Originally Posted by Poguemahone
All that said, part of the reason the Peterson Bridgetones maintain a higher price is the mystique built around them, partly because of the Bridgestone owner's bunch and partly because of Grant's later success (?) with Rivendell. I'd certainly pay forty bucks for another one, but I doubt I would pay going ebuy/craigslist prices on them; I've seen RB2s go for ten times what I paid. Looking for them, you pay a bit of a prenium for the name, just as you would for a Bianchi or a Paramount.
I've reached the same conclusion. The going rate for RB-1's and 2's seems to be about $450 to $900, which is too much to pay for a 12-year-old (or more) bike with so-so tubing. To be fair, the same can be said for a lot of vintage bikes -- strip the mystique and all you have is a heavy frame with funky components.
I think where Bridgestone really excelled was in their catalogs -- I have a copy from 1994 and it is beautifully designed and full of useful articles.