Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - sears ten speed racer

i got a baby blue sears ten speed racer bike from a thrift store and the frame is made in Germany and the sears sticker says its made in Austria it has some type of silver alloy crank on it and its more than half the weight of my Schwinn varsity thats about the same age does anyone know anything about these bikes and how much there worth when they were made or anything?

Hmmm...curious, why do you say the frame is made in Germany if the sticker says made in Austria? Anyway, Sears did sell some decent Austrian made Free Spirits with frames of straight gauge Reynolds 531 tubing as their top of the line model for a few years. Search the C&V forum for Sears Free Spirit and Austria and you'll find a fair amount of information. There not worth a whole lot but nice bikes non the less.

I bought a girls version of the a Free Spirit two or three weeks ago.
The idea was to try and get it back in shape for either my wife or daughter.
If you like I can take some pictures as the bike is complete.
As for value. Mine was $10.
This one is very heavy. I think the wheels are steel along with everything on the bike.

Hmmm...curious, why do you say the frame is made in Germany if the sticker says made in Austria? Anyway, Sears did sell some decent Austrian made Free Spirits with frames of straight gauge Reynolds 531 tubing as their top of the line model for a few years. Search the C&V forum for Sears Free Spirit and Austria and you'll find a fair amount of information. There not worth a whole lot but nice bikes non the less.

I had an AMF that was similar to the Sears bikes. It had a flat plate brake bridge that was stamped "ESGE" and "Made in W. Germany", but the decal on the head tube said "Made in Austria". I assume that only the brake bridge and maybe some other parts were made in Germany.

The better Sears bikes were made by Austro-Daimler-Puch. Depending on what you wanted to spend, you could get a pretty nice bike, with lightweight frame and alloy wheels. There used to be some old catalog scans on the web, but Sears shut them down for copywrite infraction. If you write to Sears Archives, they may answer your question. http://www.searsarchives.com/

IMHO The Sears bikes and Sears FreeSpirits I've come across have been decent quaity bikes. None of the ones I've had were their top of the line, but they were good, entry level bikes. I'd rank them much higher than the "department" store bikes of the same era. They're probably at the same level as the 70s and 80s Ross bikes that get quite a bit of attention on this forum. Sounds like the OP got a better level bike at a thrift store price. Nice!
But Pics of the bike would really top off this thread.

http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss109/barnesej/FreeSpirit007.jpg
This is the Free Spirit that I found.
If my Daughter won't ride it, maybe some kid in the neighborhood would like to have a retro ride.
What a tank! 27Lbs. Steel wheels, crank arms, chain rings, cogs... All of it is steel.
Original tires. The break hooss are perished, Foam on the handle bars? Cables have seized.
Wheels are smooth and true. Paint is good too.
Must have been in a basement or garage.
http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss109/barnesej/FreeSpirit011.jpg

What a tank! 27Lbs. Steel wheels, crank arms, chain rings, cogs... All of it is steel.

Actually 27-bs is pretty light for a Sears Free Spirit. Must have been one of their better models or maybe just a later period. Judging by the leaves on the head tube insignia I'd guess it was a Canadian market model. Mine felt more like it was made of cast iron with steel rims and handle bars and that awful one piece Ashtabula crank. Probably weighed more like 37-lbs. It was way heavier than a typical entry level French or Italian bike of the time and they weighed around 27-lbs.

IMHO The Sears bikes and Sears FreeSpirits I've come across have been decent quaity bikes.

You must not have run come across my old one then. I'm pretty sure it rolled right off the Huffy or Murray assembly line. :D

Bought raw in need of restoration, these are $10 bikes. With a little fixing up and cleaning up, they can go for $100 or more on Craiglist, but then again, only if you find the right buyer.

I've got a 1970-ish Sears bike with ladies frame that I'm fixing up. It is unique in that it has a single chain ring in the front, a 5-speed Shimano Lark derailleur in the rear, and inside that, another 2-speed internal gearbox that shifts automatically at a speed that can be changed before your start riding by rotating the spoke protector. The bike is in great shape except that the rear axle is stripped, and the bike needs a general cleanup. I'm pretty sure it's one of those "Made In Austria" bikes although the headbadge is missing.