Drausus

Hi everyone,

Today I was at a thrift store and stumbled upon a '73 Raleigh Grand Prix. From the looks of it and to my knowledge, the components that seem to be unoriginal are the saddle and the rear derailleur, which is a Suntour V-Gt Luxe. (Possibly the rims and brake levers too, but I cannot tell).

The bicycle definitely needs some TLC but seems to be more than ride-able. I don't currently have a vintage bicycle in my stable and was wonder what fair price would be for this. Aside from reading about vinatge bicycles on the net, I know nothing about them, especially Raleigh's. The shop is asking $100 but seems more than willing to haggle. $100 seems quite steep to me, but any help on what a fair offer would be and any knowledge I can use to talk them down would be much appreciated.

For reference, I live in Wenatchee, WA, and our current bicycle market (especially for vintage) is limited.

Pictures: I am having trouble uploading pics (their all failing), so i added a photobucket slideshow. If I could get a pic assist, that would be great. Thanks in advance.

smg.photobucket.com/user/Drausus/slideshow/Raleigh%20Grand%20Prix

cb400bill

Pic Assist.


In my area, and in that condition, $50ish

cycleheimer

Pretty low-end bike with a high tensile steel frame. Not a really great riding bike. Steel rims, versus alloy, have a tendency to slow your braking time when they get wet in the rain. The SunTour rear deraileur is a nice upgrade. The old "plastic" Simplex stuff isn't that great. In fact, those down tube shifters are total junk, and the black front deraileur housing could crack at any time. The cottered crank can make servicing the bottom bracket (regressing the bearings) a little tricky. The C&V market in my area is pretty beat. It is mostly very low-end stuff in bad condition, needing big investments in cash and time, at high asking prices (for what is offered. Personally, I wouldn't pay more than $40 to $50 for that bike if it was a perfect fit and I had a need it. I have a soft spot, though, for mid-range (and higher) Japanese bikes from the '80's. They are typically well made, easy to work on, and offer the best value (in my opinion). At $100, I would hold off on it. That's my "2 cents".

big chainring 

Everyone has an opinion and mine is Grand Prixs are great riding bikes. They are one of THE classic bike boom bikes. $100 is reasonable, come on, costs me $100 to get into a baseball game with my son.

Offer $80 see what happens.

randyjawa 

Here, in Thunder Bay, Canada, we sell bikes like that, fully refurbished, for $80.00 CND, which is about $59.00 US. That bike, unconditioned, we sell in bulk for $20.00 CND(but the buyer has to buy at least 100 bikes at a time to get that price).

I should add that the vintage bicycle market is poor in Thunder Bay, except for a week, or so, in the Fall and another week, or so, in the Spring.

exxongraftek

$100 is too high. Most thrift stores are no longer the great places to find bike deals, the prices at the ones near me have nearly doubled over the past 4 years. Why? Look up the salary of the CEO of these places, they do a little good but cost a lot of money.

Drausus

Thanks for the pic assist cb400 and thanks for all the info guys. I'll probably hold off on this one and patiently wait for something else to show up in or around my market. Thanks again!

zukahn1 

I would say pass it is in somewhat rough none original condition. If it was in good original condition or nicely rebuilt and ready to ride $100 would be about right for a thrift store price as presented I would say more of a$50 bike.

trailangel

I had about 1970 grand prix. Really good riding bike!!

Contintental

Hi Drausus don't offer or pay more then $ 50.it need's handle bar tape, a seat , tune-up, mite need tires, a chain

Contintental

Love your web site it is great!

big chainring 

So now I know why when I list a bike on craigslist I get offers of 1/2 my asking price. Its you guys!