Bicycle Mechanics - how much do you think this bike is worth?

1968 Schwinn collegate
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/6758/bike2ti0um2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

$50

Try the yacht club set.

They like them because they're heavy enough to make good boat anchors and you don't have to exert yourself with pulling them up, just cut the rope.

Depends on where you live. $50 is about right in a good seller's market.

I see them on Craigslist for $100+ but I'm not too cinvinced that people buy them.

It's definitley not worth more than $50.

$50 sounds like a good maximum - I can imagine buying or selling that for as little as $25.

It could be worth a million bucks depends on the buyer. I run a pack and ship store and somebody sold an old tandem on ebay for 100 dollars and the buyer is willing to pay the 150 some dollar bill to get it there I geus the buyers parents owned one in the same color and they spent their honeymoon on one now I have to figure out how to take it apart.

I see similar bikes on Craig's list around here for $30 to $60 all the time.

I see similar bikes at various thrift shops because their original owners just wanted to get them out of the garage. I think $50 is generous.

so the colegate isnt a very good model? i thinkt hey are pretty nice looking.

so the colegate isnt a very good model? i thinkt hey are pretty nice looking.

Schwinn made TONS of these bikes, on an assembly line, and they were built to last, so quite a few are still on the road. The price you can sell one for has more to do with simple supply and demand (the former is relatively high and the latter relatively low) than the appearance of the bicycle.

so the colegate isnt a very good model? i thinkt hey are pretty nice looking.

It is a far better bike than the typical $50 used bike, but as was said above, there are a lot of them.

Major weaknesses:

1) Heavy

2) Chrome rims are poor at stopping when wet.

If you like friction shifting and you like the bike, it can be worth much more to you. :D

To an earlier generation of riders that were not convinced by marketers that everyone needs to ride a sub-20 pound bike, they were nice bikes.

ive had alto of problesm with it....the caing falls off...spent 120 dolalrs fixing it up...got anew derailer....a new chain...new tires.. and the chain STILL falls off...but im thinking about giving it up..there is a beautiful schwinn "racer" im buying right now...hopefully that will give me more luck.

$30 if it's ready to ride and the shifters work. For $50, I'd expect less rust on the rims, and more of the original decals to be intact.
Previous posters aren't kidding when they say there were millions of those bikes made.

If the immediate $20-$50 isn't an issue, you might consider donating the bike (to a registered non-profit charity) and taking it off your taxes. This frees you from the hassle of the wheedling scammers of CL, and you get some money for it come next year's tax return.

I used to love riding my brothers. Going from my Huffy to the Schwinn was quite a thrill.

If you've already put $120 into it, I say keep it or give it away. In the city I used to live in I knew a guy that was car free and rode one around with a huge basket on the front. It was his sole vehicle and he rode it everywhere. I know he put more miles on it than many of the roadies in spandex, and he almost never did any kind of maintenance to it, despite my suggestions. He got it used, and around ten years of daily use by my friend, and little upkeep, it finally died. I would guesstimate that it had at least 30k miles on it, and probably a lot more.

My point is, they are decent bikes, but not in fashion, and you'll never recoup the money you spent. Why not make somebody's day?

Try adjusting the front derailleur limit screws to keep the chain from falling off. By, the way, Schwinn Collegiate is worth about $5-$10 in this area.

20 bones..CDN

Try adjusting the front derailleur limit screws to keep the chain from falling off. By, the way, Schwinn Collegiate is worth about $5-$10 in this area.

Does it have a front derailer? I can't tell for sure from the photos, but it appears as if it might have a single chainring.

to me $50 assumes everything has been adjusted and is working well, and the tires are new or at least recent. For a bike like that which needs some adjustments and a pair of tires I wouldn't pay more than $10

If the chain keeps falling off, the culprit could be a worn, bent or warped chainring. I guess it could also be a tweaked crank. Either or both can be replaced pretty cheaply on that bike.

If you take off the chain and spin the crank does the chainring seem to cycle in and out? Are any teeth worn out? Either of these would indicate the need to replace the chainring and/or crank.

Does the crank move side to side at all? If so, you may need to adjust or replace the bearings in the bottom bracket.

Does the chain only fall off while in a specific gear on the rear? This could indicate a chainline or tension issue.

Does the chain only fall off when riding over bumps? If so, I would suspect a chain tension issue.

Google +schwinn +collectors +collegiate

The chrome, wheels, saddle and bars on your Collegiate look pretty minty.

But if you get a buyer on Ebay or Craigslist for $50, you should be satisfied.

The most "value" you can get out of a bike like that is to ride it. :) Sorry to hear you've had problems with it, but if you get it straightened out it would make a nice bikepath cruiser, commuter, or grocery getter, if you put some racks or baskets on it. And if you live in a relatively flat area :D........Little Darwin has some nice suggestions above for fixing the chain problem. It might also be a simple derailleur adjustment...........and btw, I'm not sure how you arrived at 1968 for the year model of the bike, but according to Bob Hufford's excellent website on old Schwinns, the Sierra Brown color (which this bike appears to be) wasn't offered on the Collegiate models until 1969. The best way to date a Schwinn of that vintage is with the serial number, check out the serial number info on Bob's site: http://www.geocities.com/sldatabook/serial.html

thanks for all the help everyone! i think the bike is just doomed...i got a new chain and derailer(the new derailer is really ugly..and blakc, a nd fancey-new. i doens tlook good at all. the chain falls off anytime if feels like it..thats the big problem is that its impossible to tell when it will happen, also if you try to back pedal, the peadals fly back in the other direction, like if your back pedaling, your winding it up. i bourght it in for a tuneup, and they said everything was fine...everythig isnt fine!!!!! ill probably keep it as a project bike for years to come..but as of now, im just trying to find a nice old schwinn (60s-early 70s) that has a nice light, 3 gears, ect...im looking at a schwinn racer, and a schwinn traveler.. i just hope i wint the bid! thanks again everyone.

Are you sure to only shift while pedalling? Derailleur equipped bikes can only shift while pedaling and if your shift isn't completed yet when you try to backpedal it may resist as you indicate.

yah..i always shift right. if you are on a flat surface, riding perfect, not shifting at all, it falls off too. it falls of when you stop at a stop light, when you are riding up hills, when you arrnt evern pedelaing at all going downhill. it just loves to fall off!

It's worth whatever somebody'll pay you for it.

yah..i always shift right. if you are on a flat surface, riding perfect, not shifting at all, it falls off too. it falls of when you stop at a stop light, when you are riding up hills, when you arrnt evern pedelaing at all going downhill. it just loves to fall off!

you're really making the case for why this bike is worth LOTS of money ;)

hehe yah...i call it the rebilous teen..and well, im not a good parent ;)