tarwheel 

I think that I know the answer to this but was wondering if others have a different perspective. Is it always advantage to part out a bike rather than selling it complete (in terms of money)?

I've got a classic steel De Bernardi that was a labor of love in the past, but I seldom ride it anymore. Most of my riding these days is commuting, touring and riding on local greenways, and the De Bernardi is better equipped for fast recreational and road rides. I recently bought an old Specialized Sequoia sport touring frame that is better suited for my riding needs these days and initially planned to use the De Bernardi as a donor bike for parts. However, the parts that I can use from the De Bernardi are rather limited and I'm wondering if I should just buy the few parts that I need to complete the Sequoia and keep the Italian intact. At this point, the only parts from the De Bernardi that I can use on (or need for) the Sequoia include the bar-end shifters, brake pads and Nitto stem. The wheelset would be useful as a spare, but not required.

I could buy all of these needed parts for about $150, and having the bike shop strip down the De Bernardi would cost me some money, although I'm not sure how much. However, it seems like used complete bikes don't sell for much more than framesets, and I could probably double the money I eventually get for the bike by parting it out. It is also harder and more expensive to ship a complete bike. The bike has nice components -- 9-speed Ultegra/Dura-Ace derailleurs and crankset, Thomson seatpost, Campy Record headset, Nitto stem, Cane Creek brake levers, Ultegra brake calipers. I would keep the Ultegra-Open Pro wheelset, one way or the other.

3speedslow

You will make more parting out. Up to you. Did it come to you complete or did you put it together piece-by- piece?

cyclotoine

sounds like a nice mix of parts, I would definitely part it out.

vinfix

You're right, you'll do better financially by parting it out. Whether that's worth your time & effort is the question. Then there's the occasional bad apples on Craigs List, eBay. When I was last downsizing, I sold the small stuff on ebay, wheels on CL, and when I had a yard sale, advertised "Campy & vintage parts"- sold 'em quick.

francophile 

You'll virtually always make more on a part-out. Everyone carries different ethical judgment about when it's OK to part-out. Some people will part-out anything. The only times I'm questionable on part-out vs intact with pre-90s bikes:

Is the frame damaged? If yes, and it's significant enough, I'll part-out and sell the frameset as damaged/parts.
If not, are most of the parts original to the bike? If yes, I'll try to sell whole to someone I know won't part-out.
If not, I'm most open to parting out.

I almost always leave the headset & BB on the frame, mostly because I'm usually selling French/Swiss/Italian stuff using non-BSA threading, main exception being if it's part of a larger contiguous groupset, then the groupset takes precedence.

francophile 

PS - got any pics? Just curious.

tarwheel 

I bought the De Bernardi frame and fork new-old-stock and had it built up. Although I've had the frame about 9 years, it looks like new without a single paint chip or rust spot, and the fork steerer tube is uncut. If I part it out, I will probably leave the Campy headset on the frame and fork. I might hang on to some of the parts, such as the Thomson seat post and Cane Creek brakes because they might be useful for other projects in the future. However, I will have no need for the Ultegra 53/39 crankset, Italian BB, brake calipers, or the derailleurs.

francophile 

@tarwheel I realize this isn't the sale forum, but if you have an idea what what you're looking to get for the F&F/BB/HS, I'll be in Raleigh-Durham area for a wedding over Labor Day weekend and this is interesting to me. Feel free to PM.

Lascauxcaveman 

I don't understand this part at all.

Having said that, I'd only keep the De Bernardi whole if I had a good chance of selling locally for a decent sum, even though it wouldn't be near what you could part it out for. Call it a convenience fee for not having to mess with it.

Otherwise, tear that sucker down.

CliffordK

Paying a shop to strip the bike to sell off parts, you'll lose money.

I'm not convinced that you're always better off stripping and selling parts. I suppose I'll have to deal with picky buyers sometime. It may depend on what you're selling.

I like your choice of upgrades on the bike (aero brakes, bar end shifters, etc), but no doubt there are some collectors that will knock it for not being "original".

One can get punished on the used market for scratch & ding components, or mixed groupsets.

You would also get punished for selling a bike without major components like wheels.

Anyway, if you like your "build", and want 90% of the parts moved from one frame to another, then you're probably better off just stripping the one frame and building up the other one.

If you want to sell the bike as-is. Come up with a price that you like, and see if you get any nibbles. If not, then strip it and sell it off piece by piece.

tarwheel 

The last time that I had parts swapped from one frame to another, the bike shop charged me for a bike build as well as for removing parts from the other bike. I don't know if this is standard practice or not, and I haven't always been charged extra when swapping parts for a build. I typically buy frames rather than complete bikes and have them built up with parts that I have on hand, swapped from other bikes and some bought new from the shop.

If I decide to part out the De Bernardi, I will probably remove most of the parts myself. However, I would probably need help removing some of the parts, such as the crankset and bottom bracket. I would probably leave the headset on the frame.

Spaghetti Legs 

I'm not sure parting out will net you that much more, assuming Ultegra 9 speed. That's good stuff but doesn't command the premium like vintage Campy bits or more modern 10 and 11 speed stuff. You can get a crank puller (although some Shimano stuff is self extracting) and BB tool for < $20.

I'd be happy to loan you mine but you can probably buy them for not much more than the shipping.

Lascauxcaveman 

Time to buy just a couple more tools

I'm sure I spent less than $50 total on my Park fixed cup wrench (with pins for the adjustable cub side), lockring wrench and std sized crank puller. My LBS would probably only charge me $20 to remove all that stuff, but nowadays I do it often enough, so it makes no sense to ask them.

CliffordK

I think it is nice to leave some parts like the headset with the frame. But, it depends a bit on what it is. Some parts like Campy bits and pieces can be worth a fortune... well, tiny fortune, but you get the picture.

There is even a market for use Shimano 600 and similar parts. Look it up.

I'm happy with a Ritchey Sealed bearing on my recent build, so there are benefits of upgrading some things.

If the frame and fork match, don't split them up. That s going one step too far.

daf1009

I would say to strip the bike down...but...do it yourself...buy the tools...I have tried to sell bikes like this, with mixed groups...and gotten not entirely satisfactory returns on them. Stripping and selling piece by piece is more work...but, IMHO, always nets you more $$$. And...it opens the frame up to being sold on eBay, which will generally (even with fees), net you more in total. Shipping an entire bike becomes burdensome in a lot of ways (packing is more difficult and overall more expensive).

francophile 

Can't reiterate this enough ^^

Just like stripping parts from a bike, there is skill and knowledge required to properly pack a frame in a way you know it won't be damaged in transit, and an investment in supplies (foam wraps, tape, the box, zip ties, fork and wheel caps, etc.)

If you need to rely on the bike shop to do it, most charge a minimum of $40 to pack it, and some will even charge that much just for the box. I've found several who only seem to know how to unpack a bike, can't trust them to pack well. With shipping for eBay, it's easy to get caught with your pants down thru eBay (scammers).

There are a ton of tutorials online showing how to properly pack a bike; if you follow them, be prepared to obtain a box, spend ~$30 or more on supplies you may only use once.

I know what I'm doing when packing, and I'll be honest: I loathe the process. If I didn't like the challenge of engineering the best possible solution to make a bomb-proof container out of corrugated paper, I'd probably have a pile of extra frames laying around

DMC707

This sounds familiar

bikemig 

I like that Bottechia in the back of the pack. Maybe it's just the Giro d'Italia influence. By next month, I'll be looking for a French bike,

DMC707

the DeBernardi looks far too large for me - as I ride a 53/54, --- but whoever the lucky new owner of that frame is will be getting a very nice frame -- I'm a bit biased as I have 2 of them , but their ride quality is the same as any high quality race machine --- firm and responsive with just enough give to let you ride it 120 miles without needing a chiropractor afterwards

That sounds like a sales pitch almost, but 'tis true --- I dare say, they have the type of ride quality Cannondale tried to mimic when it designed their carbon Synapse series , as these qualities are shared, -- although the 'Dale is lighter due to the carbon construction

tarwheel 

I might very well just keep the De Bernardi. I really hate to let it go, but I'm approaching the limit in my garage for bikes. It's a very nice riding bike with an incredible finish. A few years ago, when it came time to selling my Merckx Corsa 01 or the De Bernardi, I kept this one. It rides every bit as nice as the Merckx despite the lack of name recognition.

I picked up a nice Nitto stem on eBay for a very reasonable price yesterday, so the only parts that I need for the Sequoia are some Dura-Ace bar-end shifters and some Kool-Stop brake pads. Seems like a shame to strip down the De Bernardi just for that.

francophile 

The Bottecchia is nice, but the De Bernardi and '73-80 C/K (Cheyenne?) you got there caught my eye more than anything

DMC707

I didn't mean to thread drift, but since you mentioned it .......... '75 Cheyenne 454 -- lots of smiles per miles even if it only goes 120 miles on a tank -- I was playing around with a photo filter app on my phone trying to take "vintage" looking pics, but its Orange& White 2 tone to celebrate my Alma Mater, Oklahoma State




For me --- just as many smiles per miles ----- I have only had this out a handful of times since I built it earlier this year, -- but what a blast --- with a Veloce triple groupset and that Technomica stem, I can sit tall in the saddle and motor up anything --- but if the opportunity comes to dial in a little more mph -- the drops are easy to reach and I can get as low as I need to go. (but I am a big guy, so I dare not muster up a sprint wwith that stem - its flexy)

Not a top level tubeset- its an Aelle, -- but the Italians seem to find a way to put a little magic in the Aelle, Cromor and Thron bikes , just like they do the SLX and MAX versions

daf1009

I hate the process of packing a bike as well...although I have done quite a few. Frames? I can pack them in about 20 minutes...gotten pretty good at that...if you ever need help with frames, let me know!

francophile 

Cool to see two De Bernardis pop up in one thread. Not a typical name. Now I'm off to hunt and see if anyone started a thread with more...

Nice! I had an LS1-loaded '68 C10 w/6spd up until a few years ago. Fun retrofit, C/K platform is super fun to wrench on and drive.

Thanks, D! Careful, I may take you up on that

tarwheel 

Someone has been trying to sell a De Bernardi frame made with Columbus Max on the Paceline forum for a while and he's dropped the price a few times. It's a pretty awesome looking frame although it does have a small dent in the top tube.

FS: 58cm Bernardi Max framset - Page 4 - The Paceline Forum