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Old 07-30-20, 03:11 AM
  #27  
27inch
vintage rider
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 93

Bikes: 1937 Roadmaster, 1972 Schwinn Typhoon, 1972 Raleigh Sports

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Here's a shot of one of mine, the bike hasn't been ridden in 20 years but its still complete. The rims got changed out in the late 80's when the spoke holes started to show cracks on the Rigida rims, I think these are just Matrix or Trek house brand rims, they're bronze or black anodized but look the part, the replacement hubs we used were what came on the bike, they were unbranded, but looked like Campy Nuovo Record copies of some sort. Maybe Miche? The bike spec'd out Sunshine Gyro but its not what it came with new. The new rims took schrader valve stems, the originals were presta. I didn't mind the upgrade. presta valves are a royal pain.
The cranks are the same as those on the bike above, the top of my crank arms say 'Silstar', the chain rings are steel. It originally had a chainguard ring on it, I tossed it years ago. The pedals are cheap rat trap steel off an old Raleigh, its what I had when the SR pedals died. The original SR pedals were awkward things, they were short, and odd shaped, I never liked them much and anything was an improvement. The dust caps were originally red, but I broke one servicing the crank bearings and these were all the local bike shop had at the time.
The pic is scanned from an old Polaroid, it was taken around 1988 or so, about the time I moved to PA. I had taken a bunch of pics and posted them at work on the bulletin board back then with a note I wanted to sell it, I think I got almost what I paid for it because the new Trek bikes had gone up so much, it was easy to get good money for the older one's.



The Silstar cranks looked a lot like what was on the Raleigh Super Course and Motobecane GJ, sans the custom script label.
I've seen a few 412 bikes around with Takagi Tourney cranks too, I don't know whether they were sold that way or not but I've seen too many for it to be just coincidence. A google search for a 1980 Trek 412 turns up dozens of bikes with the same cranks. Very few still have their Rigida rims it seems. I seem to remember you had to jump pretty far up the line up in most brands to get anything really high end.

Here's one that just sold on fleabay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Barn-Find-Rare-Ishiwata-022-Trek
This bike is missing the seat post, and saddle, also has non original rims, and it brought $458 in that condition.
The bike the OP asked about is complete, appears to be original except for the wheels and is likely ridable the way it is.
Seeing what something like this just brought, I don't think $400 or $450 is all that far off.
Would I want to pay that for a used bike, probably not, but there are plenty out there who will without hesitation.
Missing paint and wear is par for the course with most used bikes, especially on the east coast. Things rust, bikes get stored outside on the sidewalk chained to a railing for years on end, or stored in barns, chicken coops, or if your lucky a garage.
Perfect only comes one way, New in the box, a bike that sat in some dealer's warehouse for 40 years forgotten and unsold. They do pop up from time to time, but they're rarely cheap. eBay has educated the dealers too these days.

There are plenty of deals, that '82 don't look that bad, but if the OP is looking for a bike in far southern NJ, that one is a 1000 or so mile drive. The bike in WI also says it needs inner tubes, so the owner likely hasn't done any recent maintenance on it either, so even if it were local, the OP would likely be looking at a set of tubes and tires, plus a full overhaul. The difference in price would be eaten up pretty quick. My lbs wants $80 plus tax for a pair of 27" tires and tubes, and those aren't anything special, figure more for something like Panaracer or Continental. Bikes are pricier in his area, and it gets worse the farther north you go towards NY or Phila. There's one in upper PA for the same price, but its not very clean, and likely needs a ton of work.
If the OP buys a bike that needs work for say $275, then has to buy tires, he's at $355, then figure a complete overhaul, both hubs, true both wheels, rebuild the BB, hs, and clean and polish the thing to make it look like it was cared for.
The sign at the LBS here says they charge $150 for a complete service, listing the BB, HS, hubs, and truing if needed. They don't clean, they don't polish. They don't fight with stuck stems, or stuck seat posts either it says.
I'm no pro, but the last bike I went over like that took me a day and a half, between tearing it down, cleaning every last bit, then repacking the hubs, re-tensioning the spokes and truing the wheels, and buffing the paint and all the polished bits back to their original shine, taking both calipers apart and polishing each arm, replacing all four cables, etc. It takes time and attention to detail to make it right.

When I look at the pics of that bike, I see a bike that's clean, regardless of any paint chips and such, its been cleaned and made to look presentable. The wheelset is likely a newer replacement set, even a cheap wheelset is $150+. Someone most likely just bought a ready made wheelset, something like this:
https://www.ebay.com/p/1231687250?iid=121091319860
Which is just fine for a bike like that. If they had gone and hunted down a new old stock wheelset, chances are the wheelset would cost more than the bike is worth and it still wouldn't be 'original'.

When I do a quick search on CL in the OP's area, assuming he's in NJ, I don't see anything any better listed, especially in a larger frame. There's a couple of larger Miyatas for $375 and $475, but both are a lot newer and likely not what the OP is after. Both are also 700c bikes and a a Mangusta? 26" frame, for $500 which is likely too tall. The surrounding area shows nothing at all in the 60cm or larger size in any better condition regardless of the grade or quality of bike.
There's a few newer bikes, later 80's Raleigh models but those are likely too new. Nearly all the bikes listed in his area are pretty rough looking, flat tires, years of dirt and dust, rusty bits, etc. Take a look at what's there and that Trek looks pretty good. I don't see much of anything under $400 regardless of size.
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