randyjawa 

A handicapped fellow asked me to sell his 1984 Peugeot Canyon Express for him. Sadly, I have no clue as to the value of this bicycle. Can anyone offer a suggestion as to its worth?

And, for what it is worth, as soon as I have a bit of direction, regarding value, I will offer the bicycle on the Bike Forums just in case anyone here is interested.

The Peugeot Canyon Express, a pretty neat old mountain bicycle that is in excellent condition have seen very little use since it was purchased new in 1984. The seller is the original owner, in case that means anything...

FastJake

I could see it selling for as much as $100 on craigslist. Any more than that, the old MTBs just sit unless it's something special. Would probably yield more on a part-out for some of those oddball MTB components.

wrk101

$100 to $125 local sale. Shipping a MTB of this level rarely works out (cost of shipping is close to the value of the bike). Stem is pretty cool!

blilrat

That's a really cool fork also.

I don't know the Canadian market, but I've had luck lately selling locally in the $150-$200 range as long as the bike is in perfect running condition and has some cool or unusual parts like this Peugeot. Typically sit for about a month though with a couple of relistings.

mparker326

I think this type of MTB is becoming more popular as a utility/touring/commuting bike. It has cool components like the slingshot stem, dual eyelets for racks & fenders, low rider mounts. It even has horizontal drops to make a SS/Fixed/Internal hub out of it.

I'd hold on to it.

randyjawa 

I agree, in part, however; I can also see the day, in the not too distant future, when some vintage mountain bicycles will become sought after. The Specialized Stump Jumper, being one that immediately comes to mind.

In recent days, I have found a Tom Richey, a Scott, the Peugeot Canyon Express, a Baraccuda and a few others. These were all high end bicycles, in their day, and all had a following. Those people who lusted after such bikes, when the bikes were offered new, will become the group who wishes to find and restore their beloved mountain bicycle.

That is all opinion, of course, but my guess is that we will begin to see the old mounties fetching more and more, with the passing of time.

jettore

You are right, some of the early higher end mtb's are going up in value. I frequent the Vintage section on MTBR and there does seem to be a growing interest. There are some great people there if you have any vintage MTB questions. Have you been here to read up about your Barracuda? https://www.barracudabicycles.com/

As far as the Canyon Express, I paid $125 for mine from Craigslist in good condition.

randyjawa 

Well, it has been a while since I took a mountain bicycle out for a serious ride, but I did so today. The Canyon and I cruised for the better part of the afternoon, and proved to be a wonderful reward for getting caught up with my work load.

The bike is a keeper, for sure and I plan to keep it as close to original as I can. That said, the saddle sucks. Well, perhaps that is unfair and should be reworded. The saddle SUCKS!!!

None the less, I was impressed with how easily the bicycle rolled and maneuvered. And one thing that came to mind, a time or two, as the Peugeot and I were out and about - I did not have to keep my eye on the road, all the time, preparing to avoid the approach of every crack, hole or bump.

And when I got home, guess what was sitting in my back yard..?

randyjawa 

I meant to respond to this in my previous post.

Yes, I did go there almost immediately. I even joined the website, however; the site will not let me in. Too bad. I was hoping I might find someone who wanted a nice old Barracuda...

Tuc

Very interesting stem on that, worth keeping IMHO. To sell? Not so much. I really like the stem, very unique and perhaps in time it will attract a greater resale value because of that. Seriously, I would pay at least half the valuations from previous posters for the stem alone and then burn my N+1 to the bone trying to fit it to a bike I liked better. So hang onto that, if it fits you and rides well - you got that bling going for it on the front end.

jettore

Good to hear you are keeping it, they are a great riding bike. I bought mine as a commuter conversion, but I'm now turning it back into a MTB. Racks and fenders are coming off and skin wall tires going back on. Going to use it for gravel and hardpack path riding.

anixi

Randy, I bought one just like it, only it was a City Express, for $15. It had a bad front derailleur, which after being fixed, made the bike worth $100 in my market. HTH...

jyl

My rule of thumb is that high-end, expensive, desirable things become valuable vintage items after about thirty years.

People want the XYZ when they are 15 y/o to 25 y/o, but can only gaze at them in the XYZ dealer window or at the XYZ races, they can't afford the real XYZ but have to settle for a cheaper model without the capital letters. Then they go into the career rat race, start families, have kids, whatever and forget about XYZs.

"When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things"

One day they wake up into a mid-life crisis, which takes many forms and can happen anywhere from 30s y/o to 60s y/o, and want to recapture their youth by getting the XYZ that they lusted after as a youth. And now . . . they can afford it.

With luck, they can still fit into or onto the XYZ - aren't we lucky to covet vintage bicycles instead of, say, vintage miniskirts! - and soon their garage is full of XYZs and other childish things, and their spouse is irate - but, as I tell my wife, "dear, aren't you happy that my mid-life crisis doesn't involve fast cars and blondes? and what shall I make you for dinner?".

Thus the world of C&V is inexorably moving into the 1980's, the early carbon fiber bikes, and soon the early high-end mountain bikes.

When vintage mountain bikes are fully collectible, it will be interesting to see how the supply holds up. I suspect MTBs got thrashed and bashed more than road bikes. As for production numbers, does anyone know how the number of high-end mountain bikes made compares with high-end road bikes?

For example, there were about 2,400 (roughly) Bridgestone MB-Zips made, a lot of them were broken in races, but still they only fetch $400-650 on eBay - maybe 2,400 is actually a large number as far as bike model production goes?

ZippyThePinhead

Nice pictures of the bike.

I have an '86 Peugeot Orient Express, which is a sweet bike. I don't ride it much these days, but I should. I've written about it in a different thread.

shipwreck

I have a 8-? canyon express, and even though its seen some hardship, I love the bike.

Bought mine from a bike shop owner, it had been his and had some serious upgrades(for 1996). Rode it all the time, even though my room mates all made fun of my old bike compared to thier new yfoils, Schwinn Tomatos, ect. Six years I rode it.

Finaly the crank wallowed, at that time I had not a clue so gave it to a local bike flipper guy. He ground off all the cable stops and made it a single speed. Years later I got the bike back, the fork was terribly bent, and of course the stops were all gone(it still has the hanger though) So I found a chrome fork from a Motobecane, and put 700c fixed wheelset in it, drops and fenders. Have ridden it like that for several years, but am now thinking about a 26 inch three speed drum brake wheel I have(needs to be rebuilt first). That would bring back the handling that you talked about, it is ok with the 700s, but not nimble enough. The guy also ground off the canti mounts, so drum brakes are the best solution going back to 26" wheels.

I would jump on another, a little bigger than that one. It is a great bike, and the funny thing is that all my buddys bikes are long since dead...