I just picked up this Norman of England '64 bike at an estate sale. The frame is not in very good shape. I was wondering if it would be worth it to repaint the frame. I am not sure if I will be selling it, if that makes a difference.

MODS: If this is not in the correct place please tell me where I can move it to.

[strike]Normans are pretty rare -- consult with rhm and photogravity.[/strike]

I don't have an answer for you, but I suspect you will be told not to repaint it.. being rare and I assume the paint is original it may be a travesty to repaint, but I sure don't know.

Hey bwormuth, welcome to the forum. The Norman you have is from the post-TI/Raleigh merger. it is actually a rebadged Raleigh Colt which, at least to my eye, is a very neat bicycle. The target audience for this bicycle was what we'd probably refer to as the "youth" market or for short adults.

In any case, as far as that specific bicycle and my general approach to bicycles, I'd clean it up and ride it. The paint looks to be in pretty good shape overall and getting transfers for the bicycle would be next to impossible. Anyway, that's my take. Enjoy your Norman!

It's really rare to find them sticking to the ceiling like that!

The bike is not a problem, but how did he get the floor up there?-)

I live in an upside down house. �� But seriously, what do you guys think about painting? How much would it decrease the value?

Not by much. I would paint it as close to original as possible.

I don't think there is much value to lose. If you're asking will I get the value of the paint back, the answer is no. If you're asking are you going to ruin the value of a priceless antique, the answer is no. If painting it is worth it to you, go for it. If this is a how to maximize value question - don't, because the bike is worth less than the paint job.

Right, that's basically it. The "value to lose" is in the graphics, which will be difficult to replace.

I don't think it would be a travesty to take this beat up old bike, and lovingly restore it with tough new paint (or even powdercoat ) and new graphics. And in that condition, it would be worth a lot more than it is now. But it would be worth less than it cost to do the job.

But if we're talking about a quick-and-dirty rattlecan job, with no decals, box lining, etc, then yes, I believe it would reduce the value of the bike to anyone who appreciates it as a fifty year old bike. People who like fifty year old bikes understand that they look fifty years old, and are willing to live with the battle scars.

My advice would be to find a decent match for the existing paint, and touch it up as well as you can.

How much would this bike be on today's market? Approx., of course.

Maybe $100? On a good day. I would not anticipate a fast sale.

I think that I will repainted it. It won't be the last Raleigh I ever see. I am in the process of creating the decals now. I took a photo of them, the photoshopped everything else out. It looks cool.

I want to see photos, when you're done! I too made a complete set of Norman decals for a bike I never ended up painting. Not the same decals as yours gets, though. Good luck with it!

rhm, I don't have enough posts to PM you. On this bike, two of the decals are scratched up. It is the "seal of quality" one and the one on the rear fender. Is it possible you could take photos of yours so that I have a reference. There doesn't seem to be any photos on the internet. If rhm can't do it, could someone else?

this would be an incredible help. Thank you in advance if you send a photo in.


Also, should I use just typical water slide decal paper for the decals?