Vuke

Hey guys,

I'm new to the forum and come from a mountain biking background so my knowledge on old road bikes is limited, but I do have a good knowledge of bikes in general. My wife has a 1976 Eisentraut Limited that was her aunt's old tri bike. Her Aunt passed in 1980 and the bike hung in her parents garage for close to 15 years before being given to her as her college commuter bike.

I never did any research on the bike until last night and came to find that this is quite a rare and collectible bike. The specs are as follows:

1976 Eisentraut Limited frame - Year verified by Serial #. Frame size is 54cm from center of BB to center of top tube. Would be closer to 56cm if measured to top of top tube. Color is Maroon (I'll post pics later)

Superleggero 3ttt bars and stem made in Italy
Campagnolo Shifters, derailleurs, caged pedals, seatpost, and headset
Shimano Dura Ace Brake levers and calipers
Superbe Cranks - 170mm
Sugino Mighty Competition 52-42 chainrings
Rigida Rims laced to Phil Wood Hubs
Cobra water bottle cage (Made in Italy)

I swapped out the tires a few years back with new Michelins
The current saddle is a new white Velo, but I think I still have the original in a box somewhere.

The condition of the bike is fair, there are numerous paint chips and scratches as well as some very minor rusting on the little chrome bits. No rust on the frame itself. The only other things to note are the hoods on the brake levers are no good and the bar tape is at least 20 years old. Like I said, I'll post up some pics later today.

There aren't a lot of these on the market, but it seems that original completes in any shape go for at least $800 - $1000. I know pricing is hard without pictures, but what do you guys think?

PeregrineA1 

Need pics, detailed pics.

As a point of reference I have picked 2 Eisentraut Limiteds in the last 18 months. One, a 57.5 cm wall hanger in very good, well loved condition for $750.00. The other, a 59 cm in fair, well used condition, for $375.00. Both have period correct builds and are completely rideable as picked up.

randyjawa 

I think you are correct. Even with pictures, it is difficult to determine Vintage Bicycle Value for a host of different reasons.

None the less, welcome to the Bike Forums and looking forward to seeing the pictures. Might be a good idea to let us know where you live, also. Area does have a great deal to do with value.

Vuke

We are both originally from the Bay Area in California, which is probably why her aunt ended up with this bike, seeing as it is a local builder. Currently we have the bike up in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Quite the old road bike culture here too, so that might help the value a bit.

thinktubes 

Sounds like a nice bike, but really need pics for an accurate estimate.

Given the parts mix, I would be very tempted to part it out....at least the wheelset.

rccardr 

For additional perspective, DD picked up a '76 Traut for me from the NW- Washington state this past June. Full Galli group in actually in pretty darn nice condition. My daughter grabbed it and ran home with it, so I only get to see it when we visit. We paid $400 if I recall correctly, which I thought was very reasonable.

Vuke

as promised:

https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974736/p4pb8974736.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974732/p4pb8974732.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974735/p4pb8974735.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974733/p4pb8974733.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974734/p4pb8974734.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974730/p4pb8974730.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974729/p4pb8974729.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974728/p4pb8974728.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974726/p4pb8974726.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974725/p4pb8974725.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974724/p4pb8974724.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974723/p4pb8974723.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974722/p4pb8974722.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974721/p4pb8974721.jpg

Ex Pres 

If you're seeing $800 - $1000, you might be confusing the upper model "A" with the more common Limited model.

Vuke

https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974720/p4pb8974720.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974719/p4pb8974719.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974718/p4pb8974718.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974717/p4pb8974717.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974716/p4pb8974716.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974713/p4pb8974713.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974710/p4pb8974710.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974709/p4pb8974709.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974707/p4pb8974707.jpg
https://gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb8974706/p4pb8974706.jpg

Vuke

You might be right, doing some quick and dirty pricing off similar items on ebay I could get at least $1000 if I part it out. A little more time and hassle, but could be worth it.

mparker326

What is the problem with keeping it?

Vuke

It been sitting for so long and deserves a better home then our hallway. My wife is doing the Ride to Conquer Cancer in June and we would like to fund the purchase of a new bike using this bike. We currently have 7 bikes and we can't possibly add another one without unloading one.

This is the prime candidate for swapping.

Poguemahone

A bit less than 800-1000$, I think. Around 500$. More parted.

Eisentraut is a great builder, but the American hand builders are still a bit undervalued on the vintage market. It will probably sit locally at that price. IMO, his bikes ride a level above anything else. Frankly, if the bike fits you or your wife I'd get rid of something else.

I own right around thirty bikes, and if someone put a gun to my head and made me narrow it down to one, it would be the Eisentraut. Goodbye, Merckx. Goodbye, various Treks. Goodbye, Schwinn Paramount. And so on.

PeregrineA1 

Nice. Same color as my two and in between them in condition, very similarly equipped to the more expensive of the two.

As said by others, a very nice riding bike and one to keep.

Vuke

It's a tough decision. We definitely don't have room for an additional bike. If we were to keep the Traut it would need upgrades to be worthy for the Cancer Ride. If we upgrade to combo brake/shifter levers then we would have to go 9, 10 or 11 speed. If we do that we would need a new wheelset, the new wheelset would probably be too wide for the frame and the rear triangle on the frame would need to be cold set. With this comes a new drivetrain (casette, chain, etc) I'm not sure if the shifters would be compatible for 9-11 speed either, so those would need replacing most likely. These upgrades could easily come to the same price as a decent used newer road bike.

Then comes the whole idea of upgrading an originally equipped nice road bike. Some might say it's a crime to do this to a classic bike. The dilemma, I could part the bike out and come out $1000 or more ahead or sell the bike complete and only come out with $400-$500.

The Traut has been sitting in the closet/ hallway for 4 years easy and only been ridden maybe 5 times during that period. I think it deserves a better home with someone who will ride it.

With that said, anyone on here interested?

PeregrineA1 

There is likely interest here, however you must be a member ($25.00) to post a for sale ad.

That being said, with the gear set you have on that it is ready to go for most rides if the rider is in moderately good condition, in my humble opinion. It's not fancy, but it'll ride nice for a long time with fresh tires, tubes, cables, and bar tape.

Vuke

The wife really hates the manual friction shifters and would like to upgrade to brake/shifter combo style shifting. Is there any way to convert to this without changing out the whole drivetrain (Wheels, derailleurs, etc)? I did a quick search last night and it looks like I would have to replace just about everything to accomplish having that newer style combo shifter/ brake levers.

rccardr 

Your research is correct. If this whole thing is just becoming a pain in the buns, sell the Traut and put the fundage toward something she'll want to ride.

Complete without doing anything to it at all, I'm guessing $400-500. No idea what the used market is like up there, but you may be able to pick up something newer with STI's for that or a little more.

lotek 

I bought a 1975 Eisentraut Limited for my wife for $250 but that was almost 10 years ago.
I agree that $500 is about the going rate for a limited. Remember these were not custom bikes
and most likely not built by Albert but other builders working for him (although some of them
are quite well known builders now).

Marty