timvan_78

I noticed a Hercules Varena for sale locally, asking $100.

I could be persuaded to fix it up and sell it, or give it to a friend. It would be good to make a bit of $ but not looking to get rich or anything.

School me: is this a cheap aftermarket drivetrain? What would the original have been?
What is that front hub all about?

It appears to be in decent shape, but I would have to check it out closely.

What is a good-condition, ready-to-ride machine like this worth?

wrk101

$100.

timvan_78

so it's a money-losing proposition? oh well. I don't mind putting in the time, but I'm looking to at least break even...

wrk101

I don't buy bikes to flip that look like break even propositions. Too much risk. You need to give yourself a margin of error (room for surprises). One surprise and a break even bike becomes a loser. Multiple surprises, and it becomes a BIG loser. How do you lose? 1. You find a mechanical problem you didn't spot (bb, hub damage are two examples). 2. You over-estimate the bike's value in finished ready to ride condition (this happens to me too often), and you end up selling it for less than you had thought.

The way I guard against these two risks is I buy the bike at a low price. All the managing your expenses work in the world does not overcome paying too much for a flip bike. If you are flipping bikes, I assume you can source consumables cheap, have an ample supply of parts, have the tools to do all the work yourself, and have decent marketing skills (can create a good ad, with great pics, etc).

Finding bikes that have flip potential is hard work for sure.

One reason the DKO crowd does so well is that they don't worry about mechanical problems. They knock the dirt off, resell that $25 garage sale bike for $100, pocket the $75, and repeat. The challenge is finding the $25 bike...

thinktubes 

My rules for a flip:

1. Margin must be $150 or better for any bike requiring parts or work.

2. I won't mess with anything that requires more than 4 hours of total time to get it out the door.

timvan_78

It's not a flip with the primary intent of profit$$. Just learning/tinkering/fix, then ride a bit and have fun, and then get rid of it without losing too much money. I'm OK with much more than 4hrs total time.

I'm trying to estimate the bike's finished value because I've not seen much Herc. If the Herc is not even a "desirable" bike even after it's all cleaned up/repaired, then I'll just forget it altogether. I don't want to repair/buff a boat anchor!