Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - Giant cadex 980c appraisal

My understanding is that the Cadex was one of the first bikes to utilized carbon fiber tubing, I believe it's a 92. I bought this one to use the very nice 105 group on another bike. You might be able to figure out what model bike it was by the non-matching celeste bar tape that I left on because it is practically new cinelli cork. Hopefully, it's not too distracting. The 105 group includes brake, hubs, F&R D, 7 spd Cass., SIS DT shifters, brake levers, crank & BB. The post, stem, & bars are SR Sakae. The headset appears to be a Tange Vantage. The seat is a little scratched-up San Marco. The rims are rock solid Wolber GTX and tires are a little worn Conti Ultra 2000. It has new Jagwire cable and housing. It shifts great and rides fine. I want to sell it, but really don't know if these bikes have much value. What should I be selling it for?

I have one just like it, although it has a mix of 600 and 105 components. Bought mine for the wheelset that came with it.

I have never figured out what this bike is worth, so I will be interested in hearing what others think.

Interesting with two '92 CF bikes up on the value threads at one time.

Pros:
It's a unique frame, early CF, and there are those, like myself, who like 'em.
It's got decent 105 DT shifting, indexed drivetrain, with a wide range rear.
Condition is good, and appears pretty much a rider without a lot of fuss and investment.

Cons:
Early CF is hard to sell to 95% of the buyers who are in this market. Apprehension exists re: longevity.
Down tube shifting, while attractive to the other 5% above, tends to turn off those not bargain-hunting.

In general, a 7-sp DT shifting indexed bike, in good condition, with $20-$40 required to match up colors and make sure it's ready to ride, will bring $200-$250, with the $250 buyer taking a risk vs. the rest of the market. For $100 more, an entry-level STI bike can be found, and that's the market, simply.

Specifically, there are some who seek out that type of bike, and of those, some will retain the components, some will want to upgrade because they do trust the frame, or are willing to take a chance on it. They just won't pull the trigger in the $300 range.

Myself, given different timing, would be after it, as it fits and I dig the older CF frames. I'm at a point where I upgrade the components almost every time, so the full 105 group doesn't really interest me. Parting it out may be the way to go, but is time-consuming and somewhat of a hassle if you have to ship.

The Cadex, the Specialized Epic, and a couple other early CF bikes are on my list, which is on hold while I stabilize my herd and my bike account. Otherwise, I'd PM you on it, as well as the guy with the CF Paramount....

Not getting much interest in this thread and I'm kinda not surprised. I wasn't a big fan of the early carbon bikes until I rode this one. Just wanted to keep this thread alive a bit longer because I'm a little confused. I just saw the same bike o EB up to $350 plus about $70 shipping with a day to go. Also saw a Specialized Epic of the same vintage I think going for $400, so there seem to be some fans out there still.

Forgot to add- I've decided to rip the celeste bar tape off this weekend and replace with white tape which is the color it originally came with.

I've seen the Epics fetch a hefty price also, more than the Giants even though the Specialized were made by Giant, groups were identical as well. A friend of mine had a Browning C.fiber way earlier. Trek had a couple of aliminum lugged carbon bikes also. The lugged bikes whether Carbon or aluminum bonded-lugged Titanium were early renditions,experimental . I rode a specialized for a spell, it had a 105 crank but some other non-105 components. It road nice.. blip ..blip..blip. Not widespread appeal though, too quirky. I suppose it's unique enough to enjoy yourself.

$300.

Dont look too deep into the longevity issue. Most people aren't aware such a controversy exists. In reality how many of these bonded frames have failed? Not many.

Look at it for what it is, a carbon Giant with 105. In Tampa I can get $275-325 for any high quality fully 105 equipted bike. Giants not considered a high quality bike in theses parts.

$275-300.

$300 is about right. Above that, you can get STI bikes, and the $300-$400 market is not exactly full of experts looking for high-spec bikes, so you won't hold their interest with vintage CF, no matter how pretty or unique.

Just to put a period on this thread, I didn't get any interest in my CL post for $265 and the above photos. So, I changed the bar tape and took some new pics, reposted in the morning and it was sold my the afternoon. I had a lot of interest and probably could have gotten the $300.

Oh well! It was my first bike sale, and it felt pretty good at first, but now I kinda miss the bike.

glad you gave the update ... really.. Good riddens to that thing; take a test ride on a new Giant CF .. just for a comparison, you'll miss it less

My experience this year with Craigs List is that you often have to repost items a few times. I had a bike it took several months to sell (really big frame). But the last time I posted it, I must have every tall rider in the Carolinas interested in it. I could have sold it for much more too.

So my lesson is if your price is fair, just take the ad down and repost a couple of weeks later. You will reach a different audience every time the bike is listed.

Just saw this thread.

I have one. Just dusted it off last year and still riding it in the hills around eastern PA.
not the lightest and much prefer my Orbea Onix. But fun talking about the bike with other riders!