braingel

I've got a Motobecane Mixte frame with Reynolds 531 tubing and Nervex lugs. Stronglight headset and bottom bracket(I just overhauled both) and Stronglight cranks(the pentagram/star style). The paint is in decent shape, but there are definitely chips, and they've rusted a little. The brakes were Weinmann 610 center-pull and the derailleurs were Huret. I say "were" only because they are currently off for cleaning. They are still here though. I need to know whether I should just sell the frame/fork/headset/cranks on eBay, or if it would make more sense to build it up fancy and then sell it. I have no experience with rare bikes, so I've really got no idea...
Thanks!

iamtim

I have almost that exact same frame/fork/deraillleur set all torn down for cleaning and re-assembly as well. I'm interested in whatever replies you get; I was thinking of making it a fixie conversion, but I'm not opposed to restoring it, either.

Stacey

About tree fiddy.

Little Darwin

Mixte frames don't usually demand a very high price, but then again, very few of them are 531.

If I were to buy a 531 Mixte, I would prefer it the way it is, as I would want to build it up for a specific usage. Of course, for what I want to do, I wouldn't want to pay more than about $50 total for the frame /shipping/everything else. with the components listed.

Whether I am the norm, or a cheapskate in this case, I don't know.

BTW - I personally would have no interest in a tricked out bike on that frame, so I can't even hazard a guess as to the value built up, but it would definitely depend in part on the components.

Grand Bois

531 mixtes are fairly rare and some of us are crazy about mixtes. I'd probably be willing to pay way too much for either a frameset or a complete bike if I didn't already have more mixtes than I know what to do with. I don't sell bikes, but I've heard that mixtes are very easy to sell in my part of the country.

Mhendricks

I'll take that mixte off your hands.

braingel

i don't know if i want to sell it or keep it. this always happens....

Mhendricks

Just give it away then, to me!

braingel

ok...so i've been doing some looking up of things, and here's what i found on ebay:

same model (i think...mine doesn't say grand record, since it doesn't have top tube. actually, i think it's a grand touring), same colors, but not a mixte :
https://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-MOTOBECA...QQcmdZViewItem
nothing but the frame, and it's at $300. my paint is in much better shape.

here is the same exact crankset that mine's got:
https://cgi.ebay.com/STRONGLIGHT-cran...QQcmdZViewItem
these look unused though, and my chainrings look to be nearer to the end of their life than the beginning. the cranks themselves are in great shape though.

and like i said, the headset + bottom bracket are also stronglight, and i just overhauled them. and i've got all of the other original components too, sans wheels. all overhauled. a few bolts need replacing.

so is stacey right about $350?...because there is already 1 bid on those cranks for $300, and the buy-it-now for $300 frame says it has an offer pending...what does everybody think? i don't realistically expect to get over $600 for it, but if i could, then wow.

oh yeah, the frame is pretty small...i forget to mention that. 52cm seat tube, and 54-55cm virtual top tube(c-c).

any ideas? any short people?
thanks...

Blue Order

Never heard of a GT in 531, so I doubt it, but who knows. Are you sure it's 531? Are you sure it's a GT?

Overpriced.

Sorry to burst your bubble, there's no way your mixte is worth anywhere near $600. It's definitely worth something, but a bike's price isn't determined by adding up the total of it's components. It is determined by what the market will bear, which on Ebay can be ridiculously stupid. A top-notch mid-range 531 Motobecane should be worth no more than $300- $350. Tops.

The fact that it's a mixte should drop that price down; on the other hand, the fact that it's a 531 mixte might keep the price up there. Who knows?

I might even be convinced to buy it myself.

JunkYardBike

Sell it in the NYC market, you just might get your $600. Here's a Motobecane mixte with with 2040 tubing, and I'm sure it doesn't have your crankset. Seller is asking $230 -- and I bet it will sell near that price.

Browse through NYC CL; it's worse than eBay.

Little Darwin

A sad state... A 20 year old bike selling for more than it cost as a brand new bike...

It would be expected if it were an incredible collector's item, but it is the norm that New Yorkers pay for beaters.

I actually have thought that if I sell a bike, it is going onto New York Craigslist and I will deliver it for free. It is only a 2 hour drive or so... and I could easily get an extra $100 for any bike by selling on NY CL.

Unfortunately the mania is spreading, I just sent an email to someone on the Philadelphia CL that the $250 they were asking for a 2003 Cypress ST in like new condition except for scrapes from chain suck was $20 more than the MSRP for a brand new 2006 Cypress ST... which comes complete with warrantee and probably a free tuneup or two. I just noticed that they lowered their asking price to $150.

Blue Order

It's not mania, it's stupidity. On both the buyer's and the seller's parts. I still say there's no way a 531 Moto mixte will sell for $600, even in NYC. Granted, it will be worth more in NYC than in other parts, but it's still not a $600 bike, IMO.

braingel

yeah, i know it's not worth $6oo...but the question is will somebody pay that much, or something even close. i wondered because of the ebay prices. i still wonder.

oh yeah, and it is definitely 531 tubing, but was questionably a gt.

Blue Order

Do you have pics?

braingel

i'm putting the chainrings back on the crankarm right now, and then i'll put it on the bike and take a picture. 10 minutes.

Blue Order

I'll look for it tomorrow.

BTW, I just noticed you're in PDX. Me too. I'd say PDX prices are roughly in the ballpark with NYC prices, given the bike craze here.

peripatetic

Just wanted to chime in on "ridiculous prices" v. "what the market will bear." There's this confusion a lot of us bike-lovers have--and experts on something in general have--between what something should cost versus what something does cost. On the NYC CL, people are always posting these whiney posts about how a person could expect to get such and such price for such and such piece of crap. It's sad but it's true that the market follow supply and demand. Here in New York, that means very high prices for marginal vintage frames. But there are many reasons why such frames are in demand. One of those reasons is that they are no longer manufactured and are therefore always in limited supply. If someone posts an 80s Huffy for $100, I won't buy it, but if someone does, and other people follow suit, then that's what the market bears. It's important to note the distinction between what we feel is quality worth the price and what the market will honor for a price. I'm in the unenviable position of searching for an apartment right now, and the prices here are absolutely ridiculous. Every day, I have to justify to myself why I'm willing to spend over $1000 for a month of living in a tiny room. But I also understand that since everyone else is paying that (or more) I must either go along with the scheme, or get lucky and find a great deal. I think it's good to explain to uneducated buyers why a particular bike is a bad deal, but if it's considered normal for the market, we shouldn't just go and say, "ripoff," like grouchy old curmudgeons.

braingel

i am inept with my camera...the flash isn't working. i'll take the pictures when my backyard is facing the sun.

dck

In Portland that may not be til next spring.

JunkYardBike

Cross the Hudson, and the value drops 60%: https://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/bik/216328633.html

braingel

i don't know how to add the images into the thread, so here is a link to our flickr page:

https://flickr.com/photos/wiggyooo

i think the paint in the pictures looks better than it actually is

crazyb

Anybody interested in a Raleigh Record Ace Mixte frame and fork?

Blue Order

Dude, you have a Grand Record mixte! Full 531 frameset, 3rd from the top of the Motobecane line. I didn't know Motobecane made the Grand Record in a mixte frame.

How much do you want for this bike?

Blue Order

For reference, this Grand Record sold for over $1000 recently on Ebay. Now, I think that's a crazy price for a Grand Record, which should go for about $350 or so. But still... I think there's an argument to be made for the build it up fancy school of thought. Keep it original specs, though...