SDHawk

I picked this up the other day in pretty rough shape. The good news is all original except new tires and saddle. I cleaned it up, lubed the hubs and BB, adjusted gears/brakes etc. I could part out the stem/HB and the roller cam brakes, but prefer to keep it whole and sell it. What is a fair CL price? BTW, the FD is weird.... relaxed is bigger chain ring and moves inward as you increase tension. Works fine though.


Upon arrival












After refurb

bikemig 

You did a really nice job on this bike. I don't know the SoCal market but it's obviously worth more where you live than the middling sized midwestern city where I live. I like that you are not parting it out but you might want to part out those pedals. Some of those old bear trap pedals are worth some coin and replacement pedals are cheap enough. If it were my bike, I'd be tempted to swap out those shifters (are they suntour?) and replace them with the inexpensive sun friction thumb shifters (they work well).

I'd value it around $200 locally but it has to be worth more in San Diego. That said, the market for old mountain bikes has slipped locally. I picked up a great mid 90s Stumpjumper for significantly less than that recently.

TugaDude

That's a very versatile bike. Great for rails to trails and would also make a decent commuter or light bike packing tourer. Fender and rack mounts on the front fork are a plus. And two water bottle mounts too.

Yes, you did a nice job cleaning her up. And the unique parts make it especially interesting. I agree with the valuation of >$200 in your market.

RoadWearier

Wow. Great job cleaning it up! I would have thought some of those rusty fasteners would never have come loose

zukahn1

I would say $300 or so in your market looks great nice job cleaning it up. As a minor note the tires are mounted backwards and should be remounted and switched front to back. The one thing I would change is to put new upgraded bake pads on it to really finish out the build nicely.

bikemike73 

$200- $ 250
Did a VERY nice job cleaning up !!

RB1-luvr

Great job. I hope you get at least $300 for it.

SoCaled 

Not disagreeing with any of the numbers for the whole bike above, but . . . the thumb shifters, roller cams and slingshot stem would bring in $200 on their own, quickly. As stated above if those are the Suntour pedals they can be a chunk of change on there own. I am assuming you got a good deal on this, because you always sell your bikes at very reasonable prices, so if not too much invested and $200-250 works for you If not (and it always hurts my feelings to say this) there is plenty of $$ in the parts.

katsup

Some buyer may identify the parts mentioned above and pay $350 for the complete bike, but they are likely just going to part it out.

In this market, I think you'd probably get around $300 to someone who will keep the bike as is. The High Sierra is a nice model, but not one that is highly collectible

SoCaled 

Listed at $180! After a nice clean-up!

SDHawk

Yah, you found it. Here's the ad including video

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...22636693491880

I think even $200 was optimistic for the local market. It's been up since Tues night; I do have 2 ppl interested but not getting bombarded.

However, I rode it again yesterday and it's pretty sweet. I might take it down and ride it for a while. It can only go up in value anyway, right?

Thanks for all the earlier replies BTW, dome good info and thoughts. Appreciated!

bikemig 

I have a hard time believing that bike is overpriced for San Diego but you obviously know the market a lot better than I do. Great facebook ad by the way.

SDHawk

Yah, I just think it would be tough to get $200+ in the current local market. Maybe I just don't have enough patience.

Anyway, I decided to take down the ad.. Might as well enjoy it for a while after getting it right.

Here's a link to the video if anyone wants to see it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XiVgo2xGYMvT5XjL7

wrk101

It's one of those examples where the vintage MTB parts exceed the value of the completed project. I had one in similar condition to the above that I bought for $50. Needed chain, tires, saddle, cables and housings, about $100 in total. Plus about 4 to 6 hours of my time. In my market, I might have gotten $150 for it, breakeven at best. Instead, the slingshot stem, triple crankset, pedals and roller cam brakes bought over $300, without spending $100 in consumables.

This is the case for almost all of the consumer brand MTBs from the 1980s.

The good "news" is the parts go to others that are rebuilding a bike of their own, so all is not lost.


FWIW, my experience with Offer Up and FB marketplace, is both are a GREAT place for buyers, and a LOUSY place for sellers. In the case of FB marketplace, bikes show up in a myriad of categories, making it harder for buyers to find your bike.

I have gotten so many deals off FB marketplace, nice bikes that lasted for WEEKS, like the Mikkelsen I bought in Las Vegas last year.

SDHawk

Yup. I hear you on all counts. Parting out is not my thing, but it's clear that you can make more that way. Anyway, I decided to keep and ride this one for a while cuz it rides nice and is so cool (imo).

I do ok on CL and FB. I write good ads and have good prices, at least I think so It's a buyer's market right now, that's for sure. I can only buy so many tho.... I'm sure a lot of ppl on this site know the feeling haha

jetboy 

you priced it too low. put it at 300 and you will get more bites than at 200. people see 200 and think its not a great bike. at least in the bay area that style of bike is in demand and keeps value.

SDHawk

I suppose that's possible, but I try to be reasonable. I did have a couple of ppl who seemed legit at my $180 price, but then I decided not to sell (they understood). I will say that when unique or good bikes are listed at a very low price, (e.g., if I had listed the refurb High Sierra at $50), there would have been a ton of messages.

I put up this nice Mongoose yesterday, no replies so far. Do you think I should ask for more? Just wondering what you and others would do. I think patience is what's most needed, but would like to hear thoughts.
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/...597623935.html

katsup

I've sold the same year iboc team, 20.5in and with the original xt crank and cantis, for $280 back in 2018.

You are right that patience is needed. Not everyone is looking for vintage mountain bikes at all times, but obviously well below market value will sell quick. I often see those really good deals posted again days (or hours) later, sometimes with the same photos as the previous seller, just different location.

Edit: My iboc also had the original stem and brifters. Can't see your handlebar setup.

SoCaled 

Ha, ha, I had already posted that one in the "craigslist are you looking for one of these" thread, your prices are always very fair. I think if you are getting what you need to make from these bikes at the price you are selling them, keep it up, the world could use more sellers like you. The LA market is bigger than San Diego, but with patience I think you could get 30-50% more for most of the bikes you post. I have not gotten the impression that "maximizing profit" is your goal. From what I have seen you do a good job of selecting bikes, giving them some love and passing them on at a fair price. If it is working for you, I say carry on.

Korina

@SDHawk, that's a low-normal rear derailer; they're very cool, as you may have noticed. Is there a mfr. on there anywhere?

SDHawk

Yah, the stem, shifters and brakes were all changed before I got it. Shifters and brakes are basic Shimano, wish they were still original.

Hey, thanks. If I get a good deal on a bike, I try to be reasonable on selling price. I don't buy/sell enough to make any significant $ anyway.

Parting out seems to be the way to maximize $, but I like keeping these whole, esp. those that are all original. I'll tell you what tho, if this Mongoose doesn't sell in a cpl weeks I may explore selling the crankset, rims, and frame individually. They are all in top notch condition.

Before I checked the link, I thought you were dissing the Mongoose XT derailleur haha. Good info on the Schwinn FD, thanks!

I really thought at first that the cable routing was messed up somehow (the brake cables were on the wrong sides when I got it, so I figured maybe the FD was wrong too). I won't tell you how much time I spent messing with the FD to try to "fix" it haha.

It's a Suntour XC FD; the friction shifters are also Suntour. All original, baby!