Brokenmoped

This bike is for sale locally, but I'm not sure it's worth the $500 asking price. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong. I believe it's a late 80s/early 90s Proctor Townsend tourer (53cm). Reynolds 531, cantilever brakes, braze-ons for racks--the whole shebang. One more thing to keep in mind: this bike is for sale in Vancouver, Canada, the land of drastically over-valued steel road bikes...and maple syrup.

Any Proctor (or Townsend) experts out there willing to venture a guess as to how much it's worth?

KonAaron Snake 

I don't know your market and I'm not familiar with the builder...probably canadian.

The negatives - I can tell you that the parts I see are not valuable or desirable, and the frame has patina, as well as being dirty. Someone seeking top dollar should do a better job making it desirable. The build configuration is unlikely to help its cause - most buyers of a 531 framed tourer don't want flat bars.

The positives - the frame looks like a pretty nice one from what I can see. That is not your run of the mill build - I like he details, at least those I can spot. It has rack and fenders and would likely make a practical every day bike.

Overall - I seriously doubt he's getting $500 with those parts and without cleaning it. To me - its sales value is really the frame value - in this case a small builder. Small name frames are usually a great value for informed buyers because they rarely sell for what the build quality justifies. If I were selling it, as is, I'd expect 350 tops after a cleaning...and with a well written ad...in a good market. In that dirty shape? $200.

That said, if I was looking for an everyday bike like this, and it fit, I'd consider overpaying because I like the frame and it's already set up for practical use. It's value as a bike could easily be worth $500 to the right guy, even if it's a stretch on the market. I don't mind paying a small premium if I like something. I hope this helps.

howsteepisit

I see way too much rust and signs of general malaise in the care of the bike, I'd not go over 150 in the current condition

bikemig 

KA pretty much nailed it on post no. 2. The value of the bike is in the frame, not the parts. Here is a url to a resource on proctor townsend bikes from, I believe, a member of this list, https://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpe...roduction.htm]

In good shape with good quality components, the bike is easily worth $500. The build is funky, the components second rate (most of them) and the bike is dirty which suggests it has not been properly looked after. I don't think the bike is worth $500 as is but it could go for that much in a hot market. I'd offer $400 ish and talk to the buyer about some of the issues (i.e., the components, the cost of getting the bike up to snuff, etc.).

randyjawa 

Proctor bicycles, later to become Proctor-Townsend, were built in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. They are very nice hand built bicycles that, sadly, never captured wide spread interest or respect. That said, the workmanship on the frame sets is very good.

I have owned one Proctor and a couple of Proctor-Townsend bicycles.







They did not disappoint in looks or performance. But they do not fetch much money when on the sales block. The one pictured by the OP is probably not worth the asking price of $500.00 in today's soft market. A couple of years ago, absolutely, but not now. Were I buying the bicycle, to use - not flip, I would likely pay as much as $400.00 but no more. Keep in mind that I am a collector of Canadian made road bicycles and still have a couple tucked away.

Aerobots

Brokenmoped, did you end up buying the Proctor?
If not I would be interested...