Bulk pile: Lots of a Zeus 2001 group + extras
 

SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD

Clearly a few pieces here are rider quality and need serious TLC so I'm looking for $275 + ship. (source frameset here, only the fork was reasonably salvageable)

I figure that's fair for the pedals, 47/53 drillium crankset, rear mech, stem, headset, seat post, making the hub, TLC-needing front mech, brakes and levers a "gimme". With some polish work, some parts would jump from rider to nice. But if not, let me know.

Notes: Most of this came off a Zeus bike whose last 1-2 years were hard. Hub is NOS with NOS skewer. Pantographed 3TTT stem is 90mm and says "22" over max line, I assume that means 22.0 (French/metric) so not 22.2. Seat post 26.8 as you see, some scoring low on post. Cranks and pedals stamped BSC, assume headset is ISO also, can check. Crank rings look to me to have low wear on the teeth. Pedals missing caps and seem to be sealed bearing, spin freely. Calipers obviously mismatched color, dunno why, silver caliper has incorrect pinch bolt, both have good refillable (OEM?) holders with dead Universal pads and note the different mounting hardware. Brake lever cones on top are super tight, were rusty, and possibly have something lodged in the top, with rash to the body. Races in headset look fine to my eyes. Notice the inner cage wear on front mech. Notice bits that are rusted. Still have the original banged-up Zeus frame and its fairly nice fork in my attic if you need measurements or a Zeus fork.

I can only put 10 pics per post, so I'm starting with these 5 images, then I'll reply a couple of times to add more photos.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3cad23417c.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9997b90315.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4c6cadad15.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...44884c0202.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f76fed26bd.jpg

More pics

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9db0b6e60c.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...02ff0a453d.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e87dbf150e.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e0a1b51c46.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1af113cab2.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...705838984a.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3973e8955f.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...baa2346da9.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c9bac3990f.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...69b979b191.jpg

More pics...

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...80cb6b03aa.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fedfe85fa7.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...79847eed38.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7ada93e271.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ff30bdb68f.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c4b627c6bf.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b4adf81fa5.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1df3611613.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...05c90086e3.jpg

Moooore pics. ...

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...edb24ab441.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a21225f1ed.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6d5ff4413c.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...97b6fc4cc9.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1b9e1c0950.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...955795dcc2.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0023b8eaf4.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f4e0cb2596.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b9801f3edc.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bf5796fefc.jpg

And the last pics - more can be shot if you need them.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...470d8e4dc8.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...65003a139b.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2339a2d58d.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...30a4748e06.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6142722bd9.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6f7a219d75.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b059f4f1bc.jpg

Are you thinking of selling the frame?

tl;dr - to be blunt, it's fuuuuuuuuuuuggered up. I don't think it's worth shipping, although I'm fairly certain the fork is good (can toss in a jig to check). Bike was professionally repainted but never re-decaled after.

Long version - Basically, the kid who had the bike inherited from his dad when he moved to the city to start his adult life. After a short stint of 7-10 mile weekday commutes, not a main triangle tube nor stay was without dents. He'd get a dent and wrap it with electrical tape. He listed it on eBay and CL for an outrageous price, so I messaged to chat w/him after it repeatedly didn't sell, gave him some advice, tried to help him out. We talked, he went back to listing, then reached out a few weeks or months later saying he just needed a new, fully-serviced reliable bike because he "didn't like how the front mech scraped and couldn't ride this anymore". He asked if I was willing to help, I felt bad for the kid and Dad Mode kicked in. Needless to say, I found a really nice mid-level Fuji at a really great price, overhauled and tuned it, fresh everything down to the rubber, then traded him for his frameset and a few bucks to cover my consumable expenses. Knew the frame was thrashed, but thought I could use the hardware. Anyway, you read this far ... I can take pics of the frame/fork if you're interested.

Great story but yeah I think that frame needs to stay in your attic . . .

:lol:

I hear you. It's up there for a reason. It could be a really fun project for @gugie or someone similar else just a fork donor. It's a higher-end Zeus frame, probably worth saving, but it'll need at least one seat stay replaced.

Someone please buy this lot so I don't.

Paging @Wildwood ;)

I was thinking the same thing!

Hmm, send pix, seat stays aren't too hard to replace. If you just want to get rid of it, I could pay for shipping if it's reasonably fixable.

Sorry to butt in on a Sales thread, but you wouldn't happen to have a thread with pictures, do you? I'm just super curious as to what it looks like, at this point.

_Kurt

If anyone buys this lot and does not want the Zeus shifters I do.

Not the Alpha complete set, the levers and bits - I think I have what's needed to complete a set.

Ask and ye shall receive. Thumbnails below, with tons of closer-up pics here (click each image for closer-up shots). I think the only tubes NOT dented are the seat tube, head tube, down tube, and forks? Rear seat stays are both crushed. Top tube is hammered on both sides. Dropouts/fork ends are good, as is the brake bridge. Both chainstays have some impact. It's got some work - not impossible work, but some work - to get it back to rideable.

EDIT: Note there is no rifling in the tubes. Fork shows signs it's fully chromed, but no stampings to indicate tubing. Frame is light and has fat fork blades reminiscent of the Columbus forks on my early-mid 70s Liotto. Dropout adjusters have just enough sticking out to potentially remove them carefully after a torch session to break them free.

Arrows show the worst spots.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2ec0455d61.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4fd6adbbbb.jpg

If I end up listing this on eBay next month, I'll set the levers to the side and hit you up.

But, if you're enterprising ... Last drilled crankset I saw in this condition went for $148 alone on eBay in 2019. There's currently one listed for ~$250 US, silver drillium with tons of watchers - interest is there.

The drilled rings in this shape can go for as much as $40-50/ea, with the 47T being a super-rare find that may fetch as much as $60-70 by itself in black, which I've not seen in eons. I have no doubt in my mind parting this out could result in 50% profit if you keep the levers... under $300 shipped domestically in the US (shipping would be around $20 to most CONUS addresses) I think is a relative steal considering what's here. Although, I'm not blind to the fact some TLC is required on it, it's the rarity that drives value in this case.

Frankly, I just don't want/need this stuff and don't want the hassle of dealing with eBay. I was going to put this on a Torpado I fetched from @Essthreetee a couple years ago, but I've got virtually everything I need for that bike right now to return to stock, so ...

Zeus stuff gotta find a new home!.

Thanks, I will wait & hope. I don't want the pile, even though you are undoubtedly correct on the part-out value. For me it's just the last part of a complete-the-puzzle problem.

Hey @merziac & @gugie -
I only have one Zeus bike, it has been thru several component changes to get it almost 100% era appropriately re-Zeus'd. My Zeus spares inventory has now spilled over onto non-Iberian bici. :(

I confess looking for a Razesa frame or one from Portugal. My new rule is: frames must be a near perfect fit. A good rule.

Besides @francophile has too much of my stimulus $$$ already, in an attempt to Franco me....

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3bbe4835a.jpeg
....this and more.

I figured as much but you never know, don't want to miss out on something you don't have or didn't know you wanted. ;)

I appreciate you tagging him. I wasn't going to break the news on the Mavic, that's his story to tell.

And seeing that picture @Wildwood posted ... Oh, the sellers remorse! I've had this Mondia Super on my shop wall, it needs a strip & repaint. That Mavic would've looked stunning on it, in hindsight. Sure I'll feel the same about this Zeus stuff too, but it needs a new home!

Since I'm not looking to drop the price (not like anyone is asking), this post will sit here until mid-April. If nothing happens by then, it's off to eBay in pieces, to the highest bidders...

I remember lusting after this group as a youngster in the 80s, I think. Beautiful stuff.

Wow. That's sad.

If it were local, I'd take some frame blocks to it and practice filling the dents with silver just out of pity for it. But the stays are so rough that it'd be less effort to get the right replacements and braze them in.

That crack at the BB - is that just at the paint, or is that a genuine crack?

-Kurt

Totally. And the kid I got it from was completely oblivious to the tragedy. I guess this is what happens when something is inherited without inheriting the value. He saw it as a tool versus a prize possession, and treated it as such.

I will say this: If the stays were replaced, it just leaves you with the top tube as the main issue, and the TT is perfectly straight, so frame blocks and SS fill would get this back to "straight" again. Really, only the seat stays are mangled, but there's that one spot on the drive-side chain stay with what looks like a cut that's concerning.

Those seat stays, I have NFC how the hell they got so mangled! I've never seen anything like it in my life. Chainstays aren't terrible other than that cut. I have a Viner Special Professional with a chain stay dent I feel is worse than either of these, I'd love to have that dent repaired someday and refinish the frame, but cringe at the thought of what it'll cost. It's non-original paint, and needs a repaint anyway, it'll eventually get done ...

That said, whoever repainted this Zeus, it was a high-quality hard paint, automotive style, flakes and cracks similar to how Imron would, where the basecoat-metal bond breaks before the topcoat-basecoat bond does. But you can see on the BB shell a couple of runs, and there's also a thick section nearby that was perforated with fine bubbles.

That's me being over-verbose and/or annoyingly-full-disclosure as usual. I believe the crack is paint-only, due to the paint thickness at the DT/BB union. I shot that and circled because it appears there's possible signs of rust at the crack, and some folks get sketched out by rust near a union. If the lug or tube doesn't appear compromised, I'm never worried about the union bond. I wouldn't let this bug me, but some folks would.

Almost enough stuff to make my Zeus track frame into a road bike. :o I've hit this FS topic a few times, but no, but GLWS!