Someone GAVE YOU money for THEIR bikes? Thats crazy!

Beautiful bike, looks to my eye to be about an '86?

Didja have to pay extra for the fender?

Original owner got it as a birthday present in 87. Said he rarely rode it as it is not geared for his area. The fender sealed the deal.

I'd kill for that pump, you can keep the fenders.
Mine is more recent than yours '90.
Very nice indeed!

marty

Pulled this off an old bike today, and it works!

I second that! Stopped by the local thrift store (it is a big one, too) and all they had was a bunch of little kiddie BMX-junkers and 2 semi-interesting ladies' bikes, neither of which I could use, and both in rough shape. One was an old Raleigh Record w/ lugged frame and the other was a 3-speed Schwinn, each listed at $19.98. I can't imagine my wife wanting to ride either one, so they stayed there. The Raliegh was cool though.

I guess I'll have to just stop by there every so often and see what comes in.

Well today I managed to find a few fairly cool old mountain bikes, but I didn't buy any. (I'm wanting a road bike and I don't have room for anymore!) An early '90s Trek 800, and late '80s Trek 8000 (I think) I couldn't get a good look at it but it was aluminum. And best of all, a very clean mid '80s Specialized (with lugs, no less). It appeared to be all original with shop-installed reflectors and everything. I may go look at it again and see how much they want for it, and to get a better look at it. I saw that it had Suntour components.

I'd be into trading my vintage, near mint, Lotus roadbike for a mountain bike of similar vintage...where are you located? were these at a shop?

RJ

Great condition Campagnolo Record hubset, 32 hole, 127mm rear for 7 speed, made in '80 something.


$62.00!

These were all at a pawn shop in Nashville, Tennessee. I forgot to mention there was also an early to mid '90s Cannondale that looked quite nice, but I was eyeing the Specialized more. The Treks and Cannondale looked like fairly small frames, but the Specialized was a little larger. It would probably fit me well enough and I'm 5'9" with a 32 inch inseam. I may have to go take another look at it tomorrow. Send me a private message if it sounds like something you may want, and hopefully I can give you more info this time tomorrow. They also had an old, very rough looking Schwinn of some sort. It had mountain bike tires and cruiser handlebars, but large caliper brakes and long chainstays. It was kind of cool but also pretty cheap looking, so I passed.

I'm about 5' 9" as well and have a 30" inseam...I ride 55-56cm roadbikes. My lotus ends up being right around 55-56cm, but I'd have to sell that first, before moving onto an MTB. Thanks though!

RJ

A PAIR of 1978 Raleigh Grand Prix's in near mint condition - one a regular men's frame, and the other a mixte. All original, down to the tape, cables, pedals, reflectors, vinyl Brooks saddles - everything.

These two gems saw garage-hook duty for all their lives, apparently. I doubt they have 50 miles on the odometer, combined. Some of the decals are curling up around the edges, and the white vinyl bar tape is a bit smudged, but that's it. They belonged to the grandparents of the fellow I bought them from, and were stored in the garage at the summer cabin "just in case" someone wanted to go for a ride. No rust, no paint fade or damage, some dust. The only way these can be improved upon would be NOS out of the box. Tires appear new, but otherwise they are factory fresh.

The fellow that sold them to me even took them to the LBS to have them tuned and ready to ride before listing them. I know these aren't top end bikes, but damn they're purty......

Too late to take detailed pics, but you can see them here if you hurry:
My New Raleighs

Oh, yeah - I had to give a Benjamin for the pair, but.........Damn!!!

Almost forgot: a 1947 SA Dynohub, works great.

What color is that Specialized?

There are numerous tricks to the trade, but it pays to let a lot of folks know that you're looking. For instance, the father of one of my students dropped my Vent Noir on me for a picture of Ben Franklin... because he knew I look for and fix up old bikes and he happened to want to get rid of his... I've a friend, a seller of golf clubs and cameras, who knows every thrift within a fifty mile radius of the metro area and gives me a ring when he sees something (although he missed both a Paramount and a Trek 720, both of which he saw before I bought them but didn't think were anything special... he's not infallibile, but a good source and has found several nice bikes over the years for me). Be nice to people, it pays off, and thank them even when their tip is for some old Huffys, which a fellow teacher at the arts center tipped me off to recently. The flea market sellers know me, and know I'll pick up things they consider unsalable, like old roadies. The fact I've taught a couple of them basic bike mechanics helps, the fact I've repaired a few of their bikes so they can sell 'em helps more, and a they've dropped free stuff on me now and again, the most recent a Dave Scott/Centurion Iron Man with full 105 in mint condition. I've given frames to the local bike co-op, and they call me when they get oddball French stuff; I've also helped them with some mechanical stuff.

Even with a network like this-- built almost purely on treating people decently-- you'll go through extended dry spells. All I've found in the last month is an impressive parts pile. No full bikes, just a mess of parts, the coolest of which are some 1971 Richmond bike liscence plates.

Treat folks right and let them know what you're looking for, it helps.

I almost called on those, but changed my mind. That '78 is the last of the 'real' GPs -- with the wraparound seatstays. Seat tube decal's awful though.

I had to content myself with a free '74 Raleigh Sprite ladies' model. Missing the original saddle, bars, and fenders, but the Coffee paint shines as nice as my Superbe -- and I found a set of Coffee fenders on eBay.

It's gray. I didn't get a chance to go look at it again today, but hopefully I will tomorrow.

Last weekend: a Trek Antelope 530, all chro-mo frame, spray-painted matte black with a Bad Religion sticker for a head badge. Good wheels and tires, missing all the cables and the front brake. A little tinkering and it'll be perfect for polo.

Five bucks at Goodwill.

Looked at the Specialized again today. It's a Stumpjumper Sport with Suntour components and Sugino cranks. The bike is nearly spotless except the top tube has two scratches on either side running almost the length of the tube, but they didn't appear to be rusty or anything. It has the one-piece stem and handlebar that is chrome plated (no scratches or rust spots) and even the tires appear to be original and are imaculate. I'd say it's mid '80s. The guy said I could have it for $130 and I told him I'd think it over. I mainly wanted to see if the bike would be worth that much. I may end up getting it just because it's so cool. It looks like it was hardly ridden and almost definitely had to be stored indoors.

Edit: This seems to be the closest I could find to the bike:

https://www.firstflightbikes.com/1983...pjumper124.htm

Is it that color gray? Are the bars bullmoose bars, like the one in the picture? Very early Stumps are cool, and they rode pretty well compared to the crap that other people were trying to pass off at the time. The Sport was not as early as the bike at first flight. I think I had an '84 or an '85, that was a medium blue. It is worth $130 easily - but take in a wad of 20's and the guy will come down a little, I'll bet.

Well the decals look exactly like the '84 Sport on First Flight, but the components are pretty different. *shrug* This one is plain old gray. Also, this one had Dia Compe brake levers instead of those listed on First Flight. I picked it up to get a better look at it, and I was actually surprised at how light it was.

There's one shop down here with some NOS '90s Stumpjumpers.

There's one built up at the shop in particular, that fits that primer-grey paint job description. Has mustard-gold decals.

-Kurt

Well, here's another "mixte" catch of the day. A really nice Sekai 500. Must of n=been in someone's garage because all this needs is a good cleaning and some bar tape. Got it at Goodwill on their 1/2 price day for $25. This might get a good price as it's a 17" frame. Here's a pic.

I was riding around the neighborhood today, and noted this pair of 700Cs leaning on the side of a neighbor's house. Knocked on the door and inquired, ultimately bought 'em for $20.

They are Araya 700C box-pattern rims laced to Shimano 600 sealed-bearing hubs with stainless spokes. Rear freewheel is a Sachs/Mallard 6-speed...full of sand.

Take care,

-Kurt

Nice catch, I wish I could come across things like that!