Offing Sew-up Wheels
 

So I'm thinking of divesting myself of the sew-up wheels that I haven't used in 30+ yrs and went looking to see what people were asking for them. Seems generally to be pretty outrageous. Does anyone actually buy those wheelsets for $100+/wheel?? I mean, most of them have rotting tires at best or no tires at all (prolly better). If I decide to flip these things it seems like sitting on them for another couple yrs waiting for the perfect buyer may not be all that satisfying.
So what do you all think? Does anyone still buy/ride sew-ups? Is it even worth the effort to try to sell them?

thanks
Charlie

Depends on the rims/hubs/spokes being offered, but yes, I would spend $200 for a wheelset. I'd spend more in some cases. In a lot of cases, I wouldn't give you a plug nickel for them. And 5 of my 6 bikes have tubulars.

Agree with iab. It would take a special wheelset for me to pop for $200. Like Campag/Mavic/Maxicar hubs, Mavic SSC rims. But part of that is I have good tubular rims already.

Post pics of what you have. More desirable rims are probably worth selling as complete wheels. Otherwise, de-lace them and sell the hubs/spokes.

I bought a really nice set for $60 no tires.

I have a set of nice Suntour Sprint hubs laced to Rino rims with a freewheel and good tires. I sold them once for $100, but buyer never paid. They are still in the shipping box.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...845d23495c.jpg

Correct, please post some pics...
Ben

"effort" is the key word. If it's not worth the effort to post photos here so that we can answer your questions without guessing, then maybe just toss them.

Vintage wheels, be they clincher or sew-up do have value. In days gone bye, people would just toss a set of sew-ups into the trash bin, Now-a-days, a good quality vintage wheel set can set you back hundreds of dollars, if you build the set yourself. The hubs, skewers, rims, spokes, glue (tape actually) and tires = $400.00+ CND for the set on this old Atala Pro...
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5a8dc489af.jpg

That said, often times it is best to break a wheel set up into hubs and rims. Those things sell much easier and the cost to ship is dramatically reduced.

So, yes, your wheels might be worth something and, perhaps, you just might be able to help someone, somewhere, get the wheel set of his or her dreams...
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8132ef87a3.jpg

I was not aware that inquiring about the state of the market required pix. Unfortunately I do not have any at the moment. There a several sets of Campy low flange/DT stainless/Fiamme Egal or Nisi rims/all 6-gear. One set Campy hi flange Dt Nisi 5-gear IIRC One set of early 80's Phil Wood 5-gear DT Fiamme Ergal


FWIW


Charlie

If only we had a subforum for that ...

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...th-appraisals/

The hurdle for selling wheels is the shipping, it has become pricey. Nor beyond tolerable, but wheels with dents unless really rare are hub value.
sell them local if possible, or market to tolerable driving range. In Los Angeles, - San Diego, Ventura, Santa Barbara are close enough to "local Market"

I think it depends totally on the local market and the wheelset.....I see people post it it a buyers market for tubular wheelsets and that they can get great ones for $100 or less. I just paid $300 for a new set, decently speced (ultegray 6800 hubs, mavic reflex cd rims) I got a virtually NOS wheelsmith mavic 330 rim, sanshin hub for well under $150 from a forum member

As I've tried to communicate I was not wondering about their worth but their marketability. I'm aware of the appraisal forum but I appreciate the thot

Oh, sorry. I got the wrong impression from your op:

Generally speaking, aside from some die hard Tubie Lovers, from a marketing standpoint nobody wants your tubular wheelsets.
I’d suggest, as others above have, that you disassemble them and sell the hubs and rims separately.
The hubs you mention are desireable and will sell quickly, plus the shipping is inexpensive.
Anyone who wants good tubular rims will in all likelihood already have good hubs. But don’t expect them to move quickly, even on eBay.

I bought two used sets for less than $200 primarily to finally experience and learn tubulars without a large investment. To the extent there are others like myself, I would say there is some market. And, I loved the experience!

That's a good idea, isn't it. Buy a complete tubular wheel set from a local seller (no shipping). Then buy 3/6 of those Yellow Jersey tubulars for $50/$100 and TWO patch kits.

It would be an inexpensive way to try tubulars again. Roads out here are better than NYC ever was. It might actually be viable.

Over the last few years I've sold off quite a few older sets of tubular wheels, mostly on CL. I've actually been surprised at how far some have traveled to buy an old used set of wheels that have been sitting around for decades. I dumped a dozen pair last spring around this time to make some room upstairs here. I listed 12 pair, 10 were gone by the same time a day later, all for $150 and up. (There was a time when I'd have just scrapped them because they wouldn't sell but they seem to have fallen back in favor or are needed for vintage bike restorations).

If you want any kind of specific answers, pictures are needed to confirm what it is, assess cosmetic condition, and screen out problems. Some sellers who may know that Campy had two grades of widely-used hubsets (Nuovo Tipo versus Record) might not know the difference between them. I've learned I need to see it. And some are hard to narrow down no matter what.

But if you just want to talk about generalities, you're fine as it is. Those wheelsets you mentioned are pretty good ones, though I don't care about Phil Woods hubs. But unless you have a set with Mavic Montlhery rims and Normandy hubs (gotta see pics to confirm the right ones!), I'm not interested at the moment.

It is a hot cold market, more on the cold side. I don't like to pay more than $150/pair. Finding NOS tubular rims is hit and miss but when I find them they are usually more than one pair. With the price of spokes being what they are, a complete wheel with the right spokes is worth more. Most don't spect the spokes, My preference is DT DB's/. Having said that, I guess, as a buyer, I am picky.

I often read threads non-linearly.

And I'm not trained in marketing. If you want to reach all the vintage bike nuts (what, 2000 people worldwide?), I'm not sure the word applies. In practical terms of using the big markets, like Ebay, I used to find it a lot easier to search for specific vintage stuff than I do now, so as far as I can see its a lot harder to shop and presumably to market. But here, in the Paceline, maybe Velocipede Salon, there are a lot of people with interest and knowledge looking for quality vintage stuff. And there are curious folks who want to try the original vintage experience glorified by all the old f**rts like me, who say things like "if you want to know what it was like in the '50s, buy something from the '50s."

So I think there is a small population relative to say the marketing of butter, bread, and milk, but there are people who are interested. Except in the biggest cities I do not expect them to be seeking or offering much on CL or even ebay, at least it can be hard to see on Ebay.

Additionally the word "vintage" is misused and corrupted. It doesn't distinguish between actual old and quality stuff, or modern products designed to mimic actual old stuff. So how to distinguish the real thing?

It's a small subset of buyers for this. However, as mentioned above depending on the hubs the prices vary a bunch. I love my old tubular wheels. Had an ex-racer come to me 8 yrs ago or so and say he was moving and wanted to give me his old tubular rims because he knew I was into the older bikes. I walk into his basement and was shocked when he gives me 12 wheels - all laced to hubs. That sent me down the road of running tubulars on the majority of my nicer bikes. So, periodically I'll look around for them. $150 is typically the maximum I'll pay.

But, the market can definitely be fickle for these. I bought a pair of almost NOS (no brake wear at all) Mavic GEL280's last year at Seattle's swap meet for $100. I was gleeful to get them for that price. They were laced to Campagnolo high flange hubs and the rear was for a single speed/track bike. I sold the hubs for a little more than I paid for the wheelset and then had the rims rebuilt with Suntour front hubs to go on a couple of my bikes.

.
...I have six or eight sets of tubular wheels with nice hubs that came off bikes I bought to rework as projects. They are tarped, up against the fence under cover, in the back yard. I should probably do something with them. I still have a set or two of tubular tyres, and if I look, there's probably some tubular glue. Every now and then I look at them, and I think, " You ought to fix up a set of those, and put them back on one of the bikes they came from."

But next morning, I've sobered up, thank god. I am kinda curious about the new liquid sealants you can inject into tubular tyres, to make them a little more flat resistant. I probably won't do that, either. :o

They have, in past years, been a wonderful source for hubs. I've probably cut out a dozen of them to relace into clincher rims. Which is why I have kept them, I guess.