Classic & Vintage - Eric Claptons bicycle on ebay...

I am tempted to put my Condor up on e-bay and I came across this bike. Anybody care to comment on this machine and its history. Did Clapton really special order a Condor and never ride it? The bike certainly looks beautiful.

Is this (http://cgi.ebay.com/FOUND-The-missing-ERIC-CLAPTON-CONDOR-bicycle-RARE_W0QQitemZ220176319189QQihZ012QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) the link?

Well, Eric Clapton did take delivery of a custom built Cinelli, so why not a Condor too?

However, some of the claims in the Ebay posting do not appear to add up. I remember the bicycle on Richard's Bicycle Book and from what I recall, it was similar to this one, but not identical. The Richard's Condor used bar end shifters with brazed-on cable stops on the down tube. It also used cable stops on the top tube and if I recall correctly, the head tube was orange, not red. It also had a prominently displayed Reynolds sticker on the top of the seat tube, which this does not.

I won't be able to verify the above until next week, at which time I can access and post the book pic. Hopefully another member has another copy and can verify my recollection. I'm reluctant to call this a scam, but it isn't what I remember.

Personally, I'm waiting for the auction of Eddie Merckx's guitar.

I would call bogus on this one. I don't doubt that this seller bought the bike back in the 70's but I bet He put the Eric Clapton on the TT because he knew that Clapton had one. No measurements but it has bids already, from who? I doubt it would be from Clapton fans because even the seller says that Clapton never actually owned it. Weird.

The BEST method of payment would be a cashiers check from Wells Fargo bank

sure lights up my red warning indicator. . .

Beautiful machine, regardless of possible past ownership.

-Kurt

Nice looking bike, love the paint, but who knows...

http://www.trevesbluesband.com/images/gallery/clapton88.jpg

http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/designs/hs-condor.html

There is a very distinky odor emanating from this auction. I emailed the seller and asked why he would only prove his claims re the Condor's lineage to the winning bidder. His muddled response was that he didn't want scammers to obtain key items about the Condor and couldn't figure out how to post a scanned picture of the book cover. Perhaps I'm over reacting as the seller has excellent feedback. One final thought: Seller had this Condor for how many years before he decided to investigate its history?

John Voight's LeBaron?

sure lights up my red warning indicator. . .

Yeah, who would want a check from Wells Fargo after the bad home equity loan hit they just took.

Can somebody help me? I'm trying to write Winston Churchill's name on a vintage English 3-speed. Is it one L or two?

John Voight's LeBaron?

Maybe if we can get Clapton to bite this pencil...



:)

Maybe if we can get Clapton to bite this pencil...



:)

YES!

And then figure out a way to get him to race an alleycat on this bike and get a lip reading girl to see what he is saying as rides by....

I have an old raleigh that my friend pete townsend rode for a long time.

Surely CONDOR cycles must have been quoted a frame number in order for them to positively identify the bike?

Surely CONDOR cycles must have been quoted a frame number in order for them to positively identify the bike?

Seller states that Condor has verified lineage of bike as having been made for Eric. However seller will not furnish copies of emails to prospective bidders, only to winning bidder. He will not post serial no. either for verification. Go figure!

Seller states that Condor has verified lineage of bike as having been made for Eric. However seller will not furnish copies of emails to prospective bidders, only to winning bidder. He will not post serial no. either for verification. Go figure!


If I was even remotely interested in the bike then I would email them for verification?

They must be aware of the auction by now..

info@condorcycles.com

Can I interest you folks in a Tour-winning Eddy Merekx frameset? Signed by Eddy.








That's right - signed by Eddy's Bike Shop...but who cares?

;)

-Kurt

Who are Eddie Merckx and Eddy Merekx ?

More pieces to the puzzle of the Clapton Condor...

From the News Tribune in Tacoma, WA - July 2007:

http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/oped/2007/07/15/


Cycling the bridge
...(state Transportation Secretary) MacDonald started off the festivities with a story about his classic pink English Condor road bike, which he hoisted over his head to demonstrate its lightness. Bought the bike in 1978 in London, he said. He found out later that only two pink copies of that bike were made; Eric Clapton owned the other one.

http://blogmedia.thenewstribune.com/media/users/cheryltucker/doug-1.jpg



If this is true, then the 2 Condors ordered by Clapton are not identical, and the one presumably in his possession is pink.

Haven't been able to find any other photos...yet...

Oh Boy! I would be very very leery of this one. The fact that they won't take Paypal means that something shady is going on. Look at those lugs, and all the Campy goodies, and only 500 miles on it. All meant to give an old roady a hard-on and jump on it right away. It's all BS for sure.

Oh, and of course his ID and bid history are all private. Imagine that.

More pieces to the puzzle of the Clapton Condor...

From the News Tribune in Tacoma, WA - July 2007:

http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/oped/2007/07/15/



If this is true, then the 2 Condors ordered by Clapton are not identical, and the one presumably in his possession is pink.

Haven't been able to find any other photos...yet...

Eric Clapton on a pink Condor? Perhaps Elton John, but not Eric

This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode, where George buys a LeBaron convertible because it was "once owned by Jon Voight". The car burns up a couple of episodes later... :roflmao:
See post #10 in this thread.

Well it's a really nice bike, and worth looking at as just that. But if Eric Clapton never took delivery of it, it's not really Eric Clapton's bike. And even if it was, who cares? I could see wanting to own a bike owned and ridden by a great professional racer, but not a rock musican. What's the correlation? The R&R lifestyle in the 60's and 70's would hardly fit into the world of cycling.

The seller appears to be a toy and memerobila collector (nice ez-bake oven there, sport!). He probably bought it for the Clapton spiel and never rode it. If he knew anything about bikes I doubt he would have chosen Sake bars for it. Anyway, I'm sure he has a crazy reserve price on it. Maybe some crap hole like the Hard Rock cafe will buy it. I really can't see the attraction to a hardcore vintage cycling fan.

Personally, I'm waiting for the auction of Eddie Merckx's guitar.

Some people actually believe that he got his nickname "The Cannibal" because of his racing success. In reality it was the band he was in when he was in his teens - "Eddy and the Cannibals".


"Eddy! Get me a beer. The beer is in the cooler."
Back in the days of horizontal lettering on wool shorts.

Well it's a really nice bike, and worth looking at as just that. But if Eric Clapton never took delivery of it, it's not really Eric Clapton's bike. And even if it was, who cares? I could see wanting to own a bike owned and ridden by a great professional racer, but not a rock musican. What's the correlation? The R&R lifestyle in the 60's and 70's would hardly fit into the world of cycling.

The seller appears to be a toy and memerobila collector (nice ez-bake oven there, sport!). He probably bought it for the Clapton spiel and never rode it. If he knew anything about bikes I doubt he would have chosen Sake bars for it. Anyway, I'm sure he has a crazy reserve price on it. Maybe some crap hole like the Hard Rock cafe will buy it. I really can't see the attraction to a hardcore vintage cycling fan.

well, it does add some historical importance, and Eric was a junior racer before he realized that he would make a little more money from his second choice of careers...It really would add value, i'm sure.

I believe Eric Clapton also collects bicycles, perhaps some of the CR list folk know more?

In any case, the bike is pretty cool, though I don't agree with the seller's way of handling an auction.

Transparency is as good in an auction as it is in government. You won't find either lately, looking at eBay or the USA, IMO.

In any case, the bike is pretty cool...

Yep. The lugs are consistent with WB Hurlow's craftsmanship, too. From what I've read he built frames for Condor until 1968. Think he did special orders for them after that time period?

Supposedly this is his track bike.

http://blog.honeyee.com/eric/archives/images/DSCN1070a.jpg

/\ i would guess it is, its on his blog as being his

If Eric didn't take delivery, but perhaps just maybe he paid for it, and he could claim this ebay bike as his....????

hey, eric clapton didn't own any of my bikes either!

Bill of Sale from Condor (posted by Don Gillies to the CR list ... was emailed to him by the seller)

http://www.ece.ubc.ca/~gillies/000_0002.jpg

Bob

As for the pink bike, I think it's a different bike completely.
reread what the bridge guy said. Condor said they only sold 2 of this colour
and EC bought the other one. Doesn't mean its the EC model.
given that EC does indeed collect bikes as well as guitars it is conceivable
that he has more than one Condor?

marty

Bill of Sale from Condor (posted by Don Gillies to the CR list ... was emailed to him by the seller)Bob
100 Pounds Sterling for a custom frame in 1975 seems pretty reasonable. As a point of reference, the Schwinn Paramount was retailing at $575 then.

Regards,
Alan

This is off the subject a little bit but I think you will like the story. I was friends with Rod Serling for many years and I went to his summer home at Interlaken NY on Lake Cayuga on business at least one a month during the sumer months during the 60's. He new I was bike rider and raced at one time. He was closing up the lake house for the winter and going back home and he gave me his bike a 10 speed ????? I can't remember what it was. It had flat tires and he didn't want to leave it there and he had not ridden it in many years. Rod was a very short person at least 4 inched shorter than myself. I have very long legs and he had short legs so the bike never came close to fitting me. My kids rode it,my friends rode it and I left it in the barn that went with my house when I sold it in 1972 at Port Crane NY. What do you think? Did I loose a treasure? Na it was not anything special as even then I new a good bike from entry level bike. I also new Carl Sagan when he was at Cornell in Ithaca NY and I saw a bike in his office so he must have ridden around campus. Parking at Cornell was impossible and even faculty used bike to get around the campus. I made a $100 bet with Carl that I could fly a model aircraft in side his lab at Clark Hall. I did it and still have the plane. I should have taken his bike instead of the $100.
EddyR

More pieces to the puzzle of the Clapton Condor...

http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/oped/2007/07/15/




Now that was a factual article......I wonder if Cheryl Crow knew that she had married both Eric and Lance????


quote from the article:

"Eric Clapton's wife for a while was singer Sheryl Crow. Crow later moved on to wed Lance Armstrong. The point, which all cyclists present acknowledged with proper awe, was that "only three degrees of separation" lie between Doug MacDonald and Lance Armstrong."

Now that was a factual article......I wonder if Cheryl Crow knew that she had married both Eric and Lance????


quote from the article:

"Eric Clapton's wife for a while was singer Sheryl Crow. Crow later moved on to wed Lance Armstrong. The point, which all cyclists present acknowledged with proper awe, was that "only three degrees of separation" lie between Doug MacDonald and Lance Armstrong."

She did date Eric Clapton for a bit.

Less than three hours remaining and Eric's Condor is at $2275. Reserve not met.

I'm thinking it isn't a bike made for Clapton, just a bike painted the same scheme. That would explain the original bill of sale.

I'm thinking it isn't a bike made for Clapton, just a bike painted the same scheme. That would explain the original bill of sale.

Yeah, I'm thinking he probably ordered one, and while they were building it they made another, and later just sold off the frame. The only thing the receipt really says its a Condor with Eric Clapton lettered on it. Now, if they had an original build order for 2 frames...

Yeah, I'm thinking he probably ordered one, and while they were building it they made another, and later just sold off the frame. The only thing the receipt really says its a Condor with Eric Clapton lettered on it. Now, if they had an original build order for 2 frames...dbakl, We agree on something!

See, we can all get along just fine.

About 30 minutes left and the Condor is soaring! $3K!! Anyone think there could be a shill?

No joytyme for toytyme! Reserve not met.

Reserve $3k and no one wanted to make the next bid?

Well, seller is probably kicking himself. That was a good amount of money for that bike, but didn't meet reserve. I bet if relisted it doesn't go as high.

Well, seller is probably kicking himself. That was a good amount of money for that bike, but didn't meet reserve. I bet if relisted it doesn't go as high.

I think he'll probably sell it off ebay now, maybe to one of the bidders.

Well, seller is probably kicking himself. That was a good amount of money for that bike, but didn't meet reserve. I bet if relisted it doesn't go as high.Dang, we agree again!

Personally, I don't bid on a bike with a reserve, unless the seller is willing to disclose it. I can understand not wanting to sell a nice piece short, but...?

The market sets the price, and the market has spoken!

edit: should have been open to Europe/Japan, especially with the state of the dollar.