There is this tempting listing for a 40s era Schwinn Superior frame (no fork) on eBay; this is the listing,

https://www.ebay.com/itm/30434803787...cAAOSw~JFiAGRE




Same seller has the fork separately listed:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/353897025952?hash=item5265e811a0:g8UAAOSwWC5iAGUw




I would have been tempted to bid on this but you could easily end up with the frame and no fork or vice versa. I have to believe that the complete frame is worth more money than selling the frame and fork separately like this.

What am I missing?

Possibly a seller trying to squeeze as much as possible....I agree with you....you might end up with a frame and no fork. But if you do bid, it's great that the frame goes first.
I would wait to see how the bidding progresses on both BEFORE placing any bids and bid at the last second depending on the bidding movement on the fork.....but that's me.
Best, Ben

Hard no unless this is your grail bike. Even then, I'd want a complete bike to restore. Finding all the original parts would turn it into even more than a money pit than it is now.

Yeah, there's a complete 1940 Superior on eBay for $2k, https://www.ebay.com/itm/28442767914...b892%7Ciid%3A1

I might have been tempted if the frame and fork were being sold together to put in a bid and do a resto mod. I know it's a definite hard pass with the fork being sold separately from the frame.

I think the seller is likely to get a lower return by separating out the fork from the frame than by selling them together. Or am I missing something?

One well known seller on eBay sells Campy cranksets broken down to: two crank arms; chain ring bolts; dust caps; large ring; small ring. Kind of surprised he doesn't sell crank arms separately....

Pricing by the way on dust caps rivals what people can buy complete cranksets for. Ditto Camp chainring bolts. So he probably makes 3 to 4X the money on a crankset.

Click the "contact seller" link in the listing. Maybe you can work something out.
Brent

I would contact the seller and express your desires and concerns. It's not unreasonable. And, you may be surprised to find the seller quite flexible and be willing to consolidate the items. OTOH, I really don't have any idea what's involved in relisting items. Can't hurt to ask, though

Fair enough but who the heck wants a 1940 Superior fork without a frame or vice versa? Those parts by themselves aren't really worth much. Together, you have a project worth losing some money on,

Gordon Gecko.

A pox on those that separate frames and forks.

I agree with the others it may be worth contacting the seller. There are rules and what not they have to follow but I know they can edit their auctions for certain things. I had a saddle I wanted that I did not want to pay shipping for and I wanted to make an offer for it with local pickup. The seller changed the format to buy it now and added the local pickup option.

Your situation seems like one of those all they can do is say no things.

FWIW, the crank arms don’t line up, so something funky going on down there. Guess he tried to remove a cotter but was unsuccessful!

Yep, go big or go home.

Divide and conquer, Caveat emptor, ef that.

Yeah well the seller left the cups on the frame and the other headset parts on the fork. LOL

I think it’s ******.

The general rule I've seen applied is if either the fork or the frame has some critical damage that would diminish the value of the frame, then the two are separated.

In this case, my guess is the seller believed the locking fork would go for a premium, when, in fact, it only has a single bid.

The locking fork likely means this was a commuter bike, rather than a track bike. Possibly a 3 speed. I think that frame has fender mounts that the $2000 bike did not have.

If you really want the frame, then go online when the auction is ending. Put a bid on the frame in the last 10 seconds.

If you win the frame, then 3 minutes later put in a bid on the fork for the maximum amount you would pay (knowing you won the frame).

Agreed that this is the "commuter" version. The 1940 catalog has a neat entry on the locking fork as well as pictures of the Superior Sports Tourer. This frame would make a dandy 3 speed bike.

https://bikehistory.org/catalogs/1940.html

It drives me crazy that if you buy any Campy component that's missing a small piece you end up having to pay nearly the same amount again to get the missing piece (except when someone on this forum has it!). If all you cared about was money, parting out the parts would be the way you'd sell things like that. Fortunately, most people aren't soulless like that. I have a theory that this is an artificial problem created by the easy accessibility of sites like eBay. There are probably a lot of people (relatively speaking) who have the small parts but don't think they're worth the trouble to sell, and a lot of people who need the parts don't know any other way of finding them, so the few who bother to sell the small parts think they've got something ultra-rare that they can ask a lot of money for. This is the best explanation I can think of for people on eBay asking $25+ for something that people on Bike Forums will give you if they know you need it. Then there are the people who think eBay asking prices are a reasonable way to determine what something is worth....

I thought it obvious it was a commuter......fenders are also on sale, visit the site to see them.

In the days before cloaked identities, I would buy lots of parts and frequently received a question of would I sell ONE part to them, both times it was for early Campagnolo brake quick release levers, pre CPSC... I replied, that was the reason I bought the lot!
poor blighters

I think we are forgetting that there maybe shenanigans..

so lets say they sell you the frame and then boost the bidding on the fork with fake bids to where you end up paying wayyyy over for the fork as the frame is useless without it, i put to you Sir that they have associates bidding on the item to boost the price..

its not unlike the live auction bidding where the auctioneer boosts the bid pretending there are two bidders when there is only one, it happened to me at a live auction, until i stopped the bidding and ask to see who i'm bidding against, the auctioneer insulted me by saying ohh i'm sorry you don't know how this works... and laughed like a smarmy slick operator he was..

it believe this can happen with on line bidding also... so there is today's conspiracy for you all lol
G

Just don't pay for the frame unless you win the fork, and other components you want.

It may be unethical, buy sellers can't leave negative feedback for buyers.

I guess they're not worth much by themselves unless you have a 1940 Superior with a trashed fork. Then I'd guess a 1940 Superior fork is worth a bit more to you.

Frame went for $305 (19 bids) and the fork for $127.50 (7 bids). I dunno if the seller made more money this way than if he'd sold the frame and fork together. Nor do I have any idea whether the buyer of the frame got the fork as well. I stayed well away from this auction.

Given how old that bike is, I think it's a bit of a shame to sell the fork separately like this. I'm skeptical that the seller maximized his return this way. Plus it's odd selling the crank with the frame. It wouldn't surprise me if that crank is worth some coin. Plus the headset got chopped up as the cups stayed with the frame.