There is a guy near me who has been trying for about a year to sell a Haro Dart (same type of bike as your Schwinn) on craigslist for $200. Maybe you could buy that too and revive the sport. :)

Joel,

Great score! Must have been the good vibes we had with our ride the other night! Maybe we can make a trade on the RD? What you need? Something Campy to go with the shifters?

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...2&d=1278128697

That's a Duopar, right? I'd think I'd rather change the shifters;).,,,,BD

I am spending the summer in Mali, West Africa. I have come across a ton of old 3-speeds from all over europe. I have looked up some of the brands like: Rivel, Raleigh, Gazelle, etc... I am planning on buying a couple of them. Does anyone have any idea of the actual value of bikes like this? I know this is very limited information... sorry. But I would greatly appreciate any help I can get. They are asking $50 - $70 each.

Raleighs and Gazelles in good shape would be worth that. I sold a 71 Sports for $125 in Houston, it was in pretty nice shape with new cables, etc..,,,,BD

Hi wmartinhickman -
You need to pose this question in the Appraisals Subforum HERE but you need to provide more information - and pictures if possible. The value depends much on the market: Few here would be more familiar than you with Mali West Africa prices, so I'm guessing $50-70 is what they're worth there. On the other hand, if your intent is to select some pristine rod-braked gem to bring home with you (wherever that is) it could be worth significantly more.

Best to bear in mind though that any such valuation is intended to assess value for resale: If you just plan to buy a bike for your own use, you can not go too far wrong at those prices, and you'll have to consider what it's worth to you, to have a bike to ride and enjoy this summer.

Thanks! I am planning on buying two bikes, one for myself and one for my wife, to take back to Tennessee. I hope to use them to commute back and forth from work. However, if I discover that they have greater value anywhere else in the world then I wouldn't be apposed to buying several bikes to refurbish and sell.

Also keep in mind, that at least in South America, there are a bunch of newer rod brake bikes running around. While in Peru, I saw hundreds of them a day. I wanted SO much to bring one home, hehe. There may be some of those newer bikes running around there too. Stick to the well known name brands;).,,,,BD

This might be a completely stupid question, but hey, I'm new to all these roadster bikes. What are rod-brakes?

The idea of bringing home bikes from Africa to Tennessee sounds so cool! But flip-wise--I can't quite imagine that the cost of shipping won't outweigh any profit, unless you find something truly rare and fabulous.

They have a completely mechanical linkage with pivots, etc. IE: rod actuated, no cables.,,,,BD

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3183/...2a1cc5d455.jpg

Maybe someone here can give a brief, accurate explanation, but you might just want to google a photo! It's an older style of system where the brakes are connected from the hand levers by straight steel rods rather than cables and the rims of the bike are slightly different shape since the brake pad is angled upward and not from the side. A very elegant system.

I will google that. I have also seen some brakes that seem to be housed right on the hub, in the front and back. What type of brakes are these?

I just posted a googled pic, right there;) ^^^^^^^,,,,BD

I have thought about that. If I shipped them rather than fly them it would be cheaper, just take 3 months. If I just buy a few then I can take them as my luggage on the airplane and it wont cost any extra.

Hey fiatacc,,, That coud be the seldom seen Peugeot PX-70?? They sold a commute style bike for a few years. I bought new,, a 1979 Motobecane 1980 Peugeot and 1986 Peugeot. I'd guess the cottered crank has french threads too. My french fleet was all english threads. But if the frame fits,i'd restore the beast. I got 27" gumwall tires in my local K-Mart like 5+ years ago. With the right tires you'd have a classy bike,,with lights.Chris

Local CL score. I believe it's an st500, 1986. Suntour Suberbe pro derailleurs, cyclone hubs, Sugino AT triple, what I believe are some older DiaCompe canit's, Nitto Rando bars and Techomic stem, and a honey/copper Brooks team pro. It's over 10cm to small for me, but I'm going to use the group and saddle on my commuter build and parting the rest out. If anyone needs a tiny touring frame PM and I can get you some measurements. Overall I think it was a very nice find.
http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_2660.jpg
http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_2662.jpg
http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_2663.jpg

Hi Bob!
That *was* a nice ride.
I have no idea what I want to do with the components on this 620. All I know for sure is that I need to dig up an arm for the rear brake. Morover, it's too small for me. I need to figure out the magic incantation to make it grow into a 60cm.

sounds like an ambitious price. don't know if the bmx crowd is as nostalgic as we are. what i did find when i looked the bike up is some weird road bike conversions that some folks were doing on these things. it's funky for sure.

here are a few pics of the bikes I found here in Mali. I bought the green one today. It is a Raleigh 3-speed. In riding it home I noticed that there is one spot that the gears don't catch and it is, as if, the chain is off.

tangent....where in TN will you be returning?

This is the green Raleigh 3-speed I bought today. The real hub has a 75 and a few spaces over it has a 5 on it. I couldn't see an obvious year, unless it's 1975. There is one spot in the gears that seems to not catch, making it like the chain came off. The breaks need tightening and I'm not sure how that works on the front brake. Considering I bought this thing at an African market and all the dirt and mess it's been through it rides very good; however, the peddle did fall off when I pushed hard to cross traffic. ha.

They're about TWICE as nostalgic as we are!? Who else would pay the kind of money they do on tig welded bikes?;) They sometimes broke/cracked from rough landings, and threw chains from frame flex. The most collectible of these bikes is a Hutch of course. It came with a fairing IIRC, and the magazine ad had a rider stopped by the police, hehe.,,,,BD

That Cannondale!!! Oh man that is a nice find!:D I appreciate the earlier models more now. The late 90's CAAD3 R600 I had rode stiff as hell, but the CAD2 R200 I have now is quick and comfy.,,,,BD

(assuming this is to me) My wife and I have been living in Chattanooga, TN for the past year. We came to Mali, West Africa the end of April and will return the end of July. We are not sure where we will move back to. We love Chattanooga, but I am applying to Physical Therapy School in Johnson City, starting in January; however, our family lives closer to Memphis. So right now it looks like we will live in Memphis for the fall then Johnson City for the next 3-4 years.

Yeah... 75 5 means the hub was built in May 1975 making it most likely a 1975 or possibly '76 model. The slip is probably between 2nd and 3rd gears, right? That's just a cable adjustment issue (or possibly the cable is sticking a bit a needs to be lubed or replaced).