Saddle Up

This bike is completely original with the one exception of the saddle perhaps, it's period correct I believe. The photos speak of the parts list, complete Deore XT build. First Flight has one in their mountain bike museum... https://mombat.org/1987_Fisher_Montare.htm . They were hesitant to give me a value. This example was literally lady driven. The only dirt it would have seen was gravel bike paths. No rust anywhere, it spent it's life in a dry climate.

I would like to know what a bike like this would be valued at today in the real world. Does it have enough of a history to be somewhat special?

ricohman

As a collectors piece, its a bit too rough with all the paint chips it has.
However, these old bikes have risen in popularity as conversions for touring or commuting.
An example like this would go for $50-$100 where I live.

roccobike

In my area nice rigid fork mtbs in good condition bring about $100. I recently tried for $125 for a freind selling a Nishiki Backroads of similiar vintage and got nowhere. Put back on CL for $100 and it moved right out.
However, your bike is special. That's a complete vintage XT group with an XT U brake. That's got to be rare. I'd try for $200, or at least $150. But you've got to play up the high end frame and components, not just another rigid fork with light miles. There's plenty of nice, low mileage entry and mid level mtbs out there. Darn few of anything with XT group. You would be best served by trying to sell in the spring.

Saddle Up

Wow, really? Around here $50-$100 buys you a bottom of the line beater using Shimano Atlus quality components.

Saddle Up

Thanks, I'm not even sure if I'm ready to sell yet. I just have way too many bikes at the moment and this one is stored in a bike box. I just may let it age another 20 years. Locally I don't think getting $300 would be much of a problem.

ricohman

Yup. I wouldn't pay any more than $75 for the bike in question.
But if you could get $300 then sell it!

Saddle Up

Show me an add with a bike of similar vintage, build and condition for $75 and I'd consider buying it for you.

wrk101

I don't see anyone getting $300 for a rigid mountain bike. Its kind of sad, as many of them are really nice bikes. Similar to Roccobike, it is hard to get much over $100 for a vintage mountain bike. I paid $75 for my Trek 950, bought a second one for $30, and passed on a third one for $50. Very hard to flip mountain bikes. The best I have ever gotten on a ready to ride, really clean MTB was $125, and it took several postings before it sold. I vowed then to not buy another mountain bike to flip.

Buyers around here do not see the difference between a sweet MTB like yours and a bottom of the end MTB.

Then I got stupid last week and picked up a nice Cannondale MTB. We'll see how dumb of a move that was. I bought it right, but not sure there is much or any upside.

Please let us know where you are located, as I have a couple of nice MTBs (including the Cannondale) that I wouldn't mind making some money on.

Saddle Up

I'm in Calgary Canada, $50-100 gets you the absolute lowest end mountain bike. It really is sad. My wife lives in the UK in a house that is older than the country I live in. Canada turned 100 years old in 1967. Here we tear old stuff down, here we trash old mountain bikes. In the UK it's been suggested that my bike would get 4-500 Euros.

I should start buying up high end mountain bikes and stock pile them for a few years, maybe people will start to appreciatte them.

wrk101

The problem around here is that an older Trek 800 will sell for the same price as a similar vintage Trek 970. Buyers don't seem to put any value on higher grade components, better build, etc.

I don't have a solution for it. But vintage road bikes (and touring bikes even more so) are about the only thing getting respect around here.

Saddle Up

Sold on ebay for $377.99 USD.

rjl

Hi Saddle up - wow, I'm resurrecting an old thread, but I just bought a beat up '86 montare (green, matched painted nitto bullmoose bars). pretty rough condition, but I'm going to try and fix it up. What I wanted to ask, does that seat tube sticker say "made in Japan", or "made in Taiwan?" just wondering.

sKiLLeD

haha $380?? he showed all o'yall! I defend the vintage mtb. They are often undervalued/appreciated but they are IMO the most solid(no pun intended) rides out there. I get all excited when I find a nice one for $100...
By the way the sticker on the bike says "Designed by Gary Fisher- Made in Japan"

wrk101

Buy a couple of dozen nice vintage rigid frame MTBs and resell them. You will not get overly excited then. I still have over a half dozen left over from when I thought they had some value in the marketplace. Lets see, in the queue right now: three Treks, a Giant, a Gary Fisher, a Univega, a Lotus, and a Schwinn.

Hopefully you are in a better market for vintage MTBs.

sKiLLeD

I'm sure some people in the Bay Area could appreciate a nice 80's stumpjumper or a vintage Marin. But entry level mtb's like a hardrock or schwinn mesa don't have much potential to ever be worth more than 100 dollars anywhere IMO. Most people would only spend good money on something collectible like the fisher because it's got rep which is apparently worth something like $300. I have a 100% original Peugeot Canyon Express which is definitely comparable in quality to that Fisher the OP had. I don't think it would sell very well though, even in the SF area market because people still don't appreciate a good vintage mtb.

Shu_Fly

Oh crap. Crap crap crap crap, crap. Totally bombproof frame.

This is the exact bike, color and componentry (but with bull nose bars and minus that goofy saddle) I had, but "left behind" in my hurry to move out of state. I bought it round abouts 1987. That bike was insanely fun and saw a good part of Colorado, Southern Ca, and Washington State pass beneath its wheels. The Deore XT never needed tweaking no matter how brutally I treated it. Just fabulous stuff.

It was top of the line in that day, back when Gary Fisher (who was still actually making the bikes himself) and Stumpjumpers ruled the small but burgeoning Mtb world).

I've been looking for an exact replacement ever since.

I'm just ticked I missed this. Looks to be about the same size as well.

Booo. Wish I hadn't seen this thread.

Shu_Fly

I saw that.

Mine did not have that sticker... hopefully the bike shop I bought it from didn't remove it!

Shu_Fly

Oh yeah?

What Fisher ya got?

wrk101

Some of the better MTBs I currently have include a Univega Alpina Pro and two Trek 950s. I have two Gary Fishers right now, an Aquila and I forget the other one (I am not home right now, or I would go look). I also have a variety of mid grade or lower Treks, a Univega Alpina 5.1, a Lotus, a Specialized and a Bottechia. The Alpina Pro is a really nice bike, around 1988 vintage, with a smoked chrome triple butted cromoly frameset. The 950s are pretty nice too. I have sold 26 MTBs in the last two years. I try to avoid them in general, I really focus on racing bikes instead.

Please share some details on your successful sales. I sure would like to learn how to get more for them, as I have pretty much given up on flipping MTBs. The most I have ever gotten for a vintage MTB is $165, typical is $120+/- (and $100 for the lower end models). At those kind of prices, you have to find them really cheap to do any better than breaking even.