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06-30-06, 11:35 AM
Ok, one more question for the all knowing vintage bike guys.
My wife recently volunteered my services to help a recently widowed friend of hers dispose of some bikes she inherited from her husband. One is a real oddball(from my point of view) trike WizWheelz Sport 2006, and one is a pretty nice Dean Titanium framed MTB which was extremely light in its day(about 21.5 lbs).Unfortunately, judging from the 24 speeds , its day was maybe 1999-2000. Even more unfortunately, the Dean bike took a 3 week bath last September(I'm in New Orleans).The owner-deceased-cleaned it up,and the bearings are smooth(not sure why, but I am curious about that-the BB and HS are nice and smooth?-WHY?)), but 3 weeks underwater is a HUGE NEGATIVE-good thing it is mainly Titanium,plastic,aluminum,carbon fiber. Well, these two have literally taken up residence in our living room while being prepped for Ebay. For once my wife can't beef about my bikes, since this one is her doing(gotta admit,I am getting a kick out of that oddball trike, and the Dean has been set up with 1.4" slicks, so it is another street/go anywhere bike to play with.
I called the widow today to pour some cold water on her hopes" we paid $2600 just 5 months ago", and to get her to understand that a 6-7 year old bike just isn't worth a lot, especially after 3 weeks submerged, despite the original cost of a zillion $$. Everyone here who has been asked by a friend"how much is my super duper, extremely rare,very collectible Killer 5000 worth" knows this story.
She took the news pretty well. However, she mentioned she has to select( her inlaws are involved in the estate) a couple of more bikes, and she was wondering about the Graftek bike-or frame- that is left.
I remember these frames as the 1st carbon fiber frames.They came out about 1976-77 and sold for about $500-$600 as bare frames.A really high quality steel frame was about $300-$450 then, so they were pricy. Is there any collector interest in this sort of frame? Assuming it is in decent shape, what should it-bare frame- sell for-$200-$1000?
Sorry to take up so much space with such a cold inquiry. I still ride, but I've had to get rid of my vintage stuff because my neck, back and knees couldn't take the pounding from skinny tires,and no suspension.
No,I'm not trying to sell you guys this stuff.No offense, but you're a very frugal bunch.Ebay-if you don't mind the scammers, whiners, and chiselers,and lint pickers("it has a scratch, you said it was in good shape"-no kidding, it is THIRTY YEARS OLD) is the way to go. Thanks,Charlie
My wife recently volunteered my services to help a recently widowed friend of hers dispose of some bikes she inherited from her husband. One is a real oddball(from my point of view) trike WizWheelz Sport 2006, and one is a pretty nice Dean Titanium framed MTB which was extremely light in its day(about 21.5 lbs).Unfortunately, judging from the 24 speeds , its day was maybe 1999-2000. Even more unfortunately, the Dean bike took a 3 week bath last September(I'm in New Orleans).The owner-deceased-cleaned it up,and the bearings are smooth(not sure why, but I am curious about that-the BB and HS are nice and smooth?-WHY?)), but 3 weeks underwater is a HUGE NEGATIVE-good thing it is mainly Titanium,plastic,aluminum,carbon fiber. Well, these two have literally taken up residence in our living room while being prepped for Ebay. For once my wife can't beef about my bikes, since this one is her doing(gotta admit,I am getting a kick out of that oddball trike, and the Dean has been set up with 1.4" slicks, so it is another street/go anywhere bike to play with.
I called the widow today to pour some cold water on her hopes" we paid $2600 just 5 months ago", and to get her to understand that a 6-7 year old bike just isn't worth a lot, especially after 3 weeks submerged, despite the original cost of a zillion $$. Everyone here who has been asked by a friend"how much is my super duper, extremely rare,very collectible Killer 5000 worth" knows this story.
She took the news pretty well. However, she mentioned she has to select( her inlaws are involved in the estate) a couple of more bikes, and she was wondering about the Graftek bike-or frame- that is left.
I remember these frames as the 1st carbon fiber frames.They came out about 1976-77 and sold for about $500-$600 as bare frames.A really high quality steel frame was about $300-$450 then, so they were pricy. Is there any collector interest in this sort of frame? Assuming it is in decent shape, what should it-bare frame- sell for-$200-$1000?
Sorry to take up so much space with such a cold inquiry. I still ride, but I've had to get rid of my vintage stuff because my neck, back and knees couldn't take the pounding from skinny tires,and no suspension.
No,I'm not trying to sell you guys this stuff.No offense, but you're a very frugal bunch.Ebay-if you don't mind the scammers, whiners, and chiselers,and lint pickers("it has a scratch, you said it was in good shape"-no kidding, it is THIRTY YEARS OLD) is the way to go. Thanks,Charlie