miamibeachcg

I go 30-45min early every morning to a local thrift store to get first shot at any vintage/rare bikes that may come in - today was one of the days that made it worth while! I bought a 1984 Lotus Supreme in almost new old stock condition this morning for $100!
But while researching it I found it should have Campagnolo Super Record derailleur - mine has a Campagnolo Nuovo Gran Sport derailleur.
Googling Lotus Supreme, Campagnolo Nuovo Gran Sport I found this on Vintage Lotus website:
The Supreme featured chrome head tube lugs and a chrome fork crown. Supreme models were equipped with top-of-the-line components, the 1980-83 models featured Shimano Dura Ace and the 1984 Supreme used Campagnolo Super Record. All of the Supreme models, like all the Lotus racing bikes, rode on tubular rims.

In 1984 Lotus offered two other Campagnolo equipped racing models, the Nuovo Record Competition and the Nuovo Gran Sport Legend Compe, all built in Japan.

So that means my bike should be a Legend Comp - but it has the Supreme name on the top tube, not Legend Compe.

Can anyone tell me what I have - and what it's worth? It's a little small for me with a 20" frame, but it is a blast to ride - it shifts, turns & reacts so quickly & smoothly!

I appreciate any help.

[IMG]AA BICYCLE LOTUS 1AA_AAA by miamibeachcg, on Flickr[/IMG]

AA BICYCLE LOTUS 1AA_AAB by miamibeachcg, on Flickr

AA BICYCLE LOTUS 1AA_BA_AA by miamibeachcg, on Flickr

AA BICYCLE LOTUS 1AA_BAAA by miamibeachcg, on Flickr

AA BICYCLE LOTUS 2AAA by miamibeachcg, on Flickr

AA BICYCLE LOTUS 2BAAA by miamibeachcg, on Flickr

AA BICYCLE LOTUS 2CAAA by miamibeachcg, on Flickr

AA BICYCLE LOTUS 3AAAA Rear Brake Close Up by miamibeachcg, on Flickr

AA BICYCLE LOTUS 1CAA by miamibeachcg, on Flickr

gbi

You have a Lotus Supreme....nice bike....great purchase price!

miamibeachcg

Is the derailleur on it more valuable than the original one that was suppose to come with it?

gbi

No, the bike frame is nice in itself.

nesteel 

It appears the entire group is G.S. Unless a previous owner changed out the entire group, it may have come that way.

miamibeachcg

By entire group being Gran Sport, do you mean both derailleurs or the whole group set of derailleurs, brakes, levers & shifters? (that would help in describing it)
I couldn't believe it when I saw it sitting between a Schwinn Traveler & a Huffy Formula 10 and I still can't believe how like new everything on it is - having a complete upgrade group set is just the icing on the cake! THIS is why I stand out front of that store early every morning!
Thanks all; I greatly appreciate the info.

nesteel 

Looking at the stack of spacers under the headset top nut, someones been monkeying with it at some point. I can't image that being a "factory" job. Still a dang nice score. Is it your size?

miamibeachcg

too small - putting it on eBay

sarahbruce

Although I agree with you about this being an awesome find, I would be careful about not being completely honest about where the bike came from and calling it "mint". That is the kind of stuff that can come back and bite you, especially when listing for such a huge mark up. Generally not a good idea to post how much you paid when selling also, even if it is on two different sites.
Bruce

cb400bill

That bar tape does not say "mint condition" to me.

oddjob2

Nice find at a good price. You might want to research ebay solds to see if parting it out makes sense.

If mint or NOS is a 10, I would score your Supreme about a 6. Flaking decals, some paint chips, scuffed fork crown, grease on chainwheels, etc. While lower on the scale of Lotus bikes, this Odyssey acquired from Daf1009 wound be mintier.

T-Mar

This one has definitely been built up from a frame. Beside the headset spacers and incorrect group, the front brake has the pads jammed all the way to the top of the adjustment slots, yet they are still riding on the bottom edge of the rim sidewalls. The brake reach is too long for the fork, indicating they are not OEM. Plus, the rims are 700C wired-on. This model came with tubulars.

Drillium Dude 

From the auction: "THIS BIKE WAS FOUND IN A STORAGE AUCTION I WON AND APPEARS HARDLY USED, ALMOST NEW!"

So, which one is it?

Agree with @sarahbruce - be completely honest about how you acquired it if you feel the need to share that info. You could always simply leave it out, but as long as you're putting it in...

And, yeah - somebody rode it quite a bit to end up with cloth bar tape that frayed, though it's obvious they took care of the bike. Also, looks like the cranks and seatpost are also Gran Sport. Dunno if it's worth what you're asking, but it's surely worth more than $100. Good luck!

DD

zukahn1 

Nice SL frame set from lesser known maker with none original Campy GS components. I would put the value at $300 or so as presented no way I would call this bike mint or near nos I would describe it as good to very good condition for age.

Tim_Iowa

I agree, it's not "HARDLY USED & IN MINT CONDITION" at all.

More like "USED BUT WELL TAKEN CARE OF & CUSTOM EQUIPPED WITH NON-ORIGINAL BUT MOSTLY PERIOD-CORRECT COMPONENTS"

And as @T-Mar points out, the brakes are totally incorrect and probably unsafe.

The frame is a gem, and the components look to be in good shape. So it was a great buy at the price you said, but I don't think it's worth what you're asking. And you really need to change the description.
And I think it's worth investing $15 in it for some new grey or black bar tape.
Or, you could possibly make that asking price if you parted it out. Campy stuff, even mid-level Nuovo GS, is still valuable to collectors.

Just my opinions, best of luck.

seypat

Interesting, what the previous owner did is take a Lotus Supreme and downgrade it to a Lotus Legend Compe. The Legend Compe however, had NR derailleurs and everything else Gran Sport. It also had tubular as well. There is some bait and switch going on there.

WolfRyder 

Look, out in the wild, it is a nice clean, Silver Lotus Supreme, in the middle of some green grass shrubbery.

seypat

I just went and looked at the Ebay listing. Exage hubs? That might be a deal breaker at that price. As I said previously, that is a Supreme downgraded to a Legend Compe with even lower level derailleurs and hubs. I think the Exage hubs take a cassette instead of a freewheel. Apples to oranges. Here is some advice to the OP. You better get your acquisition story straight in your listing. Here's why. When you type in vintage Lotus Supreme bicycle into a search engine for info, this thread pops up twice right under the Lotus site. Anyone looking for info will come upon this thread quickly. A used car salesman vibe comes to mind. Still, a nice bike for a rider, but just a frame to restore for a collector.

WolfRyder 

Exage hubs are pretty sucky. So yeah wheelset isn't doing the bike any favors.

xiaoman1 

+1 to above...journeymagazine off my list of potential sellers....no smoking gun here.
Honesty keeps pants from being on fire.
Regards, Ben

zukahn1 

I didn't notice that on second look, it appears to have a large range 7 speed on the rear so the may be some issues with RD capacity and rear spacing. That freewheel looks to be a 32 big cog and I'm pretty sure that RD will only pull 28 properly.

seypat

The reason I mentioned the hubs is because I ran into a problem with a non local bike I purchased/shipped to me. A Lotus Legend Compe that a new flipper did not know the level of bike he had. It was listed at a cheap price. It had a flat bar/thumb shifters/brakes. It also had one of those mega range cassettes on the back and a different RD. I ask him about hubs/wheels. Some kind of Shimano hubs and no name wheels. I looked on Velobase and that hub came in 126, 130 and 135? spacing. I told the seller to get that rear hub out of there and not sell the bike to anyone with that hubset. Wrong size hub for that frame spacing. I was hoping to drive the price down and gambling that the hub in there was not the 135 spacing. In the end, I bought the bike minus the flat bar/shifters/brake levers and wheelset. We agreed on a fair price and he paid for the shipping.

Here is why I mention the hubs. I looked and those Exage hubs also came in 126, 130 and 135 spacing. When I got that frame, the rear triangle was straight and not damaged. But, but.....there was paint removed and some scuff marks on the drive side chainstay where the inner ring had rubbed. So, the wider hubset had caused some damage. I could not see that in the photos. That "mint condition" Campy GS crankset had it covered. Now, all of the bikes I have are rider level, so I am ok with it. But it kills any chance of it being collector level. That is disappointing.

daf1009

In my opinion...this bike is tailor made for parting out! Particularly with the price you paid (which, by the way...good deal!)...if it were in my hands, I would strip all of the parts down and sell individually on eBay...you should easily make up what you paid for it and then some. I would also list the frame and fork separately...again, they "may" get you up toward doubling your money. The wheels...my local coop or the recycling bin would be where they would go.

If you want to sell it whole, you would, IMHO, have to clean it, grease it, refurb the disposables (cables, tires, bar tape)...this would add cost...and not really gain that much on the revenue side.

As I said, if mine, it would DEFINITELY be a parting out bike...that, most likely, leads to a nice profit margin...even with a bit of work to tear it down.

Bianchigirll 

Look at the brake calipers there is a G.S. stamped on them and I suspect on the crank as well, so that makes the group Grand Sport. If the frames on the Supreme and legend it is always possible the groups got switched buy a shop to accommodate a customer who wanted a different color or the size they wanted just wasn't available. We did like twice where I worked and only because they were good customers.

Are you going to overhaul this and put new tape on it? Personally I think this far from mint



Maybe from removing a reflector bracket?

miamibeachcg

I didn't even realize I had put storage auction find - I have 15 - now 14 because Lotus sold 2 days ago - bikes & I screwed up putting storage find. It wasn't on purpose, just early senality I guess.
I appreciate the info