entry level road bike. I've seen 2-5 year old decent road bikes go on craigslist for $300-$400, once in awhile even less. I just sold my 3 year old Giant OCR3 on craigslist for $325. Start looking there and at any LBS in your area that sells used bikes. That way you'd have a bike that's far better for racing for only a little more than upgrading the Ross. Most modern frames can support extra weight, if that's your concern too. You might want to check in the "Clydesdales" forum to see what works for people there.