GoodBike

I'm close to putting this rare mid-80s Ritchey, custom handmade by Tom Ritchey, up for sale on Ebay and was curious to read the community's thoughts on the bike and its potential value.

Rather than load this server with photos, I created a Flickr set: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7636147...th/4676922722/

Thanks in advance.

EjustE

Fillet-brazed columbus frame, 1st generation Deore... I think that someone will get a bargain on that. MTB values have not been holding really well, but this one is special...

wrk101

I wouldn't put it on ebay in that condition. It is so close to being in top shape, a little investment now could garner some higher bids.

First, I would go a really thorough job of cleaning the bike, nothing abrasive, just Simple Green and water. Then I would make sure the tires match. I would get the front QR lever on the same side of the bike as the rear. I would do more staging of the bike, get full size pics from the drive side, I would clean up whatever is wrapped around the seat post (cable lock?), polish up the crankset, etc.

Well presented and marketed, and you should do quite well on ebay.

gomango

Excellent advice.

That is a special bike. A little extra elbow grease and the right photos will make you happy you took the time.

GoodBike

Thanks for the advice. I'll clean it up and post some more photos afterward.

LeicaLad 

Hi! I have this deep and abiding need to replace my 1981 (Frame #133) Ritchey that was stolen from my house in Thailand two years ago.

I sure would like to know what you would like to get for yours. I swear it will be loved. The photo above of my bike was taken a couple weeks before it was stolen. It had been ridden all over S.E. Asia, where I lived since it was first shipped to me in Bangkok. I'm now in the US, and the bike would stay in the US (if that mattered!).

Please email me at: owenw(at)sala.net

Thank you so much.

GoodBike

At the recommendation of commenters here, I decided to clean up the bike a little--it isn't in mint condition, but it's better than before. This new photo set reflects those changes: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7636147...7624094674509/

Comments and questions welcome and encouraged.

As for the mismatched tires... the front tire is a Ritchey, and I figured I'd leave it on there, and any purchaser could replace it if s/he so chooses--I have the other Ritchey tire (the rear), as well, though it's not in great condition, so I replaced it a couple years ago with the all-black rear tire that you see in the photos.

Again, thanks.

gomango

Very nice bike. Super fresh.

The mis-matched tires would make absolutely zero difference to me, as I invariably put new rubber on my "new to me" bikes.

A collector may want the original tires though.

Try to remember then, that the pictures you use in your ad need to be chosen well.

It looks like you have plenty to choose from in your set.

wrk101

+1 I would stress that you do have both original tires available.

GoodBike

Quick question: Does anyone know how I can affirmatively identify the year in which the bike was made? I know it was sometime in the early 80s, but I don't know exactly which year.

Thanks!

shogun700

It will come down to components and where the serial number falls in line with other bikes listed. Another clue would be the bottom bracket, yours is threaded and not pressed-in, so it's not one of the earlier ones-I think they started with the threaded ones in 1985 or so. The Deerhead stuff suggests it isn't much later than that, mine is likely an '86, (OB495) and came with Deerhead parts, XT pedals, and a Dura-Ace cassette freehub. I can't tell from the pictures, is yours a threaded freewheel or a freehub?

LeicaLad 

This site is dedicated to Tom Ritchey bikes. There is a list of serial numbers. This link should get you close to that page:

https://www.oldmountainbikes.com/bikes/

That said, I cannot figure out where your frame sits in this. Do NOT expect a quick answer from the site. I've sent scans of my original price list, catalog, invoice and shipping manifest for my bike, but have yet to heard back from them. For those of you with details on your Tom Ritchey bikes, it would be good to send them here. Perhaps they will get around to updating it.

Cheers.

GoodBike

Thanks for the link. I looked up the serial number from the bottom of the frame but didn't see it posted on the site. I know it's from no later than the mid-80s, but pinpointing the date more exactly has been difficult. I even tried to get in touch with Ritchey (the company, not the man), but didn't hear a reply from them. So I'm left to estimate based on components and whatnot.

EjustE

It looks really great cleaned up. Excellent looking bike. I think that you will make someone very happy with this. I had to do this, because this thread is worthless without photos:



A couple of details that have to be fixed (and the bike rephotographed before sold) :

a. (biggie) : the front wheel is mounted the wrong way. The quick release should be on the non-drive side. Flip it around
b. (not so biggie, unless you ride it with floppy shorts or MTB biking shorts) : The quick release of the seat post should have the lever back, horizontal to the ground the other way. I am very sloppy about this and a couple of times really regreted my sloppiness when my shorts were caught in that quick release lever. Thankfully just close calls, could have been worse.

btw, the saddle placement is perfect. Just leave it this way. Level with the bars. Every high end competition MTB catalog picture has the saddle level with the bars.

Job well done!


(and I am so thankful that it is about 2 sizes too big for me )

GoodBike

Thanks again for all the attention to detail--I flipped the wheel, and adjusted the seatpost lever. I'll post the new pics when I get a chance.

And I'll probably list the bike on Ebay sometime within the next week. Does anyone know if it's kosher to post Ebay links on this site?

Otto Rax

I sold the same bike in same condition with a different ritchey stem for about $550 around a year ago. I'm thinking you shoudl expect around 600

GoodBike

Some people have asked about the frame size: it's 21 inches.

Here's one new photo of the bike, reflecting some of the minor adjustments (flipping the front wheel, etc.). Not crazy about the lighting in this one, but I think there are enough photos in the whole set that one can get a sense of what the bike is and is not: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7636147...7624094674509/

GoodBike

After much agony, I decided it was time to sell the bike. Here's the Ebay listing: https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=250654963997

miamijim

The ad is OK..... copy/paste the HTML code for a variety of pictures into your ebay ad. You'd be surprised at how many people over look links to pictures.

Your starting price is way, way too high. I'd drop it to $100 and let the system work in your favor.

Are you 100% sure Tom Ritchey himself brazed it up?

Check component date codes on www.vintage-trek,com to help nail down a year.

wrk101

+1 to all of Jim's comments. I would not make a claim unless I knew for sure it was true. Bike could go to a serious collector, you will turn off potential bidders if you make claims that turn out to be incorrect.

You must use a photo hosting site, like Flickr, and you must post full size pics in the text of the ad. One picture via ebay is not going to cut it. And potential buyers are on the lazy side. So expecting them to click through a link will just cost you money (fewer bids).

Need to get a reasonable estimate of the actual age (follow Jim's tip).

Starting price is too high.

GoodBike

You guys are great.

Dropped the price by $240 to $250. I suppose I should be confident that the bids will surpass $100, but $250 is pretty modest too.

I cannot 100% verify that Ritchey handmade the bike himself. There is the decal, and the narrative history of the bike (i.e. my Dad custom ordered it in the mid-1980s and was told that Ritchey would be making the bike). That's about all I can promise at this point, but it doesn't seem unreasonable to make the claim, does it?

I have tried to estimate the year, but did not find the serial number on any of the online databases, and (perhaps unsurprisingly) never heard back from Ritchey.

I also added a bunch of photos the listing, and posted some direct links to the serial number photo, and the decal photo. My Flickr stats suggest that bidders are clicking through, so I'm not super worried at this point.

Again, thanks for the input.

GoodBike

Forgot to post the link, which reflects the changes: https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=250654963997

Also, in your collective experience, should I expect bids throughout the auction, or only at the end?

JunkYardBike

Many bidders use sniper programs that place bids in the last 3-5 seconds. So you could see very little bidding before that and then a significant increase at the very end. Sometimes, if the bidding goes high early, people drop out and you won't see the last second jump.

miamijim and wrk101 should hold seminars, or charge a commission for their advice!

BobHufford

I'm confused about this. I was under the impression that Tom did all the fillet brazing on his bikes (he was very fast and very prolific). The lower models were TIG'd (or lugged -- in Canada), but many of those had seat clusters fillet-brazed by Tom. Those bikes were decaled "Handmade by Ritchey Mountain Bikes", the all-Tom fillet-brazed models (some with bi-lam "lugs") were "Handmade by Tom Ritchey".

This bike has all appearances of being a Ritchey built bike and should do well on the auction site.

Best of luck,

Bob

miamijim

I'm not sure thats why I asked but lets face it, a builder is only capable of brazing up so many frames during a year. Accounting for public appearances, talking to prospective customers, attemding trade shows and other duties I dont think its possible for a builder ot make mre than 100-150 frameset/year.

Lets face it, propaganda is everywhere and the mid-80's seems to be too late in the decade for Tom to be building alot of bikes while running a full company as well.