Damn, wish I still had my original old bike. I bought it in 1974 and road until the mid-90's when I got into an accident and the bike was damaged. Earlier this year I found a bike on eBay that was a much better model than my old one but same size, brand, period (it's a 1972), color, decals, etc so it looked just like it to the casual observer. It's what I would have bought back then if I weren't a kid with no money I still remember the LBS too - they had a main showroom for the "regular" bikes and a small room in the back for the high-end stuff with glass cases full of all sorts of way cool components. I had gone in intending to buy this red Raleigh for $140 or so. Then the salesman led me to the room in back and talked me into this beautiful blue Bottecchia with lots of flashy chrome for $175. You know it was probably fixable but I didn't know about C&V and eBay back then. It worked out for the best though cuz my current Bottecchia is a much nicer bike, even if it's not my original.