Ross ? Need help identifying
03-12-22, 08:12 PM
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Ross ? Need help identifying
I need help identifying this bicycle I was wondering how much it would appraise for what it is and what it's worth that's all and around what years made
03-13-22, 03:09 AM
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I bought a 1981 Ross Gran Tour ll last year as a novelty, I told myself.
It's got a heavy gas pipe frame with heavy wheels, and the Eagle ll derailleur won't float away either.
Somehow, it was stored forty years and looks like showroom, which is sort-of a novelty.
Only the top signature model is usually worth buying, shipping, and maintaining.
And even a utilitarian bicycle should be approximately the correct frame size to fit the rider.
It's got a heavy gas pipe frame with heavy wheels, and the Eagle ll derailleur won't float away either.
Somehow, it was stored forty years and looks like showroom, which is sort-of a novelty.
Only the top signature model is usually worth buying, shipping, and maintaining.
And even a utilitarian bicycle should be approximately the correct frame size to fit the rider.
03-13-22, 06:19 PM
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Very few Ross bikes are worth much only the top end early 80's Full chrome MTB's and Full chrome BMX Pro models seem to have good value.
03-14-22, 11:24 AM
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Ross was a popular brand around where I grew up, they were an American made bike built in Allentown, PA. 'Ross' was the brand name of the Chain Bike Corp. Older models were build in NY, and I think some were built by Stelber in the early days.
42 years ago I bought a brand new 1980 Ross Grand Tour Professional and equipped it with a Huret Multito cyclometer. The cyclometer gave up the second time around at 9753 miles and the bike was still going. It was second from the top of the line that year. (The Super Gran Tour was top of the line with all Shimano 600 components and Araya aluminum rims, but that was out of my price range at just over $300. Which would have run me more than $375 out the door with a rack, saddlebag, cyclometer, and generator set. Instead I opted for the Gran Tour which came with Shimano Titlist gear changers, steel rims, and I added a Pletscher rear rack and kickstand, the Huret Multito, and velcro attached battery powered headlight.
As road bikes go, the bike is heavy, but not as heavy as a Schwinn Varsity. Build quality of Ross bikes was good, I don't recall any failure issues with their bikes off hand. My family owned a half dozen of them back in the day, the models if I remember right that we had were the Grand Tour, a Grand Tour II, (both 27" wheel models), a 'Compact'(26") one Europa (26"), an older middleweight from the 60's, an Apollo, (20"), and an older Baracuda, also a 20" model.
I still own the Gran Tour, I just recently took it apart for a complete rebuild. I was able to find a new old pair of original chrome rims to replace the worn originals, I found a brand new Huret Multito, a new old stock set of cranks and derailleurs to match, and two brand new Normandy hubs with the exact date code to my original hubs. I even found a new seat identical to the original seat it came with. Luckily back in 1982 I bought up a bunch of the original 27x1 1/8" IRC tires mine had came with when new as well, I still have two pair put away for it that I vacuum sealed so they would last.
Value wise, they don't seem to bring much these days, they never had the following that brands like Schwinn or Raleigh have in the collector market. They were however good bikes. I paid $240 for my Gran Tour in Dec. of 1979. I think the Europa my dad had back then, also from 1980, was around $130 out the door.
I still had the Compact here till a few years ago, it was a bike that was bought for my mother but she never rode it more than once or twice. I sold it for what it cost new last summer with all its original parts intact.
I'll likely die owning my Gran Tour. I've had other bikes over the years, many much higher end but regardless of weight or cost, I like my Gran Tour. better for daily riding.
42 years ago I bought a brand new 1980 Ross Grand Tour Professional and equipped it with a Huret Multito cyclometer. The cyclometer gave up the second time around at 9753 miles and the bike was still going. It was second from the top of the line that year. (The Super Gran Tour was top of the line with all Shimano 600 components and Araya aluminum rims, but that was out of my price range at just over $300. Which would have run me more than $375 out the door with a rack, saddlebag, cyclometer, and generator set. Instead I opted for the Gran Tour which came with Shimano Titlist gear changers, steel rims, and I added a Pletscher rear rack and kickstand, the Huret Multito, and velcro attached battery powered headlight.
As road bikes go, the bike is heavy, but not as heavy as a Schwinn Varsity. Build quality of Ross bikes was good, I don't recall any failure issues with their bikes off hand. My family owned a half dozen of them back in the day, the models if I remember right that we had were the Grand Tour, a Grand Tour II, (both 27" wheel models), a 'Compact'(26") one Europa (26"), an older middleweight from the 60's, an Apollo, (20"), and an older Baracuda, also a 20" model.
I still own the Gran Tour, I just recently took it apart for a complete rebuild. I was able to find a new old pair of original chrome rims to replace the worn originals, I found a brand new Huret Multito, a new old stock set of cranks and derailleurs to match, and two brand new Normandy hubs with the exact date code to my original hubs. I even found a new seat identical to the original seat it came with. Luckily back in 1982 I bought up a bunch of the original 27x1 1/8" IRC tires mine had came with when new as well, I still have two pair put away for it that I vacuum sealed so they would last.
Value wise, they don't seem to bring much these days, they never had the following that brands like Schwinn or Raleigh have in the collector market. They were however good bikes. I paid $240 for my Gran Tour in Dec. of 1979. I think the Europa my dad had back then, also from 1980, was around $130 out the door.
I still had the Compact here till a few years ago, it was a bike that was bought for my mother but she never rode it more than once or twice. I sold it for what it cost new last summer with all its original parts intact.
I'll likely die owning my Gran Tour. I've had other bikes over the years, many much higher end but regardless of weight or cost, I like my Gran Tour. better for daily riding.
03-14-22, 07:24 PM
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Made in USA does not necessarily mean high quality. Huffy, Columbia and Murray bikes were made in USA for example.
Ross made a couple of decent road bikes, and a handful of very nice mountain bikes. Everything else was "department store" quality. Ross was also very loose with model names.
They can occasionally be a good source of parts. They made a couple of full chrome MTBs, those were pretty nice!
No appraisals here, instead we have opinions. I have rarely seen a Ross worth more than about $25 to $50, except for the MTBs I mentioned and the Signature line.
Ross made a couple of decent road bikes, and a handful of very nice mountain bikes. Everything else was "department store" quality. Ross was also very loose with model names.
They can occasionally be a good source of parts. They made a couple of full chrome MTBs, those were pretty nice!
No appraisals here, instead we have opinions. I have rarely seen a Ross worth more than about $25 to $50, except for the MTBs I mentioned and the Signature line.
Last edited by wrk101; 03-14-22 at 07:28 PM.
