Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - Franklin Frame with Campagnolo Components-What's It Worth?

Hi guys. I had this bike assembled in 1984. It is Franklin frame #F81184. The color was called "salmon" at the time and this was when, if I remember correctly, imron paint first came out for bikes. The components are all Campagnolo. The front wheel is not original, nor is the handlebar tape. The rest is. There are some scratches in the paint as I've been down a few times. It's a fun ride.

Any help regarding the value of this bike is greatly appreciate. Thanks. Tim

Nice bike, but it looks like it's been ridden hard and put away wet. I've seen bikes like that in my area going for as little as $350. I would definitely say that is a floor though.

looks big. needs alot of elbow grease and some polish to shine her up. if I was trying to sell and wanted top dollar I might invest in some new hoods, tape and toestraps.

Thanks for the input. In the 26 years that I have owned the bike, it has been ridden a lot but mechanically maintained. I am surprised at the $350 though as I see starting Franklin frames at $1300. Thanks again.

Thanks for the input. Forgive my lack of knowledge: "hoods"? If your recommendations were taken, what do you feel it would be worth? Also, is it worth contacting Franklin for some "touch up" paint? Thanks again.

Hoods are teh rubber things on the brake levers. Clean up the frame, see how much touch up paint you need. It may not be worth the effort/cost to touch up. If you had this bike custom assembled, see if you can find what tubing it is... that's a pretty major selling point.

New Brake hoods, bar wrap, and any other consumables that currently look crappy would help boost value. certainly removing rust from things like that nut on the calipers would also help.

Thanks re: hoods. Duh! And the tubing info. I had the bike custom made, but do not remember anything regarding tubing. An email to Franklin is in order.

To get top dollar, you should tear it down clean up the parts and reassemble. Are you up to the task?
before & after:
154578
154577

Sure is a nice job you did with your ride. What do you think top dollar would be after tear down, clean up, and reassemble?

It will be hard to nail down a price on this bike. It is a Franklin, so it is custom made and has its own cachet. But it is also well used and a large size. The latter is going to be a limiting factor, as is the color. I follow Franklins (he did the refinish of my Lejeune) cannot say I have seen the high prices you mention. I promise you that you will have better luck contacting him by phone. He is a bit computerphobic. If you want top dollar, you will need to present the bike well and be patient. Even then, I would say $750 would be about it.

I follow Franklins (he did the refinish of my Lejeune) cannot say I have seen the high prices you mention.

I believe he's talking about new prices. The fact that someone is still around making frames seems to impose a fairly severe discount on the prices for their older frames.

I'm not absolutely positive that hoods will return enough to pay for themselves. The reproductions go for $50, I think the only people that are going to buy this know that and are going to be expecting to put some work into the bike anyway.

Good point about ongoing frame fabrication depressing used frame pricing. Nobody has commented about the components. I was told a number of years ago by a bike shop owner that they were as good as anything available at the time. Was I told in error? Thanks...........

Good point about ongoing frame fabrication depressing used frame pricing. Nobody has commented about the components. I was told a number of years ago by a bike shop owner that they were as good as anything available at the time. Was I told in error? Thanks...........

The ensemble is great for the period, and still not bad. It does raise the value. The problem in competing with a new bike is that it is not set up for the current rear wheel spacing. It is big. While a new frame is much more, one can be ordered to measure, this is a used bike. If it happens to fit, good. The large size limits the audience, Franklin for whatever reason was not lucky to garner a Nation wide following, so the money will pursue more well known brands. The $750 value if cleaned up is within reason. Should be worth more, but not now.

There are a number of brands that have not had their time, the bikes are good, but the cache is not there.

For reference, Imron has been around since the 70's at least, I had a bike painted with it in 1975. In recent times the formula has changed to match the VOC standards though.

+1 You do not remember correctly on the paint. Trek used IMRON from the beginning in 1976:

Quote from 1976 Trek Catalog: " DuPont IMRON primer and a minimum of two coats of IMRON metallic polyurethane enamel provide a superb high gloss finish while remaining exceptionally resistant to the type of adverse conditions a bicycle rider might expect."

From what I have seen of various vintage bicycles from that era, Trek paint is just about indestructible.

+1 Current condition and extra large size are both detriments to value.

531 frame?

As is (and in that size), I'd say $350ish. This is a Loek van Mil-sized bike, and since you are in Ft. Myers, I hope you get the reference. You will make more on the bike if you part it and sell it piece by piece (but make sure that the bits are sparkling clean). You should probably ebay the frameset because the market for such tall framesets in any locality is tiny... I think that you might get a good price on the frameset esp. this time of the year. But it has to be clean

Thanks for the update about the Imron paint. I vaguely remember my bike store telling me it was something new. Must have been new for him. Everyone is talking about my Franklin being unusually large. I think it is the angle of my picture. I'm only 6'2", but my girlfriend who is 5'9" rides it comfortably. I understand your part about cleaned up but should the frame be touched up with paint. I would be afraid that particular color was/is susceptible to fading and the paint just make more of a mess. It has been suggested that I part out the bike to maximize value. Thoughts?

What do you think a new Franklin frame with comparable components would sell for now? Thanks for your input. BTW, does anyone know if there is a Franklin riders organization out there?

I remember correctly what the bike shop told me when I had the bike made. He must not have remembered correctly. :) Oh for the internet today to research things. Any exchange comments. Thanks for your input.

What do you think a new Franklin frame with comparable components would sell for now? this is one of those imponderable questions. The Campagnolo Super Record parts you have on there were top of the line when new. A top of the line bike now costs $15000. But since Franklin under-prices their frames, you are no longer keeping up with the top of the line bikes from that perspective. You could probably build a comparable Franklin for $3k-$5k now.

I have a similar bike that would have retailed for about $1500 in 1980. Since my components are in similar condition to yours, I don't think they will go for much, there are still good examples of these parts available in very good to NOS condition.

What you get for this bike has a lot more to do with the vintage market and what fad is in vogue at the time of sale. But its condition is working against you. Sad to say, there are people that buy wonderful bikes like yours and never ride them. And, more happily, there are others that ride them but are obsessive about keeping them up. So yours is at the low end of the condition scale.

Okay, so everyone is commenting the condition of my bike is poor. I concur. So after I strip it down and clean up everything to shining condition, replace the tape, hoods and shoe straps (possibly touch up the paint), what do I have in the way of value to someone who MAY be interested in my bike? BTW, my bike was $1.200 retail in 1984. Thanks again for your input.

The $750 value if cleaned up is within reason. Should be worth more, but not now.


+1

I agree with repechage, as I so often do. The $350 quotes are silly low for a bike that's Super Record equipped, assuming everything cleans up OK.

Thanks for the post. Everything should clean okay, but should I bother with touching up the paint? I've had it down a couple of times. Nothing major, just the usual scrapes.

I have been all over the site looking for a specific thread(s) describing the best way to accomplish this and have found nothing. Any direction? Thanks.........

I have been all over the site looking for a specific thread(s) describing the best way to accomplish this and have found nothing. Any direction? Thanks.........

I for one am not sure what the "this" is to which you are referring. How to clean the bike? How to present it? Paint touch up?

Sorry for the lack of clarity. I was responding to a previous post regarding completely dismantling a bike and giving it a super cleaning for possible sale. Regarding paint touch up, I want to speak to Franklin regarding the particular color of my bike and fading. Thanks for pointing out my omission.

Sorry for the lack of clarity. I was responding to a previous post regarding completely dismantling a bike and giving it a super cleaning for possible sale. Regarding paint touch up, I want to speak to Franklin regarding the particular color of my bike and fading. Thanks for pointing out my omission.

It is pretty straight forward. Disassemble the bike completely. If the paint is not clear coated, then try a bit of rubbing compound to see if it brings the finish back. If the rubbing compound is too much, I recommend Meguiar's scratch remover. Meguiar's is a little less aggressive and can also be used if the paint is clear coated. Unless there are a lot of scratches and dings down to the bare tubing, I would not recommend touch up. No matter how hard you try, the touch ups are going to stand out. To me the scratches are patina. If you feel you must touch up, then fingernail polish offers a wide variety of colors.

Looking at the components, I see a bit of rust. Brake caliper nuts, shifter nuts, pedal caps (maybe just mung) and wheel rim eyelets. Oxalic acid may help, but it is not going to fix it. You can replace said parts, but then you are putting more money into the bike for a small return.

You could well end up putting a lot of time into this and not get back what you think you should. I get the feeling you are wanting max return. If it were me, I would clean up the frame and part it.

Thanks for the information and suggestion to part out the bike. After everything is cleaned up, what do you think the parts are worth? Where's the best place to list the parts, Ebay or the bike forum "for sale" section? You're right, I don't want to start throwing money at this project in the hopes that the value of the bike may increase a little.

There's no way that bike will fit a 130" box so it will be hit with massive oversize shipping charge. Taking that into account you may best off parting it out. Here's my take on this:

1. Old versus new. When the Franklin was new it was top of the line. It not reasonable to compare it to a new Campy Super Record equipted bike because technologies have changed over the years. Any mid level component group from Shimano or Campy will outperfom what you have on the Franklin. A comparable new bike, in my opinion, would be something with Ultegra or Chorus and in the sub-$2000 area. The reality is that a $750 road bike will will shift and stop just as good your Franklin but it will not have the high quality bearing races of the older SR group.

2. As a complete bike you severly handicaped by the frame size. Your probably looking at $125 to $150 to ship it....at least. If its dis-assembled and shipped in 2 boxes your still looking at $125-150. There's no way the frameset will fit in a 108" box and you'll be lucky if you can get a wheelset in a 108" box. (108" is the shipping cutoff. 108" and below is one rate, 109-130 is another, greater then 130 gets a massive surcharge)

3. Parting out may or may not bring the most amount of money but it has its own challenges. SR components in good condition bring good money. Seatpost $75, brakeset $100-125, pedals $50, RD $65, $30 etc. So now you left with the frameset. Whats a BIG used old 70's Franklin worth? Not much. I'd be very surprised if it cracked the $150 mark on Ebay. Lets face, how many have actually heard of a Franklin before clicking this thread? Not many. Howe many people actually seach for 'Franklin' on ebay? Not many. On top of that big sizes hurt value, your frames off the wrong end of the bell curve. Using the SR seatpost as an example: they regularly sell for $100 shipped on ebay in VGC. Are you willing to hand polish it to VGC? If not you'd be lucky to get $50-60 shipped. What size is the post? if its anything other than 27.2 the values going down.

I hope you dont take my comments the wrong way but I'd rather be straight up honest versus beating around the bush.

Thanks for all of the time you put into your post. Many good points that I had not thought of. Almost seems like more trouble than it's worth. I may be better off placing it on my local craigslist and be happy with whatever I can get. I thought Franklin was a better known frame than what you mentioned. My delusional. The shame is I don't ride that bike anymore, even though it is a really pleasure. I also have a Giant and do my riding around the neighborhoods now. Down here in south Florida you don't want to ride on the streets of the main drags because there are too many people with challenged sight, if you know what I mean. Wait, you live in Tampa, so you know exactly what I mean. We do have some really nice paved and protected trails, but be the time I hook up the bike carrier to the car and drive over there, my free riding time is about up.

Thanks again for your info. BTW, do you know if there are any other active Franklin threads on the site?

Active? No. But a google search shows 282 Franklin threads on this forum (not all of them useful, but many of them are).

Most buyers only recognize a handful of brands. Franklin is not one of them. And many collectors that might be looking for a Franklin, are looking for pristine versions, with great original paint and decals, etc. Looks like you got a lot of enjoyment out of that bike. IMHO, that beats having a pristine version that was never used.

There was a time I put a lot of miles on my bike. Unfortunately time, or the lack there of, doesn't allow that luxury any more. I will probably just clean it up and try to sell it locally to someone who has the time to enjoy the bike like I use to. Thanks for your insightful comments.