jjames1452 

What is the value of a Raliegh Super Course.
This one is in the Dayton Ohio Craigs List for $285.

The highest in eBay completed auctions was $137.

Why the large gap?

Was that the standard fork - or a replacement fork (crash)?

What was the quality of Reynolds 555 steel - did Huffy own Raliegh then - and what is the quality of the bikes?
(after writing all my questions - it occurred to me - I have no business buying this bike)

mparker326

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...h-Super-Course

If it is still on the market after being listed for a week, the market has spoken. You may be able to get it for less.

oddjob2

Well for one thing, if you are searching for a sold RalIEgh Super Course on ebay, you will only turn up a mixte, which I believe was sold by miamijim. However, if you search for a RalEIgh Super Course on ebay, you will turn up several. The pre Huffy era bikes bring up to $350 + shipping of $75, but at least have Reynolds 531 main triangle tubesets.

There are no 1985-1986 Super Courses that have sold recently on ebay. Chrome fork appears to be original based on looking at other SC images.

IMHO, $285 is about $75-$100 high for a Taiwan built Super Course. This is from my experience buying 3 Super Courses in excellent condition, 1970's vintages, and a 1986 Raleigh USA Competition, fair condition in the last year or so.

The 1970's Super Courses are an icon of the bike boom era. Most teens could only afford a Record or GP if they wanted a Raleigh. Not so in 1985.

wrk101

+10 Search error. Pre-Huffy era are worth more. Missing lever hoods which can be a PITA. Otherwise, pretty nice looking bike.

Sellers can ask any price they want. Many do not differentiate between the pre-Huffy Raleighs and post Huffy (many buyers don't either).

brian3069 

There's a Grand Prix from the same year that went for a mind boggling $795 shipped.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mint-Vintage...item35c7544d8a

jjames1452 

Thanks.

I never did get the i before e thing - will search correctly.
I'm a numbers guy-hence the worry about too many dollars in the asking price.

wrk101

Me too! I'll walk away before I overpay, and I do my research ahead of time. Now on screaming hot deals, I don't bother doing ANY research, I just do a quick glance to make sure the price is covered, and pay! Example, I saw a Cannondale road bike at a garage sale for $40. I didn't look at a thing, I just put my hands on it immediately, and paid the seller. Did I care what component group was on it? Or the size? Or the year? If the wheels were true? If the brakes were adjusted? Or whatever? Of course not. My basic rule on something not quite that obvious is do a quick scan (a couple of seconds) to make sure the asking price is covered. So if a bike is $50, I'll look at the wheels. Alloy 700c? Buy. Alloy 27 inch? I'll look at the crankset. 3 piece alloy? Buy. DT shifters? Sold. Etc.

Bought a UO8 earlier this year. I usually avoid them, this one had steel rims, basic bike for sure, but it had a nice full Suntour ARX derailleur and shifter group. Bought it. Sold the Simplex skewers alone on feebay and that covered the price. The ARX group went onto a second project. Had a nice Avocet touring saddle, went on a third project, and so it goes. I will probably rebuild the UO8, put some decent alloy wheels on it, and send it on to a new home.

One of my favorite laughs is watching other people inspect a bike at a garage sale. #1 thing they all do is spin the wheels. Then they get out their smart phone and do research. Then they phone a friend and have a long conversation. Meanwhile, they never put their hands on it, so I am loading it in my car while they are doing research. I've seen this on drop bar bikes, with DT shifters, for $25. WTF?