Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - Fuji Opus

The shop I work part time at has an 84-85 Fuji Opus in the maroon/bronze color. It has some rust bubbles and a little rust on the chrome. The bike is not original, dura ace r/d, 105 f/d, dura ace d/t shifters, Campy NR low flange hubs, Nitto bars, Pearl S stem (100mm or so) tri-color brakes and levers, new Specialized body geometry saddle, color matched fluted seat post, Sugino (I think) Campy NR looking cranks and Mavic clip in pedals. The head mechanic said they have $300 into it mainly because of the crank. He said they had to have it shipped in from Asia and it was ridiculously expensive. I know very little about unique Sugino cranks so I really can't argue w/ him about it. I've never seen one before fwiw. The bike is a 56cm which is on the small end of my range (56-60 depending on bike) but it's pretty cool and rather light.

So here's where I'm at, A) is it worth the $300 they are asking? B) is it worth more parted out? C) I could use a lot of the parts on other bikes (wheels, brakes, d/rs etc) but don't want to lose my shirt on this thing, so what is the frame/fork worth?

I usually don't try to attempt to get pricing info from here but I am out of my knowledge zone, please help!

First, I don't have pictures, yet. I will Monday

Second, when/if I get it, there will be a separate sale ad in the marketplace.

Thanks!

The only Sugino Campy clone I can think of is the Mighty Competition, but I don't think you'd recoup your money on that alone. Of course, I can understand that if it was special ordered NOS at the time from Japan, it's reasonable to assume the cost is legitimate...but I hope it was the customer not the shop making the call on that! Then again, maybe it's something super rare. Take some photos and try to ID it.

As for the whole enchilada, it always has been and always will be about condition. My guess would be 150-200 on the frame in great shape, but rust devalues any frame significantly. Likewise with the components - the better shape they're in, the better the value.

If the bike was in excellent condition, I'd say 300 would be a solid buy. But it sounds like the condition may be wanting a bit, which in my opinion puts 300 at the high end.

You might ask nlerner about the Opus frame. I sold one to him at a bargain and he flipped it on me! :). It was in great shape however.

Depends how bad the rust is. Frameset could have very little value at all. And what about the condition of the components? Rust will certainly devalue them a lot as well.

+1 $300 without the rust would be a nice buy.

Thanks, pictures will come on Monday morning. The components are in good shape, a little rust on the headset but that would come off w/ OA or vinegar. Stem is perfect, and a 1-2mm scratch on the r/d. Honestly, I want the bike for the brakes, r/d and wheels. Thats about it. If I had some period parts (hmmm I do have some Cyclone and a Superbe Pro d/rs) I might take a chance and try to unload it at T-Town for $300. I don't know yet. $300 is a lot to gamble with.... for me anyway

Well, if the frame isn't too bad, I think you might be able to keep the parts you want and squeeze $300 out of the rest. Maybe. Or close to it. Those Nitto Pearl stems are nice and people like them. Ebay is showing $30-$50 depending on condition, length, and clamp diameter. But they are still available new (though maybe a newer version?). I'd guess you could get maybe $5 for the FD at T-Town, $10-$15 for the bars, unless they are something special, $20 for the shifters maybe, if they work, $10 for the saddle if it's in nice shape, $10 for the seatpost if it's a Leprade, $5 - $10 for the freewheel unless it's something special, $10 for the pedals. And whatever you can get for the crank. What's the BB?

So that's maybe $100-$130 before you factor in cranks and BB and frame.

Oh, the freewheel is Dura Ace. I don't know about the BB.

I had trouble getting rid of my DA freewheels at T-Town. The 6/7 versions. Finally sold one last go-around, for about $20 I think. Could probably sell for more on ebay. Mine were 21T max I think - 26T max will likely sell for more. If it's 26T 6 speed FW, let me know, and I'll buy it.

pictures finally. All of the cable guides have some crust but, this is the worst. All of the rust is surface rust and doesn't have any real pitting. I think the chrome would clean up nicely. The cranks appear to have never been used, just installed.

http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv138/bimmerpnk/FujiOpus012.jpg
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv138/bimmerpnk/FujiOpus011.jpg
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv138/bimmerpnk/FujiOpus010.jpg
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv138/bimmerpnk/FujiOpus009.jpg
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv138/bimmerpnk/FujiOpus007.jpg
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv138/bimmerpnk/FujiOpus006.jpg
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv138/bimmerpnk/FujiOpus004.jpg
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv138/bimmerpnk/FujiOpus003.jpg
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv138/bimmerpnk/FujiOpus002.jpg
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv138/bimmerpnk/FujiOpus001.jpg

Looks like an SR Royale crank. Nice.

I knew there was something special about the crank, just wasn't sure what. Now that pics are up, are they way off with their price?

The frame is not worth much in that state.

Why are they hanging all that stuff off of it?

+1 Frame appears to have very serious rust issues. Not worth that asking price.

+2. Great bike if it didn't have the rust. I wouldn't touch it. Your time is better spent on something else.

The bike came in as a customers "resto" project. The shop has "$300" into it. They told me that the cranks were stupid expensive. Honestly I didn't really want it for myself, I wanted a few components off of it and to pass the rest along. I agree the frame rust sucks. Thanks for the input guys!

Shop needs to get their money back from the original customer.

Looks like the original Sunshine Pro Am hubs with Ukai tubular rims. Those and the seat post alone will help justify the $300 price tag.

Too bad it's so rusty, but add a $100 powder coat and you'd have an incredible riding bike.

Scott

Looks like the original Sunshine Pro Am hubs with Ukai tubular rims. Those and the seat post alone will help justify the $300 price tag.

Those look like clinchers to me, at least in the fork crown closeup.


Too bad it's so rusty, but add a $100 powder coat and you'd have an incredible riding bike.

This is probably true, but I'm hesitant when the rust looks like the inside of a drain pipe.

The rims are Araya clinchers, very nice looking wheelset