sloar 

Would you pay $100 for a nice shape and all original aerospace? It's still has the tubular wheels and the infamous death fork. The only thing not original is the bar end shifters. It's gonna need the usual maintenance, cables, tires and everything gone through and regreased, which I can do all that myself. But it is gonna cost a little for tires. Also a decal kit from velocals. The paints in nice shape but most the decals are flaking off. I'm not intending on flipping the bike I just like the looks of it and $100 doesn't sound to bad, I just don't know to much about viscounts, thanks

sloar 

wrk101

As a part out? Probably. As a bike to rebuild and flip? No.

sloar 

a bike to keep... dont want to buy it just to sell...

T-Mar

There lots of idiosyncrasies/issues with these bicycles. If I bought one, it would be as a conservation piece, as they typically turn into money pits. $100 would be just just about right for a nice conversation piece to hang on my wall.

sloar 

To be honest, that's kinda why I want it. I would keep the "death forks" on it. Clean it up, new frame decals, tires and cables. It would see little ride time, maybe my 3 block commute to work.

Bianchigirll 

I think I would buy it. I know little about them but like a Teledyne Titan they seemed a little ahead of their time and bit ambitious in some regards.

A "Pair and Spare" set of tires from Yellow Jersey is still around $60 bucks shipped. Again not knowing much about these I think if there was any chance I would ride it the fork would have to go.

sloar 

i dont know much about the death fork, but how can something so brittle and dangerous, last so long. i'm sure plenty have broke, enough so to be worried. but if they were so crappy, how have they still survived and on bikes?

Bianchigirll 

I think the Chrysler Executives have been saying something like that about Cherokee gas tanks.


I think it is just a matter of the owners never hearing about the recall. If you bought a nice bike in the '70s but weren't a hippie cyclist and didn't read magazines you may have never seen the notice. Also if you bought the bike at Joe's bikes and guns but had it serviced at Larry's lawnmower, small engine and bike repair he may have never know or cared about the recall. While all the forks were recalled it may be that only certain lots were subject to failure.

sloar 

That's funny, I have a 97 grand Cherokee, might as well ride the death forks.

bargainguy

I believe the recalled death forks had steel rods implanted to shore them up. The question is whether the fork had the repair; most don't. For that reason, if I weren't absolutely sure the fork had the recall rods installed, I'd be installing another fork first thing.

Other than that, they're nice bikes. I had an Aerospace Pro in the early 80's with tubulars and Shimano Crane GS. Very light for the time, something like 22 lb. Never did get used to the look of the crank, though, with the circular cutouts.

wrk101

Well, there are people that worked around asbestos for years and did not get mesothelioma, and people that smoked a lifetime and never got lung cancer, etc.

Me, I am not riding a "death fork". I have a Viscount with a replacement steel fork FWIW, in my project queue.

bargainguy

The problem is that the aluminum fatigue didn't progress in a linear fashion - it went all at once. If it went while you were at speed, it's almost a given you'll go flying. Carbon frames and fork sometimes do the same thing, although there's usually some kind of trauma or manufacturing defect at fault.

rjhammett

I think the bike is worth $100. I bought a Viscount Aerospace last summer for $80. It was in perfect shape. I invested another $25 or so for new bar tape and brake hoods. I sold it about a month ago for $220.

Unless you have checked this bike out it may or may not have the 'death fork'. Check out this link to find out about the 3 versions of fork. My bike had version 3 which was considered safe.

https://viscount-lambert-bikes.blogspot.com/

Cougrrcj 

Back in '76-77, one of my old college roommates had a Viscount Aerospace pro. After riding his bike, and realizing what a quality bike really was, I traded my all-steel 32+ pound Fuji Special Tourer for my S-10S, and have been happy for almost fifty thousand miles! Likewise, my other roomie got rid of his gas-pipe Iverson and got a Viscount GP. Riding that Viscount Aerospace Pro was an eye-opening experience in my life of what a real bike could be!!

fietsbob

later they just used a regular fork.. fully sloping crown, steel , threaded BB shell .