Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - "Parr" custon-built road bike

I picked up this bike today, and I need advice. Seller told me that it was custom built for her in LA in the 1970's by a framebuilder named "Parr." It has been stored in her barn since her return to Wisconsin. It has full Campagnolo components, with the exception of a Huret front deraialleur and some strange Suntour bar-end shifters with Campy grips. The frame is tiny--not for me, I'm 6-1--and I'm planning to sell the bike. With such a small frame, would it be better for me to sell it pieced-out or as a whole bike? Does anyone know anything about this bike-builder from LA named "Parr" or those hybrid bar-end shifters? Is this a collectible bike? I enjoy rebuilding and riding vintage 10-speeds, but this one isn't for me to ride. Thanks so much for your help.http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/rdjohannes/Picture052.jpg

Fred Parr or Freddy Parr. Built in Santa Monica, pretty sure.
He knew what he was doing. While this one has the steep seat tube to get a short top tube he did not slack the head angle to get it, so the bike will steer just fine.

I do not think Fred still builds actively, was attempting to set up a school for bike builders, has a line of brazing products, has had a multitude of URL's

cycledesign I think is a recent one.

Might google Fred Parr. He lurked around the bikelist.org framebuilders list from time to time.

Way back he experimented with oversized downtubes and stuff before it was fashionable.

Collectable? maybe, but the interest will be thin, size is the deal.

Thanks so much for the info. I'm just learning to use the forum. I should have attached some photos.

actually you may find it to be a very easy "flip" since small frames of high quality are hard to find, demand can be limited but intense!
And those aren't "strange" SunTour barcons, they are the best of the ilk...nice bike! I'd keep it complete, but if you like the "sport" you might find more profit in breaking it and selling by the piece.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and advice--I knew I came to the right place! Now that I've had a week to look the bike over, it seems it would take many hours and $$ to make it rideable. (30+ years of storage is a mixed blessing.) I think I'll try the "sport" of piecing it out on ebay.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and advice--I knew I came to the right place! Now that I've had a week to look the bike over, it seems it would take many hours and $$ to make it rideable. (30+ years of storage is a mixed blessing.) I think I'll try the "sport" of piecing it out on ebay.

As someone who would be riding that size bike, I would hate for you to part it out.

But, you would probably make more money that way.

Why would you need to spend hours and money on getting it rideable? It looks acceptable in your photos.

East Hill

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and advice--I knew I came to the right place! Now that I've had a week to look the bike over, it seems it would take many hours and $$ to make it rideable. (30+ years of storage is a mixed blessing.) I think I'll try the "sport" of piecing it out on ebay.

If you do the work yourself, you would be surprised how little $$ it takes to rehab a bike. The big investment is time. My average cost on rehab, which includes all new bearings, cables, tires and tubes, comes in at less than $25. A clean ready to ride decent or better bike will usually garner $100 to $150 more than a project. But of course, depending what value you put on your time, that "profit" quickly evaporates.

As someone who would be riding that size bike, I would hate for you to part it out.

But, you would probably make more money that way.

Why would you need to spend hours and money on getting it rideable? It looks acceptable in your photos.

East Hill

Bike is probably too small, but appeared a too good a deal to pass up... I mean opportunity for profit.

Bike is probably too small, but appeared a too good a deal to pass up... I mean opportunity for profit.

Too small for the OP to ride, but not for a reasonably large number of us here in C & V. So, why part it out when there are indeed small riders looking for a decent to high quality complete bike?

East Hill

Special thanks to everyone who gave me advice last month re the Parr roadbike I picked up. It pieced out very nicely on ebay. My local bike shop (the Fitness Store in Manitowoc, WI) gave me lots of help with the bottom bracket and headset and proper boxes for shipping. I emailed the framebuilder, Freddy Parr, for info re the frame, and we ended up striking a deal for the frame, so it went back to its creator after 30+ years. All in all, a wonderful adventure.

It sounds like - in this case at least - parting the bike out worked well all around. What a happy ending.

Special thanks to everyone who gave me advice last month re the Parr roadbike I picked up. It pieced out very nicely on ebay. My local bike shop (the Fitness Store in Manitowoc, WI) gave me lots of help with the bottom bracket and headset and proper boxes for shipping. I emailed the framebuilder, Freddy Parr, for info re the frame, and we ended up striking a deal for the frame, so it went back to its creator after 30+ years. All in all, a wonderful adventure.

I would like to buy a frame from Fred Parr

it's not clear that he is still building. You should be able to contact him through Cycle Design (http://www.cycledesignusa.com/)

You can find recent emails from Fred Parr on the framebuilders list at google:
http://groups.google.com/group/framebuilders?hl=en

Thank you for the help:)