mroberso13

Hi everyone I am wondering if you could help me out with how much this bike is worth. My dad used to ride this bike when he was a triathlete 20+ years ago and now the corporate life has taken it's toll and him and he hasn't ridden this bike in decades. It has never been crashed and is in original condition from what I can tell. From what I have read online I hear eisentraut's are great bikes but I have no idea what it is worth.
The specs for the bike are as follows:
Eisentraut Steel Frame serial number E050886
Modolo ALx90 brakes
Modolo handlebars and steam
Mavic MA2700C rims
Campagnolo record cranks and hubs
Look pedals
Campagnolo seat post
Turbo saddle

Also included are sew up wheels with shimano dura ace hubs and araya aero 4 rims.

I also have no idea how to measure the bike which I am told is important, if you could give me tips on how to do that so I can sell it that would be great. Any and all help is appreciated. I will post pics too if that will help.

Scooper

Albert Eisentraut is one of the great American framebuilders. For a good article on him, read THIS ARTICLE from the October, 1987 issue of Bicycle Guide.

Eisentraut measured frame size from the crank center to the top of the seat tube:



My advice on value is to check the prices Eisentrauts have sold for recently on eBay completed sales.

It's a very nice looking bike. Good luck.

mroberso13

The last bike was a 88 and had all campagnolo record parts and sold for 1800. Do you think that would be a fair price?

Veloh

Depends, what other parts does the bike have? I'd price the highest with Campagnolo C-Record>Super Record>Nuovo Record>Shimano Dura Ace>mixed matched (for vintage components). You should do well with what you have though. That is an absolutely stunning bike that I'd like to own one day. Albert is a legendary framebuilder from Oakland, CA. eBay would probably get the most cash.

mroberso13

Thank you for all your input. What other parts would I need to list to get besides the ones listed?

Veloh

Everything or at least a nice picture of the crank side of the bike. Headset, pedals, shifters, derailleur (front and rear), etc. You'll also need bike dimensions like seattube, toptube length. Clean it and take good pictures to maximize sale potential.

Scooper

I just looked at the '88 in eBay completed listings, and that bike is in exceptional condition. The seller took lots of detailed photos, and the Campy Record/Nuovo Record components look almost new. Bidding started at $1300, and there were four separate bidders, so there was clearly serious interest. Personally, I think $1800 is on the high side of a reasonable price range, but the value of anything on eBay is what buyers are willing to pay.

Clean the bike up, take lots of detailed photos of the lugwork, headset, crank, front and rear derailleurs, dropouts, seat cluster, brakes, and make sure to take a good high resolution driveside photo of the whole bike. Let the pictures sell the bike. Good luck.

MetinUz

The last Eisentraut on eBay was poorly described, it was an early '70s A frame model. I was the second highest bidder on it, and I feel like I should have bid higher. It seemed to be a true time capsule. The OP's bike is a much more common Rainbow Traut, and is perhaps worth half as much.

mroberso13

MetinUz, what do you think would be a fair asking price? From the research I've done although the rainbow traut model is much more common I can not find a single eisentraut for sale right now. I think 900 for an eisentraut would be really low.

wrk101

Since you have thoughts on what it should go for, why not ask that price and let the market tell you if you are right?

Scooper

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...d=246943944839

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/bik/2476645236.html

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/bik/2473846415.html

https://kpr.craigslist.org/bik/2468258034.html (same photos as the $1800 eBay bike; wants $2700)

Asking price often falls short of selling price. I agree with Bill; set your minimum price and let the market decide if it's worth it. If it doesn't sell at your minimum, it probably means you're asking too much.

bobbycorno

As others have mentioned, this is not a custom Eisentraut, it's a Rainbow. An exceedingly nice bike (I should know, I have one), but compared to an "A", it's a whole different kettle of 'traut. I'd give 1000-1200 for one, vs $2k for a custom.

SP
Bend, OR

mroberso13

Posted the bike on craiglist or 1250, I will see how that goes and if I don't have any luck I'm going to sell it on ebay. Thanks for your all your help.

wrk101

Where are you located? Few C/L markets are strong enough for a bike at this pricepoint (even the one on Seattle C/L is just at $1000). That's one reason high end bikes are often sold on ebay (despite all of the hassle and fees of selling on ebay). Good luck with the sale!

mroberso13

I'm located in the bay area, so hopefully that helps. I just don't want to have to pay the ebay and paypal fees because I think they might offset the price I could get on C/L. Is there a for sale section on this site? Do you think I could get enough interest in the bike here?

JunkYardBike

Probably not here, we're a bunch of cheapskates for the most part, but you never know!

ebay does charge fees, but I think that will more than make up for the CL discount. You'd make your fees back + some selling on ebay vs. CL in most cases. Unless of course there's someone in your market looking for that exact bike.

I think you might do better parting it out. But that takes time, tools and know-how, and it assumes the components are in great shape without major wear, scratches, or oxidation. You'd also have to clean them up for sale. But I say this because the build is eclectic and doesn't really add to the value of the frame in the way a full Campagnolo Record, Shimano Dura Ace or Suntour Superbe build would. Not to say they aren't nice parts, just that 'complete' groups on frames usually sell better.

clifforddward

I am the new owner of this bike...turned out to be exactly what I had hoped for...a nice frame with well cared for components. Bike is currently stripped apart, with the frame being used for my build up, and the components off to others for their projects. I will be doing my build up with all Suntour Superbe Pro group parts...something I have always wanted to do...

BTW, for any who may be interested I weighed the frame and fork while I had everything apart....frame alone is 1830 grams (4.03 lbs), and the fork weighs 726 grams, for a total frame/fork combination of 5.63 lbs. Both frame and fork have a wonderful ring to them when struck, and the workmanship is outstanding...far better than any typical production bike of the period. I anticipate a nice smooth riding bike given the frame workmanship and geometry.

Regards,
Cliff Ward
Cary, NC

YokeyDokey

Okay, now this is cool... this is exactly what a good forum should accomplish. I'd say a great bike fell into the right hands.

sauze

Neat. @Clifford would love to see some more photos of it. Cheers.