Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - Why do so many people consider downgrades Upgrades?

Just a interesting value question. On vintage older road bikes why do so many people consider downgrades like Single speed or simple 1x gearing, or ugh strait bars upgrades. I have had some great classic proper road/sport bikes seem almost unsellable while a iffy single speed sold in 3 hrs. Here are some examples with pics OK rebuilt 64 Gintane with rack took a couple of months to sell at the dirt low price of $200.

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc430/zukahn2/Gitane%20531/Gitane%20Finished%202/Larger.jpg

Sorry for the double posting.

Trends.

Why do people pay more for jeans with holes all over them?

Its all about style.

+1 There is a duplicate thread like this with a reply, so everyone should pick one rather than having replies in both. Would be nice if a mod could delete one and combine them or something.

IME, maybe 90% of people buying bikes on C/L really have no knowledge of bikes compared to people like us in this forum. In your other thread you mentioned Wolber rims and 600 hubs. Most people have no idea what those things mean. They buy based on style. Cosmetics sells a bike, mechanical condition is something most people know nothing about. Hence why I always see people riding with flat tires, brakes that don't work, derailer gearing that doesn't work properly, etc. And lots of people think these problems are normal. I have offered to fix serious problems on friends' bikes, but as long as they can still pedal the thing they are content. Very few people that ride bikes fall into the category I would consider "serious cyclists."

I sometimes wonder if the bikes I fix up and sell will sit in someone's garage for another 20-30 years, as many of them had been when I got them.

As hard as it is to accept sometimes, some of the things we want to be worth a lot of money aren't.

Also location.

Presentation.

There's a lot more factors to selling than just

The inefficiency of the market is what makes buying bicycles fun. Don't complain, use your brain.

Let's face it, not many people like the racing drops handlebars. Seriously. They love the lightweight, multi speeds and stylish look.....but they will turn the handlebars up or replace them. Same with "fixies". The young hipster crowd loves the ambiance of the 70's with the gears removed.

Me, I dont get it....but if that's what they like it's fine with me and I'll ride with them anyday, "ka-chuk"ing my way shifting gears. :D

What was the single speed like - and did it also sell for $200? With alloy 27" wheel $200 would be top dollar for that Gintane in my market. It could take over a month to sell. I'd most likely list for $160 and take $150. It wouldn't get more as a single speed, however, and I wouldn't convert it unless there was some issue such as broken or missing parts.

The single speed wasn't great it had a nice frame but with a bad repaint cheap 700c rims and just a cheapo front road brake and chopped bars. But it sold for $200 in only a couple of hours. I was surprised how fast it sold. It road OK but needed a $100 more in parts and labor to make into nice ss/fg or proper road bike.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc430/zukahn2/Fuji%202/DSC00616.jpg

Yes, it's a bit surprising but the good news is $10 - $45 or so for a SS freewheel (and maybe a single chainring crankset) is a cheap fast way to sell a potential problem bike.

I have a fixed gear bike and several geared bikes. The short answer is that single speed or fixed gear isn't just a style preference, there are practical advantages. I have some hills around here; when I have a geared bike I typically downshift and spin up the hill. The more tired I am, the lower the gear and... the slower I go. When riding the FG, I don't have the luxury of doing that and simply hammer up the hill, and much more quickly. It's a different type of riding, and depending on my mood, I'll pick a geared or a FG bike for that ride.

Although a FG bike is simpler in terms of number of moving parts, a FG rider puts high stresses on some components. Since they hammer more instead of spinning, the bottom bracket, pedals, cranks and chain need to be stronger, otherwise they will break more quickly. A FG rear wheel sees drive forces in both directions, which can really put a lot of stress on hubs and spokes, so they need to be a little more stout as well. These heavy duty aspects can require tighter tolerances, heavier gages of material, and therefore cost more.