jchibante

I am thinking about taking a drive to check out this bike I found on craigslist. Its listed as a Dawes 58cm Titanium Bike with "Capitola" components, which I am guessing means campagnolo. I've never had a Ti bike and don't know much about them. Looking to flip. These are the only pics he has.

My questions for you guys; 1) What is it worth? Ballpark? 2) What should I specifically look for when checking it out?

Bianchigirll 

the shifters are certainly "Capitola" but I am not sure about the frame being Ti, why would it be painted? can you get better pics? if the price is under $200 get driving, over that.... it may not be flipable if you run into things like a bad wheel or BB

I wonder if the Ti idea came from the Capitola being a Record Ti group??

wrk101

Modern bike, perhaps the cyclebetting.com crowd can give you some ideas (cross posted).

Is it really Ti? That would be my first question. Paint is odd. Some Ti bikes are painted, but it is really a small percentage. Wheels don't match. Depending on whether it is really Ti and what Campy group, you are talking big money. Note, it is hard to resell high end bikes at market.

Probably looking at a part out to maximize return. Dozens of Ti frames sell on ebay every day, ditto all the Campy components.

Since you are looking to flip, you should know the drill, what to look for, money is made when you buy the bike, not when you sell it, need a spotless ebay sales record with bicycles included, etc. I manage the "risk" of flipping by usually buying midgrade bikes. The more you pay, the higher the risk. And do you have the tools/time/aptitude to do all the part removal, cleanup, and marketing required to make $$?

I picked up a Ti bike earlier this year to flip. But the value was pretty obvious. Merlin Ti frame, all Dura Ace parts, outstanding condition, low price (for what it was). Of course, it was my size, so right now, it is in the keeper fleet. Best laid plans.....

tugrul

cyclebetting leeches bikeforums content to spam.

jchibante

I have some ebay experience selling parts and wheelsets, never a frame or whole bike though. Is there a trick to telling if it is truly Ti under the paint?
The guy is asking $250, but it has been listed for over a month with no hits he says (kind of out in the boonies), so I'm thinking I could get it down some.

tugrul

First thing is to stick a magnet to it.

Next I'd look at the welds, as on aluminum they are normally thicker, or have been smoothed to look like fillet brazing.

Aluminum also tends to have larger diameter tubing.

If it is bonded, I'd pull out the seat post and try looking at some bare metal. Titanium has a hint of color that is pretty distinct.

wrk101

At that price, an experienced flipper would grab now, study later. Does not matter what the frame is made out of, as long as the shifters work. It could be paper mache at that price, and still be a deal. I would be figuring out the frame material later. Now that you have posted it on at least two sites, I do not see it lasting long. If I was anywhere near it, I would be driving right now. And there are always people surfing this forum looking for deals.

jchibante

Well, turned out to be a rusty Dawes 531 frame, the model was missing from the frame. The only titanium part I could find were the campy shifters. I'm not a campy guy so I don't know much about them, a crappy cellphone pic will be posted in a couple minutes. What model are they and what is their value? It also had a campy FD, Shimano 600 biopace crank, rx100 RD, weinmann sidepulls, and simplex cable clamps. The stem looked like Ti, but a magnet stuck, so maybe its plated?, it's an italmu**** or something like that, never heard of it. The wheels were matching mavic road hubs, bladed spokes, the rear was laced to a fixie style deep-V rim with purple nipples while the front was a more traditional radially laced Mavic ma40 rim. Quite the frankenbike, but decent parts.

jchibante

wrk101

OK, sounds like a real mess. If the shifters work, there is value there. 600 biopace crankset has decent value too. Depending on the condition of the paint, a 531 frame has value as well. The rest of the parts have minimal value. Given his lack of response to the ad, he might take an offer if you want to mess around with it. I have a problem with sellers that misrepresent their bikes.

Sure explains the paint on the frame. Painted Ti frames is a recent development.

My earlier exuberance "assumed" more Campy bits than that skimpy list. Too bad. But at the right price, it still would be tempting.