Late 50's Legnano Roma Olimpiade
 

Noticed this one on CL in Sac. So the Seller doesn't know much about bikes but he knows he has something. He already received a fair offer from a LBS which he turned down. He somehow is thinking CV bikes appreciate a lot or something. And then of course he throws in the i'm trying to buy a house line. Like I give a crap and will give you extra cash for that.

"this bike and when I'm 50
It'll probably be worth 20k. My fiancé and I are buying a house and unfortunately houses are expensive and a little extra cash would help".

Anyway I guess it is a pretty nice bike. Any thoughts on the value?

Vintage 1950s Legnano Road bike

He should have taken the offer from the LBS.


If you want a really nice Legnano in that color, Wayne Bingham at Velo Classique in Purcellville, VA has a gorgeous one that's been restored.


I think he's asking $1600, it's part of an estate collection that was very well cared for.

Yeah I thought he should of taken the LBS offer as well.

I'm not really looking for something like that. Little too old for what I usually like for and is too small. I guess Bianchi has Celeste and Legnano has that color. That is about as good as it gets for time period though and the older Campy is pretty cool.

50s? Not sure about that. Those are Universal Super 68 brakes, which came out in you guessed it, 1968.

Chainset clearly much earlier than 1968.

If brakeset Super 68 must be a retrofit.

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Dude's got a bad case of Gollumitis. It's not that precious... maybe US 1000 as a craigslist sale in existing condition, depending on the market. Ebay value, I'll leave that for someone else to look-up

Is that Campag crank 151 BCD version?

I believe that Legnano didn't use term Olympiad until after the 1960 Rome Olympics.

lol...good one.

How about you offer him $1000 and help him set a gofundme to help with the house?

Unless he's Bs'ng, there was a deal on table for 3k he turned down. I have usually found LBS's to be pretty low ball, like "used car turn-in" kind of feeling places, if you bring a CV bike in to sell or turn-in upgrade. I am not that knowledgeable on a bike like that, but find it hard to believe that an LBS owner offered up that much. Unless he really wanted it and it was something special.

+ 1. The seller is likely puffing the offer from the LBS in an attempt to drive up the CL price.

I'm skeptical the seller received an offer in that amount from the LBS. Nor do I find it likely that a reasonable person would turn down an offer of $3k for that bike. My guess is that the S is lying in an attempt to puff up the price of his bike.

Frankly the ad reminds me of some of the crazy ads you see on Amazon from time to time for uber expensive music gear. The comments on those ads are priceless,

https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Di.../dp/B003CT2A2M

Since I am local maybe I should call him up and ask him which bikeshop gave him that offer? and tell him my offer is 1k.

I think it was after Baldini's Win at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956. I think the Bike is 60's. Definately pre 1970 as post 1970 Head badge was replaced by a Decal. I wonder what the tube set is.

Note that it wears a Gran Sport front mech. The Record front mech launched 1960. If machine were post 1960 it would have received the Record front mech as it is a top of the line model.

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JUVELA sent me a PM on this thread (thanks), and so I thought I would add a little to the conversation as a Legnano collector of many years. Based on the serial number EO3064, the production year for this Roma Olimpiade can be dated to 1959-1960 . . . possibly as late as 1961. And yes, WILEONE is correct in stating that the Tipo Roma was renamed the Roma Olimpiade following Baldini's win at the 1956 Melbourne games.

This Roma looks to be completely original including the 151mm bcd of the early Campagnolo Strada or Gran Sport cranks with chainrings reflecting the half-step gearing of the time, most likely 47/50. From the photos, although the quality is poor, the brakes are Universal Extra Mod.51 Brev. 453949. Again the photos are not clear, however most of the Roma Olimpiade - Campagnolo models of this time were fitted with the Brooks B17 Campagnolo model saddle and corresponding Campagnolo seat post with the narrow rail clamps. The photos show that this Roma was also fitted with the first gen Campagnolo bar end shifters that do add some value to the bike. The tubing is almost certainly the extra light DB guage from Falck.

The overall condition of the bike is very good to excellent given the 55+ years that have passed. As for value, I have purchased original Roma models of this period with prices ranging from $2500 - $3500 depending on the condition of the components . . . and as little as $1500 given lesser condition or missing part(s). In this case, I see that the crankset has some excessive corrosion/staining that is not easily corrected. That said, I have never taken exception with any owner's valuation of their own bike as ultimately it is their bike. However when selling a bike the buyer or market is the eventual measure.

Mark Campbell
www.condorino.com

@Condorino , well I knew this was beyond my knowledge base, so thanks for weighing in with all the pertinent info.

Information like this reminds me of why this is such a great site. I learned a heck of a lot from this and the other posts on this thread.

I am the owner of this bike. I dont know how you guys can judge this bike by the crappy pics. It does not have one scratch on it. NO corrosion on the campy crankset, maybe i should have taken photos after spending a good 15hrs polishing the chrome and packing the bearings. Ths is what it looked like after sitting in my grandpas house for 50 years. Let me know other aspects of the bike that are ****ty, would appreciate it. And yes im not much of a bike guru sorry to hurt your feelings. If anyone is interested still have it.

Gosh why would someone trying to sell a bike for $3500 actually take pictures of the bike in the condition it was being sold? What do you expect - you take crappy pictures of a bike in crappy condition and expect not to get criticized for asking a premium price for it? The pictures made it impossible to tell whether it was rusted/stained/corroded or just dirty.

Take some good pictures and you might actually find that someone is willing to pay your price and might get very valuable feedback from this group.

Take a few deep breaths and relax, guy. No one here is your enemy, we're just a bunch of bike lovers. Included here are some serious collectors and Legnano experts. You've apparently gone to the trouble of cleaning up this bike, and of posting at least two different ads for it, but you're not willing to accept some knowledgable input that could help you get the money you're looking for. That doesn't seem like a great strategy, but it's your bike.

Very I sorry, have you ever made a blunder in your life? Maybe I should have waited, I was just posting some pics with my ****ty camera. Jumped the gun!

Welcome to the Forum...Hope your attitude improves.

more of a moped type of dude, puch, motobecane, 80cc polini big bore on a minarelli 24mm carb. I love to zoom past all you bikers doing 55, but anyways some very nice guy just gave me a call. The bike that I have is a 1958. It has the removable dust caps on the pedals, so that clears that up. 1958. 54cm frame.

My attidude? Read what others have wrote then we can see who has the attitude here. You guys are REALLY INTO THIS, which is awesome, but calling me stupid and all that is not necessary obviously i dont know much about these 2 wheel machines. I am getting more and more attatched to her, just love the fine craftmanship, it really is awesome