anixi

Found this on CL, it has the "death fork", it's dirty, needs new tires, paint, pedals etc:

Viscount Road Bike - $1
Date: 2012-04-22, 11:06AM PDT
Think it's around a 1976. It's been sitting for years, is dirty, tires are flat, and no pedals. Check this link out if you want info on bike. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/lambert.html
I've found 2 similar era Viscount Bikes on Ebay in good and complete cond..Make me an offer for bike in as is condition.

Picture:

thinktubes 

B.S. Listing - walk away. Why dance with death?

FastJake

+100

Seller is fishing for a huge offer. The mention of "I saw similar ones on ebay..." is the tipoff. I searched ebay for Viscount, and the ones that came up had BIN prices of around $800-900 (what the seller probably doesn't know is that BIN prices are meaningless, people can ask whatever they want). So I don't think the seller is going to go for $25.

Flag the ad, it is a violation of C/L policy to list without an asking price. If you really want the bike, e-mail the seller and ask what he wants for it. But I suspect you will be disappointed.

Mos6502

email the seller and point them to this thread...

anixi

Well, the seller responded to my friendly advice:

"Im aware of the death fork and have a printout of article on bike. Ive done some research and understand that you can get a replacement fork for bike. As far as price, I've found a couple on EBay for $800-825. They are in excellent cond. though. I know the person who buys will restore to have a Vintage Classic. Ive thought about having it fixed up and selling but thought id craigslist it first.I will listen to offers though.
Brian"

So, I kindly pointed out that the poor guy was looking at existing ebay listings, not "completed" listings, as he should have.

When I looked at ebay completed listings for Viscount, there were two: one in the mid-$500 range, the other at $100, both had NOT sold, had NO bids. I responded saying that his so-called estimate at $800 or so was all wet.

The poor guy is one of those typical newbies that think their Varsity class sea anchor is worth 10 times the going rate. I told him "I'll pass"! I just hope some poor sucker doesn't buy it and keep the death fork installed, although if it hasn't failed by now, it probably won't in the near future (assuming a light rider).

unterhausen

the Lambert/Viscount fans can forgive me, but I never understood why people bought those bikes in the first place. Collecting them now almost seems more understandable if you can get them for scrap metal prices.

anixi

Amen, Herr Doktor...

Bianchigirll 

Why do I have the feeling I saw this bike in another post?

I believe these were OK besides the fork. for $25 bucks for the bike and 10-15 for a used or cheap steel fork you could have a nice bike. I would go for it if it was my size and close.

anixi

Bgirl, I wish I could delete that twin thread! The header was mistakenly a paste of the advertisement, and I thought that I got rid of it, then you responded, etc...how embarrassing....

As for the bike, I got another response from the guy, so, since he's asking for it, I DID offer him $25!!! What a hoot.

unterhausen

you did, I deleted it when I saw the duplicate. Just for future reference, the OP of a thread can delete it by going to "edit post" and pressing the "delete" button that shows up below the post's text. Of course, everyone can deleted their posts in a thread the same way, but deleting the OP will delete the thread

anixi

Thanks, it was an unintentional brain stinker. I'll be more careful in future.

anixi

Oh, and btw, the guy was very gracious in return. He thanked me for my advice, let me know that he won't sell the thing as-is, but will fix it up to the level of re-sellable-ness.

SteveSGP

I just rebuilt one and I was impressed with the quality, very well built bike although I did replace the fork with a modern cro-mo fork.

The one I did fully dressed out and wearing tubulars was just over 23 pounds, it may not be a super exotic but it is a very nice vintage ride and I think they are very deserving of rescue and admiration.

.

anixi

23 lbs? What kind of steel is the frame made of? That's intrigueing...am hoping to see the same bike soon except fixed up. I'll post it if I see it.

wrk101

Aluminum.

anixi

I've never heard of that kind of steel...

k_as_in_knife

They're fillet-brazed straight-gauge Chrome-moly steel. The fillet-brazing is usually pretty well done for a mass-produced frame that was being built to a price (it was marketed on the low weight for its price range). The biggest issues are usually the fork and the pressed-in BB.

Trakhak

Yes, and the cranks, at least on the early models, were pressed onto non-tapered spindle faces. Thick washers with serrated faces installed between the spindle and crank were supposed to keep the cranks secure. Didn't work too well, so those of us who sold the bikes back then did a lot of aftermarket BB and crank replacements, including cutting Italian threads into the unthreaded BB shell.

wrk101

I guess I need to double check the one I picked up...

SteveSGP

It's steel, they used to advertise the bike at 22.75 pounds and they weren't lying.



My sons, This one is between 23-24 pounds as pictured.

zukahn1 

I would just pass on this one I have never had any luck dealing with people on CL that don't list an actual price. I usually just ignore and don't even open the adds that have now price or the $1 bull**** listing.

ACM911

Firstly let me make it clear this is not a disguised attempt to sell. I have a Viscount Aerospace Pro + Shimano and it weighs in at 11kg, it needs new tubs and some TLC but it’s basically a sound bike. I bought it about 25 years ago for £40 and have used it on about ten occasions in all that time. My garage is now in need of a clear out so I have decided to advertise it on ebay but I am a little unsure of its value. As previous contributors to this forum have pointed out prices on ebay are surprisingly high; much much higher than I was expecting, so what I need is some realistic advice on what would be a sensible price to open the bidding.

SteveSGP

You need to look at COMPLETED listings, not active auctions with "buy it now" prices. Most of the Viscounts on E-bay have been there a VERY long time and get posted over and over and over again.

I think they're very nice bikes but they don't get their due recognition and don't command high prices.



.

wrk101

+4,876,329 Completed sold auctions are all that matter. Sellers can ask anything and often do. Follow our regular discussions on "Budget Bike Center". Their stuff is priced 5 to 10X of market. 99% of the time, their stuff does not sell. But newbs get sucked in by it and price their stuff high. I saw this recently on an auction I was following. BBC had a bike priced at $1500 (~ $200 to $250 bike). Someone else had an auction, and the bidding went to $300. But they had a lofty/silly reserve, influenced by BBC I am afraid. So the bike did not sell.

Speak of the devil, BBC has this one at $1200!! (in mediocre/average as is condition). Meanwhile, check completed auctions, and the only one that has sold went for $135......

BBC uses an interesting strategy. They price their bikes high, super high. 99% of the time, no bids. But every once in a while, they hook a fish, err, sell a bike. So maybe its a viable strategy. But its one based on ripping people off, so I pass. And it definitely is not a seller to use for pricing advice.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Viking-Lambert-Grand-Prix-Professional-Red-57-cm-Road-Bike-Bicycle-/350497383806?pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item519b45a57e

ACM911

Thanks fordsvtparts and wrk101 for you help and for confirming that, as I suspected, the ebay prices were unrealistic. I'm located in the UK so I guess a reasonable starting price would be £75 about $100. Just need to check the forks before compiling my advertisement.