Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - 1980`s Specialized Expedition Touring bike

Picked this up at a garage sale this morning. The paint looks very nice , I think it is all original. I will have to measure it but think it is a 54 or 55 cm frame. It has a couple of problems. Rear hub flange is broken , so needs a new rear wheel or at least new hub and there is a dent in the seat tube , behind the water bottle cage , but a water bottle would hide it. So what do you think I can sell it for. Might try craigslist then maybe Ebay. I think it will clean up great.
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc185/jmagruder10/P7011271.jpg

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc185/jmagruder10/P7011272.jpg

That is a really good find. I've been wanting one of those for a while to use as a touring bike. PM sent.

Nice pickup!!!! Those can sell for over $500 with ease. How bad is the dent? I would try to get a similar hub and rebuild the wheel using the stock rim before selling.

With damage, I would avoid eBay. Even if it is fully and completely disclosed, buyers rule on eBay and they can easily back out, and you will be out the shipping cost PLUS damage your eBay rep.

Here is the picture of the dent I think it would be an easy fix and don`t think it would effect the bike in any way. It is right around the water bottle screw hole.Besides this the frame is in great condition.

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc185/jmagruder10/P7021285.jpg
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc185/jmagruder10/P7021286.jpg

that dent does not seem minor to me. minor is like a small indentation less than a cm or two in diameter. That seems pretty large and was enough to crack the paint and probably affect the structural integrity. I don't know much about frame repair.

I am not sure it's an easy fix, depends on the definition of easy. With the bottle brazen right in the middle of it, I would think that repair would be a pita.

I don't bother selling damaged stuff like that on ebay. Seems like if they can return it they will, even if you disclose it first. Sales on C/L are pretty final, as the buyer has the advantage of being able to inspect the bike in person and decide on the spot whether they want it or not.

It's a really cool bike though and I'm sure lots out there would love to have it. I sure would. But that dent will bring down the value some.

Actually given the brazeon in the middle that dent is fairly easy to 95% repair by making a small jig that pulls directly on the brazeon to suck the dent out. Don't have to be a frame-builder. Cant' fully describe how it's done, too much verbiage involved. Just try. But don't try to make it perfect-perfect, because that's when tubing cracks, getting worked too many times.

Actually given the brazeon in the middle that dent is fairly easy to 95% repair by making a small jig that pulls directly on the brazeon to suck the dent out. Don't have to be a frame-builder. Cant' fully describe how it's done, too much verbiage involved. Just try. But don't try to make it perfect-perfect, because that's when tubing cracks, getting worked too many times.
That is exactly what I am planning on doing. Thinking about cutting a hard peice of oak to fit exactly around the tubing,drill a hole in the middle use a long bolt and pull the dent out. I think it will work well.

I've "massaged" dents out of cars in the past with some success. I myself would probably try carefully sliding a greased rod (hardwood pole even) with a rounded end down the seat tube to try to "massage" it out. I would definitely make sure there was some clearance to keep it from getting jammed in there. Too narrow of a diameter and you could crease the seat tube. The "jig" idea could probably follow to align the braze-on, and fine tune the dent removal. That's my idea, which could probably be torn to shreds by a pro frame builder (and a bunch of other guys who might be reading this). Touring bikes are few and far between, and that was a well regarded one.