Flip as is or part out.
 

So I had dinner last night with a buddy whose wife is after him to get rid of stuff
that he isn't using. So, she knowing that I deal with old bikes, pushed him to offer
the bike pictured below to me for a reasonable price. Not my size, but a pretty
nice bike.

So the trouble the seller has with this bike leads me to concluded there isn't much of a market
for them.

You can't see everything, but this bike has
Nuovo Record front and rear derailleur, shifters and HS.
600 brakes, cranks.
Phil Wood hubs with MA-40 rim.
531 frame.
Nice saddle
Shimano pedals
Can't figure out what freewheel, but not one I am familiar with.

I thought you could get 80-100 for MA-40, but the only ones listed sold on E-Bay went
pretty low. One went for just over what I've paid for plain Araya.

Anyway, should I part it out or flip as a whole? I would off course take it apart either way.
I've also thought about putting lesser wheels on it and using the wheels for one of my bikes.

http://wm56.inbox.com/thumbs/52_b965...d_oJ.jpg.thumb


http://wm56.inbox.com/thumbs/53_b965...d_oJ.jpg.thumb

Depends on what "a reasonable price is" in your market. If you paid $50 and flip for $200 that makes sense. If you paid $150, which is probably still a "reasonable price", $200 isn't a lot over the work you'll put in it. (That's merely a hypothetical example.)

Personally, depending on the financials, I'd try to sell it whole first...lots of folks believe the karma of the bike is lost when parted out. :) If a sale doesn't go how you'd like, then do the surgery.

I'd be interested at a lower price, that's probably the issue.

I'm looking for that exact size for my wife but would upgrade things later on and the funky french stuff scares me away. What size is the seatpost? BB type? I'm not interested in old wheels, I have plenty of light new wheels and I always run into nipple, corrosion, eyelet, or spoke issues on old wheels with my luck.

I'd be interested in a lower price on the bike and a good price on the frame to tempt me not to build her a new bike.

wait, the bike you linked isn't the exact one you're talking about right?

Part it out. Keep what you want and sell the rest.

just saw the new pics you posted. part it, that thing doesn't have the looks to make money unless you put more money into it. stem and seatpost move freely?

I'd definitely part it out, those NR parts will get some cash and around here the wheels would too.

Yeah, ditto...the ROI for getting that into nicely salable shape more than likely is less than you'll get parting it out, especially if there are parts you want for your own use.

Haven't tried, but everything seems well cared for except the finish.

Sort of my feeling on the looks.

Fix it up and sell it back to your buddy. Then get him out riding it. It looks like he's done some nice upgrades over the years.

Your right about the upgrades, but you missed the resolve of his wife :). He is happy with a cheap AL bike. They go together.

Its a shame it doesn't fit you because I really like those PKN10 / PFN10's.
I have three, one as my daily rider in france and another at my parents place in england.