Well, cost is certainly part of the issue but not my main point which is stated in the thread title - "how things have changed".
Two years ago in Thunder Bay, no vintage bikes were listed on Kijiji - now multiple offerings. The newer bikes are not an issue and I darn near went to look at the Masi and the Tomasso, but they are too new for my liking. Besides, I already have a newer vintage bike, my rider, my Marinoni Piuma. The real issue is the older vintage bikes that are showing up for sale rather than being thrown away at the dump or offered, for next to nothing, at yard sales, which, thanks to the pandemic, appear to be a thing of the past.
And, the prices on Ebay are also soaring also. I hear others about the prices of BMX bikes but it is the road bike stuff that I am mostly familiar with. A few years ago, I was giving Valentino stuff away. Nobody wanted it. Now, the prices on Ebay seem to reflect buyer interests. I actually watched Valentino prices closely (shaking my head at what was being asked) until what I thought to be a good deal surfaced. I bought this set for my next restoration project. I guess that I have changed also...
Actually, there is more to my present interest in the Valentino stuff. I have never restored a bike with that lowly transmission. Now, I am interested to find out how well, or how poorly, the set actually preforms. If the weather ever warms up, I will finally get a chance to see, for myself, how the entry level Campy stuff works. I even want to try out a Gran Tourismo rear derailleur that I purchased recently for a fair price - just to see if all the negative hype holds water...
