Just chanced upon a vintage Bottecchia that my colleague at work had, so I asked if he was interested in selling it to me as I've always wondered how italian steel rides. So here are the pics.

I need opinions and info on the components as this is my first real foray into the world of vintage and classic bikes

Also, would appreciate much if you guys could roughly estimate how much this bike could fetch. Thanks for looking.

The nearest comparison I could google up was this link

https://www.bikecult.com/works/archiv...tecchiaRD.html

The Aelle tubing is not the highest end steel tube set. The bike is not top tier but not junk. I wouldn't offer top dollar. If it fits then it is worth considering. How low do you think he will go? I wouldn't pay much more than 200$ considering it needs a massive cleanup/overhaul of some of the parts.

Hrm, tough call, it is pretty obvious this has been a neglected bike; either that or he/she stored it outside. Some of the parts are really nice and the tubing isn't the worst, I have a Colnago Sport made of Aelle tubing and it rides well.

In that state, I would offer your co-worker $150 because I am guessing that you will need new rubber, new cables, new brake-pads and a heckuva lot of time polishing this bike up. Is it your size? Have you ridden it? Take it for a spin and see, maybe you won't even like it. If it were in prestine condition with those parts, it could go north of $400 but only because of the mystique of the Italian name.

If you were to put $300 worth of parts and labor into it you would have a $300 bike. I'm often wrong, though.

We know the frame is 1989, based on the Carniellli anniversary decal. Aelle is a decent tubeset even though it is plain gauge, but in this case it is only the 3 main tubes. Components are a real mix, both in year and level. It appears to have originally been Campagnolo Athena . A 1990 Bottecchia Aelle tretubi with Campagolo Athena cost $1300 US, so original price on this bicycle was probably in the $1100-$1200 US range.

However, it is very rough, cosmetically. Which makes me wonder about the mechanical condition, especialy the bearings, chain and cogs. Then too, the brake kevers, shift levers front derailleur and pedals have been replaced. Even though they are good parts, they don't match the originals, which erodes the price.

In general, I concur with Jet. You're probably going to sink a lot of time and money inti this project, If it was all original and in good cosmetic condition, $400 would be a fair price, in a good market. But given it's condition, it's worth far less and how much depends on how bad is is mechanically and how much of that cosmetic grunge is easily cleaned up. You're taking a real risk, depending on how mechically inclined you are, so if this were a colleague of mine, I'd offer him a case of beer in exchange for it.

One fun fact: The store that originally sold it (I. Martin) is still in business and still on Beverly Blvd. They are now owned by Helen's Cycles but operating under the original name.

Could you post some damn pictures??
: )

You want MORE photos?

East Hill

Looks like it has spent a few years along the coast of SoCal. That salt air shows no mercy. I'd make sure the seatpost can be removed and you might want to see if there is any corrosion inside the seat tube.

I wouldn't go THAT far, but basically I think OFG is pretty close - in its' present condition it is not worth too much. I think it would clean up and probably overhaul pretty well - but as it sits it is a "rustic country charmer", as they say in the real estate business.

Assuming you do all the labor yourself, your still gonna spend close to $300 worth of parts and your own labor getting it ship-shape - Hmmmm.... maybe OFG IS right, after all.

Seriously, though, I'd pony up $50-$100 easily enough - but more than that I'd think hard before reaching into my pocket. The stem, crank, RD/FD/shifter, and brakes oughta have some value on eBay (assuming that is only surface rust on the steel bits), and a cleaned up frame might do well with the fixie crowd on the local CL.

Unless you must have it, I'd step aside and invest in something less neglected. Got to see it for what it is, a dog, and a mutt at that!
The model is not a top line Bottecchia.
The components, what remnants of a Campy group, are middle of the road.
The 105 pedals are missing components.
Dura Ace aero levers?
The frame's all rusted, the decals and paint scratched, but isn't as bad as some samples.
The chrome is pitted, components corroded.
$100 max, if I was liquored up, hit on the head, and inspecting it in dim light.
Remember, you are interested in an Italian example as a keeper. This one at best is a lot of elbow grease and flipper.

$100 max, if I was liquored up, hit on the head, and inspecting it in dim light

Reminds me of a woman I once met in my younger days!

looks like mine -

Oh come on, now.
I dunno what kind of bikes you guys run into daily in your respective places, but, for instance, the number of used bikes being sold privately with any Campagnolo parts on them at ALL around where I live is very close to 0.

I would tell you, but then...

The last bike I found with Campy was a pristine garage queen that hadn't been ridden in such a long time that any offer was a good one

Agreed - if the bike showed decently. The one pictured might well clean up nicely, but in its' present condition? Like I said earlier, I'd drop $100 on it if I had to, but I'd pull the parts, clean them up, and sell them off to make my money back. As others pointed out, the tubing is not too special, and any more than $100 would be better spent on a quality frameset that I could build up into someting nice.

In clean, ridable condition, I could probably sell that bike for $300. So the question is - how much would I have to spend to make it so, and how much labor would be involved? I do my own wrenching, so it's "free", but my free time is fairly precious to me and I have other fish to fry.

Oh, and it didn't need an acid bath and days of detailing with a dremel and brass brush.

Case of beer, couple bottles of wine, tops, and then only if you got to drink most of it!

There's a lot of hand numbing work to be done on that bike before it's worth anything.

I think you should play it dumb and offer no more than $100 bucks for it. Just tell him you want the bike to fiddle around with and maybe fix up a little. Do not lead on that the bike is anything special, because its obvious its not anything special to the owner, because of the condition its in.

Personally, I see a great restoration project here. The Columbus 'Aelle' tubing may not be SL or SLX, but its certainly still pretty good stuff (Columbus chro-moly steel), and Columbus dont make junk. Most of the parts on that bike look original too, except for the Dura-Ace levers. The brakes are mono-planers, and just them by theirselves fetch high prices on ebay, eventho the ones in the pics are rough looking. Still, thay can be restored and look great again. The campy aero brakes are probably the best looking brakes campy ever made IMO, and even work good. As for the rest of the bike its got pretty good components all around. (that campy headset really caught my eye).

All of it can be refurbished, thats why I think it would be a great restore project.

I think you should try to get it.

Ham sandwich and a 6 pack is my final offer.

The labor required is as great as the pieces restored.

I'd throw in a bottle or two of maple syrup as well .

Let us know what you do--this is a great thread .

East Hill

I loves me the pancakes. Vermont Pure AA, one bottle.

I built mine up over a period of about 2 yrs. I had other bikes to ride, so no hurry. Even though the $ I spent exceded the value of the finished build, it was a fun and interesting project. I would say go for it @ $100, clean it up, take your time, and before you know it, you'll have a ~$500 pride and joy that you put way too much time, $, and effort into, like mine!

Oh, no, can't use furrin stuff from Vermont .

Homegrown only in this case .

East Hill