Sue J

On another forum I had asked TromboneAl about an old bike of my husband's that's been in our basement for decades. He suggested that I post about it here.

The bike is a Mercier with Reynolds 531 tubing. My husband bought it in the early 1970's and rode it just a few years. He's retired now and has gotten back into bicycling with a new bike. He thinks this one should be put in our next garage sale or donated to Goodwill. I wonder if the frame has more value than we could get from a garage sale.

There is no chain or rear derailleur, the tires are very narrow. Some of the cables are missing.

My husband cut off the hanger in order to accommodate a different rear derailleur.

Thank you for any info you could give me.

wrk101

That bike is a lot better than a garage sale bike. (In my experience, a garage sale is basically where you sell things super cheap, just to get rid of stuff). You need to find a buyer that understands they are getting something pretty special, but that needs quite a bit of work. If you have the stomach for C/L, I would put it out there. Yes, it has some obvious defects: cut off derailleur hanger, rust on the chrome, incomplete; but it is still a nice 531 frameset, with some nice components. Stronglight crankset and bb have some good value by themselves.

Overall, very sellable bike.

Sue J

Thanks, that's what I needed to know.

I sold a car on Craigslist a few years ago so I know how that goes. I'm in NE Ohio and not familiar with the vintage biking community around here. We've also sold plenty on eBay. UPS used to have a bicycle box at their shipping terminal. Is that the best way to ship a bike if I can't sell it locally?

What price range should I aim for?

Thanks for the help.

TugaDude

Sue, we would need to know the size of the frame for starters. Measure from the center of the cranset to the top of the seat tube, where the seat post slides in.
Then measure the standover height, just like it sounds, from the floor to the top of the horizontal bar, called the top tube.

It would also help to know what other components are on it. I'm guessing Mafac brakes and Huret derailleur, but it would help to know. Overall the paint looks pretty good and the chrome is going to need a lot of love.

Show us some other photos and give more info and we'll try to help. Maybe a forum member in your area can look at it. If it is around 23", I'd be interested.

wrk101

Best place to get a box is at one of your local bike shops. They typically will give you one (they get plenty). UPS is not a good company to ship, the standard is Fed Ex. You really need to clean up that bike first, even with it incomplete, and take some great pictures. As is, you will get really penalized on price. Do not use anything abrasive on that chrome, as chrome on bikes is typically a really thin layer (its not a car bumper). So anything abrasive, and the chrome can get ruined.

The price you get for that bike depends significantly on your marketing skills. No guarantees on ebay or C/L. If you go the ebay route, just start it at a price that is acceptable to you, and look for the bidding to go up from there.

satbuilder 

These bikes don't seem as common as Peugeots or Gitanes. I'm finishing up on the one I have, although it seems like I've been saying that forever. It is too bad about the derailleur hanger being hacked. Maybe, and this is a real longshot, there's a framebuilder that might have a rear dropout and can replace it.

They are really nice riding bikes. Here's a work in progress....

Sue J

More info -

Center of the crankset to the top of the seat tube is 22.5 inches.
Standover height is 32 inches.

The brakes are Weinmann 610 Vainqueur 999.
Front derailleur is Suntour, I didn't see a model name or number. Hubby says he replaced the original Simplex with the Suntour.
Campagnolo hubs.

So far the cleanup has been with a vacuum and a damp rag. I'd like to get into the crevices better with a toothbrush and take it outside for better pictures with a nicer background.

I really appreciate all the advice. This deserves better treatment than it's had in our basement.

Sue J

After putting it off for a while I cleaned the bike more thoroughly, took some nice clear pictures of it on a sunny day and listed it on Craigslist. There was no action on it until I dropped the price a few times and then I had 2 inquiries.

Tonight it sold to a young man who is opening a bike shop in a nearby college town. He knows French bikes and likes to find Reynolds 531 frames. My husband included some old bike tools and an old Schwinn frame and some wheels for free.

The buyer committed to buying it just based on the pictures, so he knew what he was looking for. I am thrilled that the bike has a better life ahead of it. And I got cash in my pocket! Sold for $90.