Reasonable price for a NOS never ridden 1999 Trek 5200 USPS ?
 

My LBS has an oldstock '99 Trek USPS edition 5200, full ultegra groupset with a front 3x and Rolf Vector wheels, etc. Bike has never been ridden, but it has been on that wall for the better part of 20 years. I am a mechanic myself and can refurb all bearings, etc,, and will take off that granny gear and make it into a more suitable training bike. My question to you all is -- what's a reasonable price to pay? I'm not really keen to go over 1k, and he always gives me deals and I know he's selling the business to his apprentice come NY of 2024 so I suspect if I want it I have to get it before then. Anyone have opinions? Provisionally, he is asking $1,500.

Thanks!

Ps. I want the bike as a bit of history preservation of that era of cycling and because I'm a big fan of Armstrong re USPS days.

Tough one. A 5500 with DA would ratchet the price upward.
Ultegra with a triple - not so much so. $1,500 sounds fair, while $1k seems a bit low.
These rode quite nicely, although I liked Kestrel's ride better.

If that was my dream bike, the one I grew coveting, and I wanted it not to collect but to put thousands of miles in it, it would be worth the $1,500. It is not so it would have to be $500 for me to be interested.

Well I"m biased on this one so it wouldn't be fair to offer a value. A main part of value for me is the ride quality of a bike. I will say that I bought a 5200 with the Ultegra triple setup and Rolf Wheels a couple of years back used for $400. Not a USPS bike but in good shape. The planned use for me was mainly for the long climbing rides. Seemed to be working well for that but I did found myself happy to stand a lot more than needed on rides up the mountains just to get some relief.

To the bikes credit, when I did my "19 mph challenge" a couple of years ago it was my second fastest bike. Being beat only by the old Softride.

But a couple of months ago I did back to back rides on all six of my older carbon bikes from that era. Here was my conclusion at the end of all of this. Each bike ridden for 50 miles except for the C40 due to a broken cable. But I already had long rides under my belt on the C40.

1- Colnago C40 - Just does everything so well and has proven to be very fast in earlier rides.
2 -Trek Y-Foil - Too muted on the road to put it above the C40 but I will admit that my fastest Century ride ever was accomplished on this bike.
3- Calfee Tetra Pro- I'm surprised at how well it did comparatively. I guess it compares better to other C.F. bikes than it does against my good steel rides.
4 -Kestrel 200 SCI- Had to think about this. Not as comfortable as the Air One yet it felt so magical when I stood and pedaled as well as the way it seemed to effortlessly take off when I got into the drops.
5- C4 Air One- Another one that really never impressed me all that much originally. Maybe it's yesterday's changes or something but I was pretty happy with how it rode. It just didn't excel at any one thing.
6- Trek 5200 - This is another surprise. This one was second only to the Softride in my 19 mph challenge. Yet compared to all the others it was so uncomfortable. The only bike I wanted off of well before the ride ended.

So if you are considering it as a rider you may want to rethink or at least test it if you can. My 5200 was "upgraded" to my preferred Fizik Kurve saddle and some nice Zonda wheels yet still is uncomfortable to me. It's probably going on the chopping block come spring. So my early morning, coffee induced ramblings aside. I just can't put much value in one of these. Especially a USPS one 'cause I'm a diehard Greg Lemond fan. ;)

I would say $1500 isn't out of question for this bike and fair price if it's a bike you really want. As jamesdak indicates this bike while great may not be the most comfortable bike to use a regular training bike.

Yeah, after the Armstrong thing blew up on Oprah, I wanted one of these bikes badly. But the Ultegra triple drops the value considerably. If it was a lightly used actual USPS team bike kitted with Dura-Ace, then I'd pay maybe a grand. I have a full USPS and Discovery team kit that I wear occasionally. And an Enron and Parmalat jersey.

In the 2000s, riding one of these bikes with your pals would be considered a vulgar joke, as everyone with even a superficial knowledge of pro cycling knew the disgusting things that were going on. But now, given the passage of time, and the need for the next generation to learn from history, this bike and the stories around it provides a kitschy but necessary cautionary narrative.

I bought the exact same bike (including the less-popular triple) as my first road bike in 2019. I paid $450...it was old but pretty lightly used.

I owe that bike...it introduced me to the world of road cycling to me...now I do about 5000 miles per year.

I've moved on to better bikes but I'll never sell it.

Preserve history, buy it and box it up.

when I read It’s not about the bike, I concluded this guy was chemically cheating.
‘this would be a bike that if given to me, I would take apart and paint it, maybe flat black and hope no one recognized it.
‘strong attitude I have toward this era.

BITD I'd have only opted for the double, now I'd be cool with the triple. For NOS 12-1500 seems reasonable, less than 1200 a bargain, more than 1500 depends on how badly you want the bike. Personally I was never as big on the 5200/5500 bikes, I much preferred the Madone that came out a couple years later, and for a fully equipped NOS ultegra version in 54cm I'd lay out 2000. But for a daily rider/training bike, I'd buy something much newer, it was great in its day but its day is long past and the new stuff is nice.

I'd love to see some pictures of it. I had a 5200 Ultegra triple (Non USPS) and I loved that bike. If that bike is "unridden", stock and how you describe it I would be tempted to spend $1500. Personally, in that kind of condition I think that anything near $1k would be a steal. But... I do love that bike. BTW, if I bought it I'd be riding it like I stole it.

This is probably the most iconic and collectible bike of that era, doping not withstanding. If anything, the notoriety from the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, probably makes this bike even more memorable.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2012...y=75&auto=webp
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-...0&dpr=2&s=none
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/37...00-80.jpg.webp
The bike retail market is very soft right now. The OP should start by offering $1000.

It depends how one defines the era, and to each their own, but I’d sooner have one Indurain Pegoretti Pinarello than a stack of USPS Trek OCLVs. The latter is still far too commonplace to be collectible I think.

Test ride the bike - Some of those old Treks have an outstanding ride quality. If it's super fine then, give a suitable amount of tribute. That's it. That's all. Done deal.

K
 

roughly my opinion as well. But that wouldn’t be playing in the 1-1500 market I don’t think.

just looking at it as a brand new Ultegra equipped bike in a patriotic color scheme, we’re it my size I might be able to find 1k. For $1500 I’d have to really want it , but doesn’t seem like that crazy a price.