Fiori Excella: Well used, but respectable
 

Found this at a garage sale for $30 a while ago. I meant to have it as a cool beater but have since been riding a nice Fuji Berkeley I built up.

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...45843431_n.jpg

Fiori Excella 62CM, Cro-Moly. (All I've read is that people seem to have Hi-Ten Excellas, but this definitely says CroMo on the [worn] sticker)
12 Speed.
Shimano 600 front der, Shimano Light Action rear der and shifters (friction).
Just put fresh (black) bar tape on it (ignore the naked bars in the picture it's old and right now the bike is in the corner and hard to access)
Slapped on some cheap but newish pedals and plastic clips+black straps as well.
Aluminum Araya rims, Joytech sealed hubs. (27", with ugly generic but not rotten tires)
The brakes... have no name on them, and they kinda suck (but I'm sure I can put on something more respectable from the basement bins).

I think it's obvious a few things have been upgraded to something more modern at some point (especially the 600 front)....
as the frame must be of an earlier vintage than I think, because all the pictures I can seem to find of the Excella have sweet 2-tone fade paint.

Since the Fuji is around, I want to dump it to ease the monthly bills (and subsequently my mind), just a little.

Any idea on value? Again, it's not a gem - it's a nice little well adjusted and clean beater.

White bar tape, properly routed rear brake cable, raise the seatpost, list it in April----> an easy $150. Check your local CL to see if anyone is looking for a large road bike, that could make things easier for you.

You think white will be better?
What's in order to do on the rear cable?
The original Fiori seat is a little... crap. Should I upgrade that? It has a weird angle to the butt padding, kinda forces you forward. I'm sure I could throw on a more modern seat, but I certainly won't want to completely separate it this one from the bike.

- Not sure on the white bar tape. IMO, I'd go with black on that bike. White would look weird to me.
- Rear brake cable looks too long up near the stem. That loop runs too wide.
- I'd keep the saddle on only because it says the name of the manufacturer on it. Gives a little extra coolness factor, and since the saddle sucks you'll be able to get rid of it!

Agreed with jet on value. An easy cleanup and this bike could bring around $150 when the weather gets nice.

I do like contrasting colors, and I think the white would probably look interesting but... Y'know, it gets dirty.

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/8217/img9834g.jpg
I think this looks fine. Now if the tires were all black, too...
(Sorry for the poor shot, that's the best spot as our garage is full of donations right now...

I shoved the housing back down the guides so more of it was hanging out in the back. It definitely looks less sleek than it could. It should probably go around the left side of the stem/ht, shouldn't it?
And good thing you mentioned the seat, I think it needed a good 'post greasing. It's raised a bit.

That looks really good with the black tape, forget that I mentioned white ;)

Now, move the saddle back a bit as it looks weird so far forward and take some good, clear shots of the bike up against a white wall with lots of sunlight. I think you should aim for $225 now, it is a slick looking rig!

Oh, dur! That's why the seat looks wonky. You're totally right!

I'll take it out and put it against the garage door on a nice day when the time comes.

Thanks for all your help, guys! I really appreciate it.

Personally, I think this is a frankenbike and as a consequence I wouldn't be suprised if the previous owner slapped on a CrMo decal. What's the diameter of the seatpost? It looks thin but maybe that's an illusion because thew frame is so large. That also looks like one of those steel and aluminum cranksets, with a plastic cover obscuring the stamped steel spider. I think the previous evaluations are being generous, unless Wichita is a hot market.

I think they're definitely generous.
And yes, it's a hodge-podge of parts. Would it be better to match up everything with a respectable series of components? I could probably find a set of average Suntour in the bins.

CrMo... Okay, so it looks like I lied PARTIALLY. It's not full Chro.
http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/8820/img9837r.jpg
But it's still surprisingly light!

If I get $100 out of it I'll be fully satisfied. I'll probably start at $150 though and see what happens. I don't really see anyone in this city, who wants to spend over $150 on a bike, wanting a well used (looking) banger off of CL. Now if I were in Chicago or Cali...

If the rear brake is controlled by the right lever, then yes the housing should go around the left side of the stem/ht.

More obviously, in your new picture it shows the cable being wrapped around the left side of the seatpost. It should definitely be going around the right side of the seatpost since the rear brake has its attachment point on the right side of the bike.

If you moved the saddle back and the brake cable left side of stem, it should sell for over $100. The paint looks a little dull. I would use some rubbing compound, and some polish after, to make it pop more. People like black when it's really shiny. My $.02...