joe englert

So, I had this bike, sold it a bit ago, wondering if I got a good price for it. I paid 700.00 for it from Craigslist. It sat there for about one week. The owner was asking 750.00 but I offered 700.00 and he took it.. I was going to keep it but I thought the offer I got was too good to pass up so...away it went.

KonAaron Snake 

It's worth less with your photos and lack of detail. How are the tires? Cables? Bearings? I doubt I'd have been willing to pay over $400. If I were selling it...I'd probably expect $500-$600. $700 seems like top of market to me.

daf1009

+1

I agree with Aaron...I think you probably overpaid...particularly in the shape it appears to be in (chain is very loose looking)...and...if you made money on it, the person you sold it to also WAY overpaid. I am not even sure that $700 is top of the market...it seems over market for me...at least in the Atlanta area.

howsteepisit

Pretty much agree with Aaron, but hey, if you paid 700 and don't want to tell what you sold it for, I guess you did just fine as long as you recouped you initial investment. It looks like a nice bike in fundamentally good shape, but getting full value with a bike thats missing such basics as handle bar tape is rare.

miamijim

Dont let joe fool you, he knows what he's doing.

I think $750 as it sits is fair market value.

KonAaron Snake 

Depends on the model, year and condition...which can't be told with those photos.

likebike23

I'd say it's worth what you sold it for .

lostarchitect 

...Except for the photos part.

Trakhak

Campy Record rear derailleurs of that era should leave the chain slack in the small-small combination. In those days, anyone buying a pro-level racing bike would have known not to use the small-small and large-large combinations.

When I started racing in the early '60s in Connecticut, Legnano was considered to be one of the two or three best of the Italian brands. That looks like a good example, and the matching pump raises the ante quite a bit.

Later in the '60s, I worked in a bike store that sold Legnanos. It's a shame that the first thing we did after pulling a Legnano racing bike out of the box and unwinding the brown paper from around the frame tubes was to toss the matching green aluminum fenders.

randyjawa 

It looks to me like the OP has Legnano's top dog, the Roma. If that is the case, I, personally, would pay $700.00 for the bike, in a heart beat. That is assuming that it is original, in desent cosmetic condition and no frame damage at all. Mechanical issues are a non-issue with me, if everything is there and original.

That said, I am a Legnano enthusiast - put another way, they are my favorite vintage road bicycle and I have owned a few, over the years. And one remains in my drastically depleted collection - a sixties something Grand Premio...

KonAaron Snake 

I am NOT a Legnano expert, but I was under the impression that the difference between the Premio and Roma was not great...and that we'd need a detailed photo of the serial number to be certain.

joe englert

Let me add to this....it is all original from 1959 and the Roma model...which, I believe was their top dog. Also, in near perfect condition. When the ad was placed on Craigslist back in Sept. The owner advertised it as a 1970's model and he had a picture of it in the ad which was very un-flattering...probably the reason it sat on craigslist for so long...and ... how I picked it up for only 700.00

joe englert

A couple more pics may help...sorry I can't post more right

joe englert

Oops, I forgot...had the original plastic tape as well which I unwrapped to adjust the brake levers and one Legnano fender in the same color...little bitty thing..that I still have..I forgot to give it to the buyer but I did email him but he never replied. Guess he didn't want it.

joe englert

Thanks Miami...well,, once in a while I do anyway.

rootboy 

That thing looks pretty cherry to me. Aside from the cable housings.
Campagnolo Record. Original Universal 61 hoods. Great paint and chrome.
Worth every bit of 700 if you ask me. And more.

KonAaron Snake 

Definitely worth more given the year and parts. Had we seen photos showing that, we'd have been able to give estimates with greater precision. If I were the seller I'd expect over 1000.

joe englert

The guy that bought it told me also that the year means everything with Legnano bikes. That is not necessarily true with other bikes. From what I've read, the Roma and the Premio were the same frame, just different components. This bike even had the original Perelli sew up tires on it. I sure wish I could find more "time capsuls" like this one. As I said, I did not really want to sell it, but the offer was just too good. Besides, riding a bike like this one, or like the Confenti I use to have, is not fun at all because I was always worried about any little rock that might fly up and make a chip in the paint. With a bike like that, every little chip, takes away some of the value.

miamijim

Joe,

The single biggest problem with a bike like Legnano is that their time has passed. Riders who rode then during their heyday are now riding motorized scooters. In general I've found collectability goes on for about 20 years after a bikes popularity. For some makes it's a little longer, for some a little less.

If you were a teenager in 1965 and lusted after a Legnano you'd be 65 years old and planning for retirement. I'm 47, if I found one tomorrow it'd take a staggeringly low price for me to buy it.

joe englert

Actually, the guy that bought it WAS about 65 years old and he told me that he did have one as a teenager...you are right on...the good news...this guy had lots of money and really wanted that bike. I don't know about your theory on old steel bikes however. I know quite a few younger riders in their 20 and 30's that want to get into steel bikes lately. Kind of the hip thing to do? I know lots of even younger riders want old steel bikes to build into fixies.

randyjawa 

To the OP of this thread, show me a picture of the front drops, a picture of the seat stay tops and a picture of the front of the seat lug. Also, if you can, accurately measure the diameter of the seat tube. Armed with that few pieces of information, I think I can define the model of the bike, which I still think to be Roma. But, as my loving and bossy wife has often pointed out...

I could be wrong!-( but I still see a $700.00+ bike there).

miamijim

Exactly. We tend to collect what we liked in our younger years but couldn't afford. Peak spending occurs around the age of 46-48 then goes down hill from there. Obviously, wealthy individuals buy things just because....nothing wrong with that at all.

It's trendy right now with younger riders..it will pass. Just like the fixie/SS fad...that died off quick.