smather

This is out of curiosity as opposed to me actually wanting to buy this, but what on earth is a Hlawatra? Google literally gave me 7 links when searched, 4 of them ads for this bike.



Hlawatra Vintage Road Bike | road | City of Toronto | Kijiji

cb400bill

When a bike has no internet presence, it is usually a department store grade, bike boom era, low level, bike.

cb400bill

Moved from Appraisals to C&V.

Murray Missile 

From what I can see in the photo that is exactly what it is. Rare and unusual does not always equal desirable or valuable. Sometimes being "rare" just means nobody wanted it the first time around.

dweenk

I wonder if the decals are damaged and actually read "Hiawatha". It was a brand sold by Gamble's Hardware in the mid-west.

CliffordK

Perhaps the brand is Hiawatha.
A company (or brand) that apparently had some unique bikes from the 30's to 50's.. But the 10 speeds seem to be quite unimpressive.

Oh, dweenk beat me to it

cycleheimer

Hlawatra .. at $169 it means "overpriced low-end 10-speed".

randyjawa 

The correct name is Hiawatha and the bike is of entry level quality and not worth spending much time, effort or money on, compared to many others that will come your way for a similar price.

CliffordK

This one just showed up on Craigslist locally.

Rare Antique Girls Hiawatha (not complete)

A little different style of bike, but only $30.

As far as the OP's bike, any 10-speed with 2 wheels and in reasonable condition might be worth at least $100 or so, so the price is a little high, but not too outlandish.

The Hiawatha brand seems to have a long history. Did they sell out and move overseas?

dddd

I just scratch my head while reading all of the Craigslist ads that declare items that inherently have no interest to collectors as "rare".

Seems to imply some buyers are just trying to avoid "sameness", and attempts to boost an item's perceived value, making it look like a better buy for the money.

I saw a plain-Jane Univega road bike today described as "rare", and while I can't recall having seen this model before, there are certainly no shortage of campus-level ten-speeds up for sale on any given day.

End of rant.

smather

Cool, like I said its not something I would spend money on, more of a learning exercise as I am trying to learn more about cycling. Does a bike like this ever have any reason to purchase? Like if the price was low enough, etc?

CliffordK

As the OP noted, it is much more rare if one can't spell the name.

But, it is true, rarity and value aren't always the same.

Absolutely.
I see "commuters" around all over that are ancient Schwinns of a similar quality.

Make sure it has good tires, tubes, and grease, and it may last a very long time.

There isn't a lot of support for the low-end bikes, but most of the parts are generic enough that you can find something that will fit. For example, if you can't find caged bearings, loose ones will do in a pinch. Notes on Hiawatha indicate that some were made by Murray (possibly this one) which was a very prolific bike manufacturer.

And, if you're wanting to practice, it never hurts to start with a $50 bike rather than a $5000 bike. Not everything is the same as an expensive bike, but some of the skills will carry over. Some "collectors" get excited about originality, and patina and such. Not so for $50 bikes. Hack away!!!

Anyway, if the bike is local, you could offer somewhere between $50 and $100, and you'd do ok. Or, cruise the local thrift stores and garage sales for something of similar quality.

JohnDThompson 

Bike-boom era department store brand.

smather

Thank you for the insight!

Bill Kapaun

Are Yugo's considered "rare"?

cb400bill

Only a good one.