bakes1

I am seriously considering buying a 1999 Lemond Zurich steel road bike.
It has been meticulously maintained and is being sold by the original owner with all original components.
The seller is asking for more but I am hoping to get it for $700. Original selling price in 1999 was $1,899.
I believe I may be over paying a bit but as the bike is the right size and fairly local to me I don't mind as it is exactly the type of bike I have been searching for the past few months. Plus I have spoken to the seller a few times now and he seems to be a really cool ex-biker who simply retired from the sport due to age.
I would appreciate any feedback on value(in case I am way off)and also the bike itself.
Any known issues, popular upgrades, etc...
Thanks in advance!

romperrr 

Pictures or at least a model name would help. $700 seems high, but if its exactly what you're looking for...

Tim_Iowa

The bicycle blue book says $400-450. That is by no means an authoritative resource, but lots of folks pay attention to it and won't pay much more than it says.

Sold listings on eBay go from $400-900, so $700 would be a fair, but high price if it's in excellent shape. "All original" only matters if the parts are in like-new condition.

Of course, you can pay whatever price you like for a bike that works well for you (you're investing in yourself, not the item).
But, these prices come into play if you ever want to sell the bike (you're investing in the item).

Regarding the bike itself, it has a very nice 853 steel frame, so it should ride pretty well. Ultegra 6500 is good, solid componentry.
Note that the '99 Zurich has a 1" threaded headset, compared to the more modern 1.125" threadless headset. This isn't specifically a drawback, but it limits your fork replacement and stem choices.

This bike is old enough that its value is low to modern roadies (it's two generations behind, by speed count).
But, it's not old enough to be of much value to retro-fans or collectors.
That puts it in the "rider" category, where it's an excellent option. So, if it rides well for you then it's probably worth the price. If it doesn't ride well for you, then pass it by.

The seller sounds like an interesting guy, but if he's "retired from the sport" then he may not realize how much has changed in the 16 years since his bike was new, and may have an unrealistic value attached to his loved machine.

bakes1

Thanks for the very solid input!
I believe you are spot on about the perceived value also. This bike definitely has extra value to him as I believe it was one of only two bikes he ever rode and he kept it in pristine condition. He certainly loved this bike.
I plan on making it my daily rider btw.

bakes1

A couple pics of the bike

D1andonlyDman

My take is, the frame is worth $300 or so but the 16 year-old components are not worth $400 in good shape unless they are flawless, and exactly what you would put on it if left to your own choices. I've seen a couple of the 853 Zurich frames in the $250-350 range around here, and at one time I almost bought one, except that I had JUST bought my Paramount Series 7 frame to build up at the time, so I passed. If you wouldn't feel the need to change any of the components, and the consumables are in top shape, I could see it, but it's at the high end of reasonable. I think the full bike is worth something in the $500s, unless it's absolutely pristine.

jyl

Kind of high on the price, but the more smiling miles you put on the bike, the less that matters.

DMC707

I've been known to pay a little more for something i really wanted than maybe i should have. With older stuff, there's no guarantee you'll be able to find another one in similar condition anytime soon.

I also prefer not to look at what a bike's price was in 1999, but rather what an equivalent machine would cost now. An 853 steel frame with full Ultegra would be 3k now (probably more expensive than a carbon bike)

D1andonlyDman

My only point was, those LeMonde 853 frames are desireable, but they're out there. I've come across two of them in my size in the past 4-6 months here in San Diego. And given that, unless the bike was already equipped pretty much the way I wanted it, I'd rather buy the frame alone for it's fair market value, and get exactly the component group I wanted on it, rather than over-paying for the whole bike.

bakes1

Just got a correction on the size and think it won't work for me anymore

bobdenver1961

If it is the bike you want go for it. I just overpaid for a Eddy Merckx because I got tired of looking. Finding a nice condition old bike that is your size is never easy. You could always sell the older groupset on ebay and upgrade if you wanted.

Dave Mayer

I bought a Lemond Poprad a couple of years ago. Circa 2005. 853 frame with a 1 1/8" threadless stem setup. Campy Chorus carbon gruppo. Paid 750 Canadian Pesos.

Great bike - now one of my favorites. A big downside was that the left pedal was stuck solid into the crankarm - despite extreme measures it never came out. This was the first time I've have not been able to extract a pedal from a crankarm. Advice: make sure the pedals, seatpost and stem are not frozen up solid before buying.

I also rebuild the Chorus shifters, which is easy and cheap to do. Assume Shimano shifters of this vintage are most of the way through their life, and they cannot be rebuilt.

Also assume that the drivetrain is pooched. On my Lemond, the dumbass previous owner was riding high miles, and he had not replaced the chain for a whole year before selling the bike. So of course the chain was stretched to the point of absurdity, and the worn-out chain had eaten up the both of the Campy rings. Campy rings are expensive.

bargainguy

My recollection of Lemond is a little hazy, but when they were doing mostly steel, didn't they spec Reynolds 853 on pretty much the entire road bike line at one point in the late 90's? As you moved up the line, you got better components and wheels but still the same frame tubing.

Frames are still available on the used market if you look hard enough. I sold a blue Nevada City frame (same Reynolds 853) last year at a swap for $200 in nice shape.

D1andonlyDman

I thought I'd bump this thread, because I just picked up a 1997 Lemond 853-based Zurich for the screaming great price of $225 for the whole bike, locally. It was posted on San Diego CL last night (it was erroneously listed as a Buenos Aires, but it's a Zurich) at the $225 asking price, I e-mailed the seller within an hour, he replied this morning, and I went to check out the bike at lunch time. The frame has a couple of small dings along the side of the top tube, which I deemed to be minor enough not to be real issues, and the rest of the bike is in really top notch condition - it requires no tuneup whatsoever. The components, original Shimano 600 8-speed SIS, are all in pristine condition, the wheels are dead true. The tires are cheapo Kenda 700x23 clinchers, but they're brand new. The saddle is a nice Selle Italia Pro-Link Genuine Gel. After seeing the condition of this bike, giving the seller his full asking price was a no-brainer, since comparables are going for at least $350 if not over $400 around here.

I ended up paying for the complete bike the same price that I had passed on for just a Zurich 853 frame alone late last year.

The only mod I made to the bike was to swap out the 12-25 8-speed cassette with a 12-30 that I had around, and I added 2 links to the chain.

DMC707

We should have a "Like" button on here a'la f-book