Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - 1980s Ritchey mountain bike, handmade by Tom Ritchey

Hi, everyone--

I have a Ritchey mountain bike that was customized and handmade by Ritchey in the mid-1980s with the following features:

-The frame, fork and handlebars were handmade by Tom Ritchey
-Original Shimano thumb shifters
-Shimano cranks
-Shimano headset
-Suntour peddles
-Magura brake levers

Condition:
-It's been lightly ridden over the years, and has a few nicks here and there, but is in excellent shape overall
-Original red paint
-The ride is very true and smooth to this day

Ultimately, I am thinking about selling the bike. Does anyone have a sense of whether people are interested in these models? And if so, what sort of valuation I can expect.

Thanks in advance for any help.

You need to ask that in the "Vintage Value Inquiries" at the top of the C&V page..

But before you do that... PICTURES PICTURES PLEASE!!

And no, they are not sought after and are junky old bikes. Please send me your address and I'll get it out of the way for you :D

Seriously, if it's hand-fillet brazed, that is a very good thing... TIG welded, not as good, but good...

You may have a model name on the top tube...?

I'll post pictures tomorrow.
Is proper Bike Forums protocol to repost in the right place, or just leave it be to avoid cluttering the boards?
Thanks!

I'll post pictures tomorrow.
Is proper Bike Forums protocol to repost in the right place, or just leave it be to avoid cluttering the boards?
Thanks!

If I were you I'd start a new thread (with pics) in value inquiries.

I'm not a mountain bike expert but I think you own a desirable bike.

this website has some historical Ritchey models for your reference:

http://mombat.org/Bike_Listing.htm

If I were you I'd start a new thread (with pics) in value inquiries.

Don't - just post a mod "alert" and ask for it to be put into the other forum. Will be done in less then a day, if not within a few hours.

-Kurt

Yes, please report move requests to us instead of re-posting in a new forum. I'm moving this now (from Classic & Vintage).

--Juha, a Forum Mod

Yes, pics are a must have. Besides the obvious fillet-brazed vs. TIG I.D., there may be a decal on the seat tube that would state either "Handmade by Tom Ritchey" (he built the entire frame) or "Handcrafted by Ritchey Mountain Bikes" (built overseas and possibly finished by Tom -- most likely fillet-brazing the seat cluster). Lots of info here:

http://www.oldmountainbikes.com

Bob

Here are some pictures I took today. Let me know if there are other angles that folks would like to see.
Thanks for moving the thread to its proper place, and thanks for the links to other mountain biking pages.
You'll see in the middle picture that the bike was "Handmade by Tom Ritchey"

Dude, you should hang onto it unless it doesn't fit you... if you must, find a high end bike shop in your area and put it on consignment...

Look for the serial number on the bottom of the bottom bracket... oldmountainbikes.com will tell you how to read the number which will tell you when it was made, what type of frame and model... they also list photos of different models...


Here are some pictures I took today. Let me know if there are other angles that folks would like to see.
Thanks for moving the thread to its proper place, and thanks for the links to other mountain biking pages.
You'll see in the middle picture that the bike was "Handmade by Tom Ritchey"

Fantastic looking bike!