stronglight

Has anyone else been following the brawl over the very early and very rare 1951 Campagnolo Gran Sport derailleur on ebay? ...item #190163020817 - currently at $5,700, with the auction ending Sunday evening.

The current high bidder [Taki59] is a pretty serious Japanese collector, but I've never seen him go this high on a single component. He's been slugging it out with another Japanese heavy hitter for the past few thousand bucks. The Japanese seem to find auction "sniping" debasing, so these battles between the big time Japanese collectors makes for more of the excitement of a Live Auction scene... but in slow motion.

Yes, rather excessive to my mind. But, this really is a Holy Grail item for the obsessive collector [not me].

luker

several years ago Matteo Brandi sold a 1951 gran sport, and in a similar battle, the closing was then $2900, or thereabouts. I wish I had a box full somewhere.

It is interesting that the equally rare single lever is only commanding $137...

MyBikeGotStolen

I dont know if I ever see myself spending that much on a car.

Thanks, I will add that to my watch list.

BTW, my dad called yesterday and was talking about a LETTER Rush Limbaugh (SP?) wrote selling for 2.2M yesterday. I hate hearing about politics (which he loves) so I didnt pay to much attention.

bigwoo

10 months worth of house payments for me

Ridiculous, it's a bicycle part for goodness sakes.....Some collectors may not be right in the head

luker

well, remember that the dollar is really in the crapper...it may only be worth $4000 in last year's dollars...

iab

How do you know it is Taki59? I would assume it is a Japanese bidder but I can't see through ebay's bidder mask. Also, the Japanese do snipe, I have first hand experience with that.

This auction is really high though. It will be interesting to see if the price at the end of the auction signifigantly increases.

Personally, if I had that kind of money, why not spend it on a first production year Gran Sport. It holds a lot of history and they are not readily available. I'd rather have that than Spiderman #1 or some stupid stamp (my apologies to all the philatelists out there, it's just not my bag baby )

retyred

[QUOTE=iab;5490175]How do you know it is Taki59?

He is bidding on the original box the derailleur came in. Feedback score is the same. Geez you'd think for that kind of money the seller would throw in the box! I think i'll bid on the box. Might be able to flip it to the winner of the derailleur!

El Julioso

Are there centres for eBay addiction? If not, there should be. I've repeatedly not only seen people bid insane amounts for frivolous things like this that will no doubt sit on a shelf, but I've seen people bid more for still-in-production items than they could buy them for new. All for the rush of bidding on an auction.

stronglight

Last year at the Barrett Jackson auto auction in Scottsdale, AZ I saw a 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda sell for $500,000. ... another 1971 Hemi Cuda sold for $535,000. ... a 1969 Boss 429 Mustang for $600,000. ... and really countless other (once inexpensive) American muscle cars sold for well over $200,000. While I'm barely paying my utility (and bicycle) bills. ~ Aah, what a world.

SoreFeet

For that price I could probably buy the worlds remaining stock of Suntour Cyclone parts.

Kommisar89

With prices like that Campy ought to fire up the old production line and make a few thousand more of those things. I remember some deal like that back in the 90's maybe where apparently extra VIN numbers had been issued for old Shelby Mustangs so they built like 25 "new" 65 (or whatever year it was) Shelby mustangs with the old VIN numbers and new engine (to meet smog requirements and all).

Or maybe brand Nuovo Record derailleurs made to order with your choice of PAT date stamped on it.

luker

believe it or not, I'm one of those wonks that buy campy boxes. I use 'em to keep track of the good stuff, in the good cabinet, in the corner of the garage...

I don't think that I can afford this box, though...

retyred

We can afford it if we assemble enough C&V members as donors. Then we could pass the box from member to member. Sort of like the Stanley cup!

Dr.Deltron

I must have 2 or 3 of those old Campy deraileurs around here somewhere.
Maybe I should dig them out...and pay off the house!

DickyJ

The seller's location is just up the road from me...

hmmm..

Old Fat Guy

I like C & V because of the relative cheapness of quality components and the quality of ride one can get from vintage steel.

I would no sooner pay $5k for a rear dérailleur than I would for a complete bike.

The beauty of C & V, at least to me, is that I can ride a top quality machine for pennies on the dollar.

Riding my De Rosa from the mid 80's is like driving a Ferrari of that era. The bike is better than me, and much better behaved.

When you get to be old, knowing your limits takes on a different meaning.

I would spend $5k for a NOS De Rosa w/ 50th Anniversary and some fresh Vittoria CX's , but for a 'Holy Grail' dérailleur?

For $5k I bet BigBossMan would sell his 911!

coelcanth

i do not think the one matteo sold was quite as early as this one..

this derailleur is a special one.. super rare and historically significant too..
it is pretty much the predecessor to all modern derailleurs used today

luker

I seem to recall that it was a 1952, which would make it not so cool. still astounding to see the price go so high back then. I saved the material from that auction for a while but cannot find it now.

MyBikeGotStolen

Dr D, didnt you just find some couple hundred $$ hubs you had "just laying around" recently? Just give me a call if you ever need help cleaning out the garage........

Picchio Special

I think this is correct, and explains the price to some extent. This one is mega-ultra-rare. Someone with a big-time Campagnolo collection might have to wait years and years to see another one for sale with the original pulleys and in this kind of shape. Not my thing, but I get it. And contrary to what some earlier postings might suggest, I doubt this is an example of compulsive ebay behavior (with which I am all too familiar). Top-tier Japanese collectors tend to be very disciplined in their bidding and buying. They know what they're looking for, what they're looking at, and what they're willing to pay to acquire a choice piece or fill a hole in their collection. It's a very different approach from the bottom-feeding, bargain-hunting approach that tends to prevail here.

cudak888 

$6,100.

-Kurt

iab

HiCampy (I saw his bids before it went over $200) pushed the price to $202.50 for the box in the last 2 minutes. taki59 really wants this stuff.

Hocam

I am now on the look out for 1951 gran sport campy RDs.

iab

HiCampy is now pushing up the price of the gear lever.

iab

This is fun to watch!!