DWake

Hey, just moved into my first house and this bike was left behind. The thing looks pretty old, but I have no idea how old it actually is. Would it safe to assume '60 or '61, since Rudi Altig was a world champion during those years according to Wikipedia? The bike looks to be in pretty good shape, just a bit dirty. Any info on this bike will much appreciated! Thank you!

big chainring 

Rudi Altig, thats awesome. One of my favorite racers. He and Jacques Anquetil won the '62 Tropheo Baracchi 2 man time trial. Altig literally pushed Anquetil to victory. Jacques was known for his partying and was in poor form for this late season event. I would clean and treasure that bike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQWNc...yer_detailpage

DWake

So, is this actually worth something or just something neat to have?

c23

How much it is worth is defined by how neat you think it is.

DWake

Haha well I think its kinda cool but I am not into biking whatsoever. Just because I think it could be $1000, doesn't mean I will get anything near that. I could use some help with an actual estimated price as I can not find anything about it.

wrk101

Low end/entry level bike, with better wheels but needs TLC. Where/how are you going to sell, and how are your marketing skills? Limited value IMHO.

DWake

I will try the for sale section here and probably eBay/Craigslist. I will definitely clean it up before posting a sale for it, and I think my marketing skills are decent, plus the fact I'm not going to try and squeeze every last penny I can get out of it. I would just like a price estimate for it in a cleaned up state.

ksisler

It has a famous name on it. If replaced name with Eddie's would it be worth much? A famous name can elevate a bike value a bit, but if the person didn't actually own it or race it and you can prove it, then it is much less...unless the bike is itself special. I am not seeing that here.

jyl

I doubt the name adds any value to the bike, unless there is a serious collector out there who treasures Rudi Altig "stuff". Which there might be - I'd at least hunt eBay etc to see if his memorabilia has any value. If yes, then possibly eBay is the best route to sell this bike.

But the bike itself is complete, pretty darned old, has panniers, and would make a nice vintage city/shopping bike for someone. If you get it clean and polished and everything works well - new tires and brake pads, completely rideable - then I think it would fetch $100 on Craiglist in my town. About what an old Schwinn suburban would fetch in similar condition.

It would be hard to turn a profit on it as a flipper, I think, but since it is free, I think you'll make something above the cost of consumables.

JPZ66

Since you state that you are not a bike person, you may be better off just selling as-is. It would hardly be worth having a bike shop do it. Wipe it down or a gentle bath, thoroughly dry it off, and then list it on eBay. I'm sure it would do better there then on CL.


Good luck,

Joe

NatJay

Apologies for bumping such an old thread but I'm wondering whether the OP (or anyone else) found out anymore about this bicycle? I bought one very similar at the City of Zurich velo auction yesterday, albeit in much better condition and in blue and white. It has the same Weinmann Symetric brakes, and Ritchey handlebars and Shimano gears.

From what I can gather the original Rudi Altig bikes were made by Schauff in West Germany and were co-branded as such. However, mine has no co-branding and has the same plate on the back of the frame as the OP's here, rather than the S plate commonly seen on Schauffs.

I will create my own post soon but any leads are greatly appreciated!

T-Mar

Based on the fade paint scheme, in conjunction with the Symetyric brakeset, I'd place this late 1980s. The head lugs are consistent with what German manufacturer Kalkhoff was using during this era. Serial number?

ksisler

I would recommend marketing it to the collectables and vintage bike groups. Until you have waited long enough for them to make a move on it, I would not change anything or attempt any cleaning or improvements. NONE. The bike is what we car collectors call a "Barn Find" and its primary value is its exact condition at the time it was found. For some collectors, washing it makes it worthless... seriously.

NatJay

@ksisler thanks for weighing in but I dare say it's too late for the OP, I bumped this thread from 2012 to find out a little more about my own purchase over the weekend!

NatJay

Thanks for the reply! I was also sure it's an 80's bike, but I wasn't sure how far into the 80's.

There was actually a Kalkhoff in the auction which I also liked funnily enough. However, a quick google doesn't show any connection between RA and Kalkhoff, which isn't to say you aren't correct.

I'll snap some photos of my new purchase tonight, including serial number.

Thanks again!

T-Mar

A quick google turned up up that the Rudi Altig brand was owned by Schauff.

NatJay

Thanks T-Mar, but aside from the OP's and mine, all of the RA's made by Schauff that I have seen online were co-branded as such or at the very least had the typical Schauff S plate on the back of the frame. I'm not saying ours weren't also made by Schauff, perhaps they stopped co-branding at some point in time, but I would love to know for sure!

NatJay

I'm starting to think it is probably a Schauff and that they just stopped co-branding at some point in time?

Anyway, I took some pics of the bike I picked up over the weekend but can't seem to post them directly off my phone, is there anyway to do this? I'll also start a new thread unless it gets some traction here.