Classic & Vintage - early 1970s Coventry Eagle

a long long time ago (35 years to be exact) I rode an orange Coventry Eagle 10 spd. It was a beautiful bike (Reynold 531, gorgeous lug work, campy derailleurs). I named the bike Pal -- not original but we were Pals and went everywhere together. I used to carry that bike on my shoulder up the stairs to my third floor room every evening.

I got older, fatter, slower, and moved many times but was never able to part with my old bike. Lately I've given myself some stern lectures about hanging on to stuff that I can't or don't use and I have decided to sell the old Coventry Eagle.

Would it be silly to ask $25 for him? I don't want to be one of those people you hear about who sells an old (Rembrandt) painting in their attic for $5, but I also don't want to confuse the sentimental value to me with Pal's actual cash value. I don't think the bike cost that much - a few hundred dollars 35 yrs ago. As I recall, I paid $5 a week until I paid it off.

Anyone have any ideas? Should I just give Pal to a good home? Maybe it would be enough to just point out to whoever buys the bike, how beautiful some of the work is.

If Pal is 56cm, I can promise to love it!

:D

However, Pal is worth more than $25... You won't get rich, but if he's in good shape, I wouldn't be surprised if he's worth a couple of hundred.

I've got a friend in the DC area who has one also. He might be interested. PM me if you want to contact him.

I'd never sell a bike I loved for $25. I'd either give it away to someone who deserves it and would take care of it, or try to sell it for a decent price, at least dinner and a movie for my wife and I.

For the record, a coventry eagle is on my short short list of bikes I'd looove to own. It's the headbadge.

The actual worth of the bike, with 531 frame materials and depending on what components (parts) are on it, will probably be somewhere above $100. And with the Campy deraillers, maybe much more, as certain of these can fetch a lot just by themselves. Since you are in Wash. DC, putting it on Craigslist with good pics and careful description could net you a good amount, I would start at $200 and see what happended.

What size? I had an orange Coventry Eagle too, although not 531/Campy (indeed, it was gaspipe/simplex), followed by a high end roadie of theirs which got stolen. Would love to see pics, and would almost be tempted to buy it from you, if it weren't for the shipping costs.