Eddy merckx road bike - value?
 

This is my first post and I'm reaching out to try and get a ball park figure on what my bike is worth.
I don't have any pictures but I will try to describe is as best as I can.

The frame is in excellent condition (no crashes) and it looks like the frame posted here in ebay

http://thumbs3.ebaystatic.com/d/l225...2oKHOw7Jvw.jpg

It has complete Campy Super-Record set (not Record-C), front/rear hubs, bottom bracket, crank, front/rear derraillers, brakes. The stem and seat post is a Cinelli X/A I believe.

The handle bar is a 3TTT and it seems to have a smooth white leather wrapping with black pantograph type stitching when viewed head on.

The wheels are fitted for sew-ups and have a aero edge (no flat on top).

I believe it is Columbus SL (not sure if it was SLX)

I purchased the bike back in 1988 from Roy's Sheepshead Cycle shop in Brooklyn New York. I was new but was a floor model at that time.

I paid $1250 for it back then (amazingly I still have the receipt) and was told it was a good deal back then.

The bike has been sitting in a dry basement for the last 20+ years, but of course the tires are dry and the rubber brake hoods are stiff and cracked.


Does anyone have any idea what this bike might be worth if I decide to sell it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!:)

Detailed photos of your bike would be a big help in offering an appraisal. You haven't mentioned the frame size, which is an important factor as smaller and larger frames generally sell for less than those in the popular 54cm - 58cm size range.

Tubular wheelset is a big negative, except for the maybe one in 1,000 potential buyers who could actually use them.

In order to sell, you need replace the tires with new, and have those tires professionally glued. 30 year old tubulars will feature a base tape that is disbonded from the tire casing due to age.

The last thing you want is a million dollar lawsuit because someone did a header on a 2 minute test ride on your bike.

In fact, in all honesty, you probably should not include these wheels with the bike unless:

• the buyer clearly demonstrates advanced knowledge as to what these wheels are,
• how they differ from clinchers,
• the consequences of rolling a tubular due to a poor glue job, and
• demonstrates that he or she can reglue these tires yearly - as is required for minimal safety reasons.

We need pictures of your bike to help appraise it, please!

It would be a terrible shame if everyone with an old race bike with tubulars threw them away. Let the buyer decide if they want them! If I found such a bike and the original wheels had been replaced with clinchers (and probably lesser hubs) that would be a big disappointment.

This isn't a Schwinn World Sport. Anyone shelling out the kind of money that this bike is probably worth should at least know what tubulars are, or shouldn't be buying it.

Um, no.

No what? I've ridden tubulars for 40 years. I rode on them today and have every day for the last month.

If you send out 99% of the cycling public on a bike with 30 year old tubulars, they'll be pavement surfing within the week. It is only a matter of how bad the outcome.

The rim glue has dried out. This will be obvious to anyone with even a passing knowledge of these wheels. But worse, so has the glue bonding the base tape to the tire casing. So even if you reglue the current tires, the base tape will peel off of the tire on the first hard bumpy corner.

I think only maybe 1 out of 10 C&V aficionados would turn away a bike because of sewups. Most are prepared to buy new tires for any bike, tubular or clincher. Rotten tires may leave room for buyer to haggle down $50 or so, but that's about it.

But back to the point of the matter, yeah, let's see some pics!

+1 - on a high level bike, sew ups don't really matter. On a mid-range, maybe.

As for the rest - I'm conservative about risk and liability, but that's too far for me. I would not be especially worried about someone winning damages from me while riding a bike that they purchased used. As a point of fact, courts in my state have USUALLY decided that the person assumed the risk by participating in cycling when litigation has happened, and that's with new bikes being sold by shops with a higher level of care under the commercial code. If you're worried about it, mention that they're older tires and should be remounted or replaced.

Tubular tires are not so inherently dangerous that they require a glass case.

So that means the original WHEELS shouldn't even be included? You're making this way too difficult. The OP (or anyone in this position) should either replace the tires or point out that they need to be replaced and educate the buyer, if necessary, about tubulars.

Rather than assume someone buying a Merckx is an idiot and will kill themselves on 30 year old tubulars. Merckx buyers aren't exactly the definition of "99% of the cycling public."

Bikes are sold as is, where is. You have an ethical obligation to explain any info you are aware of to a potential buyer. You have no obligation (and it would be mind numbingly silly) to replace the original wheels barring a buyer who can live up to your lengthy list of bona fides.