WJV

I made the 1.5 hour trip to the swap and arrived a few minutes before 9:00am. There was a line, but it was manageable and I was in the door a few minutes after 9:00. This was my first time at this swap and venue. It was large and decently well lit. I only felt crowded once or twice and the people were all super nice.

I was not looking to buy anything large. Really the only thing I was looking for was a beat up NR rear derailleur. My limit for the day was $100 because I really didn't need anything; all my projects are either on permanent hold, or I have everything to complete them.

I quickly found three or four NR candidates from various vendors ranging from $35-65 for around the same condition. I tried to beat the nice guy down to $30, but he stuck to his guns. It was still a decent buy so I paid him the $35 just in case I didn't find anything else. I then purchased two brakes and a bag full of campy shifting parts from a $5 bin. I found a random nice campy hood for $5. Last, I couldn't pass up some almost new pink vintage sunglasses.

Other thoughts: There was a handful of very nice bikes. The prices on frames seemed to be good, but I was less impressed by the prices for whole bikes. It was nice to see affordable vintage parts. For instance, I was happy to pay the $5 for the Campagnolo rear nutted brake. I thought the prices for mid-level newer road gear were very reasonable. I saw some great deals on 9/10 speed 105 and ultegra (~$20 for 10speed Ultegra RD, $15 for new Shimano chains). If I were building a cheap non-vintage rider, it would have been a great place to find parts.

Here's my loot:


Those of you with keen eyes will recognize the Oakley Razors, a solid investment for $10 (see what they go for on ebay, it's stupid for how ugly they are). Those of you with even keener eyes will notice the Campy drop bolt on the Superbe brake. Not a bad haul for $65.

shoota 

The Razors were the first thing I saw, my mom still has hers So retro!

slowtostart

My very eloquent post simply evaporated.

The "goal" Pletscher rear rack was purchased in the first few minutes. A very cheesy front light purchase was soon followed by a very overpriced double kickstand find. My dear husband was the guy carrying the rack and the finances.

Now home, he said, "Is WD40 an ingredient in that chicken recipe?"

sts

okane

Picked up a lot of "odds and ends," small parts, couple of hats, jersey, light, air pump, etc. Nice show, nice weather, nice people. First time for me in the "new" location and it was a fun day.

puchfinnland

OK guys.... show more pictures and make us jealous of all the loot you bought.



Im waiting to hear how many bikes Photogravity parted with....

I bet he came back with more then he took!!!

jgedwa

Too lazy just now to take pictures, but nothing earth shattering acquired anyway:

-a single speed rear 29er wheel that I can use. (With a wide Velocity P35 rim and a huge Continental tire.)
-cheap pair of toe clips.
-couple of pairs of MTB lock-on grips.
-nice set of Diacomp 982 cantis.
-5 skewers.
-two MTB tires.
-Bushnell eccentric BB
-Nice pair of purple anodized Kooka brake levers.

That's it. I did not see any really blockbuster things there.

jim

pastorbobnlnh 

Any honest feedback on my freewheels at photogravity's table would be much appreciated! Don't hold back the punches. I can take it!

StevePGN10

I was thinking the opposite. There were a ton of nice bikes in the racks, relatively few over $350. The bikes over $350 were newer, full suspension mountain bikes or very collectible road bikes. Frames seemed to be running at least $150. To me, that is too expensive for all the work to acquire and assemble parts for the frame.

I could not find a tall bike/frame for my son. As an outside possibility I might have picked up a 29er or full suspension mountain bike just to have something that I don't already have, but they were outside my price range. I spent less than $15 on odds and ends. I suppose I spent more on entrance fees and lunch. It was still a great time, and I look forward to next year.

JohnnyBee

Well Guys, I traded my Bill Stevenson bike with the disco Joe Bell paint job for that beautiful
Kestrel Time trial/ Tri bike. Also bought 6 pairs of SPD pedals, 2 pairs of shoes for $5.00 each,
and a set of Dura Ace STI 9spd shift levers. There was tons of decent stuff cheap. I only sold
one bike - a KHS Mountain bike for $50.00.

The big problem was the way they had the small space tables placed against each other ....
WTH were they thinking .... other than that, not a bad day as long as I sold everything cheap.


Johnnybee.

Bianchigirll 

I didn't make it I woke up late then had a snafu with the auto. My neighbor jumped me so I went to the range for a bit. I did get a nice package in the mail though.

cehowardGS

I think I did pretty dam good.!!

I was looking for brifters to for my 3 1985 Raleighs and my 1989 Cannondale. No rush, each one of these bikes will be upgraded to brifters like my Centurion Ironmans already have. But, I am not a rush. I spied a pair of black Shimino 105s for $150, that is not a bad price, they were in good condition, and almost scratch free. I wasn't in a hurry, so I walked and looked. I got 5 innertubes for $15.. got a black stem for $15, been looking hard for one of those, and all the ones on line are $50+. Finally, about 2 pm, things start thinning out, and my buddies all have made scores and were ready to leave. I made a trip back to check on the 105s, , I offered $100 again, the price was $150, they dropped to $120. I looked at my watch, pulled out two crisp 50s, and added a 5 dollar bill to that two 50s, and said $105 for the 105s, the guy said "deal".. Cool, further down, I see another set of 105s. These are a little scratch on the front. The vendor wanted $75, I said I had $60, the vendor said "deal". BTW, I got some 105 toe clip pedals with straps from this vendor too, for $20. Come to find out, he is a BF member, and when I mentioned motorcycle, he said, "you are "cehoward".. I thanked him kindly for the two great deals.

Finally, I see a perfect Ultegra 6700, left or right shifter by itself. Vendor wanted $50, I know it is well worth the $50, I offered $40, got it..

Plus I caught up with photograpy too, another BFer.. . It was a lot, a lot of people there. Everybody, and I mean everybody, super friendly!! Can't get any better than that!!

cehowardGS

I asked about you too. It was a nice meet, dam nice. Lots, and lots of C&V stuff.

brandenjs

sts- I sold a Pletscher rack today. If that was mine I hope it works out well for you. I had a blast being a vendor and I actually didn't buy anything. That's a first.

longbeachgary

Jeez, I thought you were talking about the dog show!!!!!

Bianchigirll 

Dog show? Isn't that Mayflower?

theblackbullet

Sell me the Razors!!!!! haha I really love those glasses

Kyte747

I was there from setup to tear down with my shop, sold lots of goodies and made a couple purchases...basically broke even so it was a great day.

Got some Mavic Cosmic Experts for the Univega for an ace


A cool ITM stem for the Sintesi for $5


AND..........................

Kyte747

This lovely John Hollands frame!

Check out the rear brake bridge...has Columbus drops too

It's a 63 ctc 58tt which for me at 6'3" is fine although I normally prefer 58-60's with 57/58tt's. The geometry is such that it's going to have a pretty bold stand over but I'll deal . It was hanging at the White's Bicycles tent about 20ft from our table so I had to look at it all day long. The fact that it's a beautiful frame and John Hollands was at our shop on Thursday with Richard Schwinn iced it for me. Got a great price on it too. The only drawback is it needs a fork with about a 282mm steerer. I actually have one that fits from a 67cm Schwinn Traveller but it's a 27" and changes the top tube angle too much. Anyone out there have one that long in 700c? The other options are to do a graft, get a threadless with a 300mm steerer thread it and cut it, or White's says they have the pieces and bits they could sell me and I could have John make me one...definitely the right way but also the most expensive proposition. Thoughts?

slowtostart

$10 written on masking tape? I polished is as soon as we returned home and it looks great.

Poguemahone

I liked the show and had a good time, although it is more of a buying show than a selling show. It was odd in the the show used to be excellent for picking up consumables (bar tape, tubes, tires, etc) and there was very little of that at non-shop prices this year. Also, activity in the parking lot was down and a couple of the big shop buyers of old bikes appeared to be MIA. I think the economy was a bit of a drag. Anything expensive, even moderately priced, was not going to move, so my table was slow sales wise as it was a pile of C-record and the like. I'll just keep it and trade it or put it on a project if I can't get near market for it. I think I sold more copies of my comic book than anything else.

Buying was another story. There were nice frames to be had, especially in the larger sizes (Can't figure the earlier statement about them not being there). I picked up two project frames for reasonable to cheap. I paid asking price for this MKM, a mere 150$:





It's a well kept bike, resprayed by Franklin frames in Ohio according to PO (who worked a table with PhotoG).

I'm starting to think how to build it; right now I'm thinking I'm going to transfer some half-step off an old Follis frame I'm likely selling. Late in the show, I picked up this Guerciotti for 125$ (cheap, I thought):



I note with the Viner, this completes my collection of bikes with star shaped drain holes. Same seller had a nice Viner frame for 150$. Guy next to me picked up a large Moser for basically under a hundred.

I also found some NOS Victory chainrings, 52 and 53 teeth, for a fiver apiece, and bought them.

I'm starting to treat this show as a source to buy a frame or two to tinker around with in the next year. I just got the Lightspeed I picked up last year running well, so the MKM is probably next in line, but I'll spend a bit thinking about the build. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with the Geurciotti; I may stick the C-record I have on it just for kicks. Or I may turn it into a beater. It'll rest in the back of my mind a bit. Not a priority.

I saw some other neat stuff; I briefly considered paying 350 for a chrome Atala track frame with Campy track cranks and Campy two bolt post. I'm sure it sold for asking price.

I've pretty much decided all my cheap flip bikes get sold on local CL late August/early September. Not bringing them to shows anymore. In fact, I'm not quite sure how I will deal with this show in the future, although I did register for the event next year on the way out the door.

brandenjs

Yep that was mine. Glad it will work. It helped me prove a point to my wife too. She said "nobody is going to buy that old thing". I knew better . Everyone needs at least one Pletscher.

photogravity

Overpriced kickstand, eh? I'll remember that. At least make sure it's nicely polished and you'll feel better about paying so much for it!

photogravity

I only made one purchase: the comic book that PogueMahone was selling at his table. Sales this year were not as good as last year, that's for sure. Someone made a really lowball offer on my JT tandem frameset, which I refused. I have a really nice one-owner 1973 or 1974 Raleigh Super Course that I thought would sell, but didn't get even one bite on it. It is entirely original including the bar tape, tires, tubes and Brooks B17 Narrow saddle. It even included the broken Simplex FD! I need to get some pictures of this time machine. I couldn't believe the condition when I laid eyes on it.

photogravity

It was Tom who sold you the MKM. He's a great guy and you did get a good deal on that frameset. I should have snagged the Weinmann Concave wheelset that included the freewheel and tires he was selling before someone else did. The $30 asking price was more than reasonable.

brandenjs

Photo- that didn't happen to come from a Craigslist ad around the Damascus area did it? If so I was about the third in line to take a look at it, but never got a call back.