Eeyore0

I am thinking about selling my 1987 schwinn word sport bike (light blue) but no idea what the value is of this bike. It is in great shape, no rust, and all original parts too. Thank you

oddjob2

See post directly below yours, re world sports.

FastJake

Depends on condition and where you live. To properly evaluate we need photos. Could be anywhere in the $40-175 range depending on your market and condition.

Eeyore0

Sorry I don't have any pics, but the bike is in michigan

mstateglfr 

If its all original parts, then most likely those original parts need some TLC.
New bar tape, new grease in the hubs headset and bottom bracket, new cables and housing. Are the almost 30yo saddle and tires really in great shape?

Probably $20-50 if you sold it to someone that wants to fix it up. $80 if you want to sell it to someone who doesnt know any better and wants to use it just to get around without putting any money into it or who knows how to do some of the immediate necessary upgrades.

pics would help.

ramzilla

World Sports are well made good value bikes. Easy to sell. Only reason they're not worth much is they were produced in huge quantities. Not a collector's item. If it's in really good condition with a nice paint job & decent tires you could start out at $150. If you don't get any bites reduce the price & try again. Around here in Atlanta those bikes go for between $100 -$125 all day long.

oddjob2

Above seems very optimistic IMHO. Have you actually sold a few WS or speculating based on asking prices? Asking prices have limited relationship to FMV.

I only ask because today I went after a 1987 Schwinn Prelude listed at $140 here in south Florida. Been on the market for a month. I offered $100 via email, but the seller said it needed tires, which was a telegraph to me he'd take less. Bought for $85, 40% below listed price. New Serfas suspension saddle is probably worth $25 or more.

ramzilla

I paid $100 for an old "made in Taiwan" Schwinn World about two years ago. It's around a 79 model I think. Chrome steel wheels. No name components. Step through woman's frame. PO overhauled wheel bearings & installed new tires. I got rid of the drop handlebars & installed upright bars. It's a very nice bike. Good grocery getter.

FastJake

You overpaid.

mstateglfr 

Ha, man I love this forum.
A bike that had uprights installed, so for sure New grips added, and most likely new cables.
The hubs were overhauled and new tires were added.

All for $100 and the only comment was that it was too much.
Sure, perhaps, but really how much cheaper should one expect?
Even the cheap Kenda tires are $14 each. New grips for $10. So $40 in new components plus maybe new cables.
Add in the time it takes to overhaul both wheel hubs and that's a reasonable $25 charge.

So $65 for new components and work.
Plus it's a step thru frame which is specific for what someone wants and the bars were changed to upright.

$35 for the bike plus the new components and work.

Just doesn't seem like there was much to overpay on.

Is buying it for $75 expected? Do you really pass on tthe bike for $25 when its the frame you want, the size you want, the riding style you want, and has new tires?

What should have been the sold price?

FastJake

$50-75, which is what the bike is worth.

Say you stick $150 into an old Huffy. New cables, housing, brake pads, bearings, tires, tubes, saddle, grips, chain, freewheel, etc. Would you expect to get $150 for it? Of course not. An old Huffy will never be worth that much. Some bikes aren't worth it to overhaul unless you don't care about losing money in the process.

I see this with cars all the time. Someone sticks $5000 getting their old beater road worthy. Then gets sick of looking at a rusty heap and decides they want to sell it. Will they get $5000 for it? Nope.

zazenzach

+1

I see this all the time in the motorcycle world. They upgrade their ride with a bunch of aftermarket parts, and then are baffled why they can't get that money back when they go to resell.

inkandsilver

The later World Sports like OP's are quite a bit improved over the earlier ones, which were pretty terrible. I easily sold a decent condition example tuned and ready to ride for $135 a few years ago. IIRC it had a chromoly frame and indexed stemmies. Oddjob and Thrifty Bill have more experience than most of the rest of us put together, so I hesitate to contradict them, but I do think Ramzilla's numbers are realistic for a mid- to late-80s World Sport. Of course we haven't actually seen OP's bike, so it might be worth $3.50.

mstateglfr 

I must live in the land of love for World Sports then as the 3 I have fixed up have all sold for more than what I had invested. Well 1 sold for break even, but that had been a keeper and had more expensive changes made.

$100 for a reliable bike shop level bike that has new tires, hubs overhauled, and is truly in ready to ride condition just doesn't seem excessive. It isn't a cheap buy, sure, but whats an extra $25 when you have the style bike you want and its something you will use each week for a year or more?

FastJake

You are missing a detail that I was focusing on. Ramzilla was talking about a 1979 Schwinn WORLD, not a World Sport. The World is a completely different bike. Much lower end bike with steel rims, as ramzilla mentions.

I have bought and sold Schwinn World Sports in the $100-150 range depending on year and condition. The later 1980s World Sports were pretty nice riders with partial chromoly frames and decent aluminum components.

mstateglfr 

Sorry, my mind is fried. I knew it was an older world, but still mentioned the world sport.
The point was the same, or better said, my opinion was the same.
A stepthru frame that someone wants plus new tires and the riding position they desire is worth $100 to me. Especially when the bike will be used on a regular basis as a grocery getter.
Utility plus the right type of frame plus new tires plus working condition all for $100? It's just tough for me to say that the buyer was ripped off.
I'm sure there are nicer examples of the exact parameters for cheaper. Perhaps they weren't in ramzilla's are at the time. The difference of $25(your stated value vs what was paid) just doesn't seem significant to me.

ramzilla

Old Schwinns always get such a bad rap. I guess its just the fact they're so common. But, in reality Schwinn made very durable good quality bikes. Schwinn World was a great basic platform. I like them because you can still get brand new threaded parts that will fit right on them. They're so durable you can loan them to anybody & not worry. And, you don't have to worry too much about them getting stolen. It's all good!

ramzilla

There's a considerable difference between an old Schwinn Varsity and old Schwinn World. The Varsity's I remember had very heavy electro-forged frames & one piece cranks. Schwinn World had a lighter steel lugged frame with three piece cotterless crank. As far as I know, all Schwinn Worlds were made in Taiwan. And, the quality was better than the US made Varsitys. IMHO Schwinn World was one of the main reasons people quit buying the other heavier Schwinns and, one of the reasons Schwinn eventually went out of business. Taiwan Schwinns were simply better & more affordable.

Tundra_Man 

I bought my son a near-mint '86 Schwinn World last fall from a local guy who flips bikes. He'd replaced the tires and tubes, cables, brake pads and tuned everything up. I paid $110, which I figured was a fair price because the bike didn't need anything but to be ridden.

Then the next day I sold my son's old bike via Craiglist to the first person who came and looked at it. It was a 20" Diamondback 6-speed mini mountain bike that he had outgrown. I held out for $110 and got it. So basically I got him a better fitting bike for an even swap money-wise.

But I wouldn't have paid any more than $110 for that bike.