fredlikesbikes

I am going to sell this bike and want to figure out a good price for it. I would also be interested in hearing folks' opinion of what the best venue to sell it in would be. I am thinking that my local CL in Oklahoma City wouldn't get too much response.

I call it my vanity bike because it just exists to look good. It's kind of like getting your dad's 65 Mustang with a straight 6 and putting a lift kit, mag wheels, and a glass pack on it. It's kind of a mundane bike that I put some special touches on that I hope some one else will appreciate (and pay more for).

I love the pearlescent orange paint and really wanted to show that off so I got rid of all the cable clutter around the head tube by converting from stem shifters to down tube shifters and swapping out the stock non-aero brake levers w turkey wing extensions with aero brake levers which include a quick release button. The Brooks B-17 isn't broken in yet. I replaced the stock crank with the crank off a Super Le Tour to get the smooth, recessed allen head chain ring bolts instead of the plain hex head bolts on the stock crank. Also put a cartridge bottom bracket on it. The shifters and der's are Shimano Arabesque. All the cable ends have been soldered, no crimp-on caps. I found a shorter version of the stock stem to better suit my riding position. The tires are still pretty new Panaracer Paselas. I found a gold tone seat clamp and replaced the claw on the rear der with a nice chrome one to keep things pretty. The pedals are NOS Schwinn rat traps. I also found a bright Bontrager kickstand that fit the vibe of the bike. The paint and chrome are pretty darn good for a bike its age. I have shown most of the paint defects in the pictures. You have to get really close to see anything wrong with the chrome. At one time I touched up the lettering, then somebody handled the bike roughly and messed some more of that up along with some scratches on the top tube. It's a 25" frame although I wouldn't think that would make much difference in the pricing. Not to clog up the thread with a whole bunch of images, I put all the pictures here.

mstateglfr 

Ok, so that's a really cool bike with many factors.


If I were wanting to buy it, and I would cuz I'm a Schwinn geek and it's my size, I'd want the bike for $175 and you could have the Brooks.

It's incredibly clean. Really impressive, actually. I like the 600 components you added, even though the older ones arent as good as the late 80s indexed, the design looks good and they are in nice shape.
Great paint color and condition. Logos are solid too- it's a n almost 40you bike, there can be a couple scratches.
I like the Panaracers on a PanaSchwinn, cool touch there.

In the end though, it's a heavy hiten frame with steel wheels. It's a really nice looking bike, but there isn't much room to upgrade, which is why I'd figure keeping the saddle would be best. Not many people wanting to spend under $200 expect or even know what a Brooks is. And keeping it on the bike and pricing accordingly means $350ish for a bike that still needs lighter wheels and is still a heavy one.

With all that said, I'd certainly try for $250 without the saddle or something like $380 with it.
No harm done if you don't get any hits and if you do, then all the better. It's not like you'd be ripping someone off at those prices, I'm sure the costs and time involved making it how it is wwould justify those prices.

mparker326

Dang man, why spend all that effort in upgrading a bike and not riding it? I know it looks nice, but trying to get non-believer to understand that Arabesque/Brooks/upgrades justifies your asking price is going to be hard to do. They are just going to see it as an overpriced Schwinn. 25 inch frame is big and will reduce the number of prospective buyers as well.

My advice would be to keep it and ride it since you put the work into it. If you really want to sell it, put it back to stock and have at it. Your upgrades will transfer nicely to another bike.

howeeee

I have sold Le tours, never got more than a hundred
even then they move real slow

I would take the brooks saddle off it
it is not going to raise the price as much as it is worth

here is a pic of one I bought a few weeks ago for 60 bucks
needs tires and a seat
other than that it is close to mint and appears not too have been ridden much
after i put 30 bucks in tires, 2 hours regreasing it
I will be lucky to get 125 out of it
I will probably just keep it
cause it is my size

jjames1452 

I love that bike!!!!!!!!

I also love what you have done with that bike.
Nice job. If I could get to your part of the country, I would give you the $175 mentioned above. Heck, the Brooks is worth $75 and the bike is easily worth $100. Besides, I am a sucker for an orange bike - and the Schwinn pearlescent orange was one of the best. I would put a 27" wheel set on that with Phil hubs, and ride that till I die!

zazenzach

lol... living in a dream world....much higher quality bikes like the fillet brazed 70s super sports and sports tourers (that come with brooks saddle) sell for around $200-350

I will admit the bike is a head turner. But at the end of the day the tubing is practically hi-ten and it has steel wheels. Upgrades will not add any significant value to low end bikes like that. Selling it as is, you'll basically be giving away the Brooks and derailleurs for free.

I would keep and ride the hell out of it. Otherwise keep the brooks and put on a cheaper saddle. then sell it for $75-125 depending on market.

elboGreaze

Ebay is your best bet , check completed sale prices and list yours accordingly . Nice bike by the way , the condition and color are huge plus!

mstateglfr 

Wow.

Way to ignore the rest of my post where I point out all the negatibed the bike has going against it.

I will revert back to a hiten Puch I fixed up for myself and decided to sell last fall. It was a 25" stem shifting bike that I upgraded all the steel parts to aluminum.
It had a $10 saddle on it.

Sold it for $440 which was exactly what I had in it. Sold it in less than 2 weeks too.

It was way too much money, get it was also how much in had in it, so it's not like I ripped the buyer off. He loved it.


I see this Schwinn and think similar except I stead of a better wheelset this has a great saddle.

The OP may not get as much as I suggested. He may not even get an offer. But like in said, no harm done if he doesn't get an offer.

Lemme know the next time a fillet super sport with Brooks comes up for $200 in this bike's condition. I'll pay the seller to send it to me.

fredlikesbikes

Thanks to all of you for your replies to my inquiries. It's great to hear everyone's opinions and see the interaction in the group. I appreciate your taking the time to respond. The gist I got from all this is that it's going to be pretty hard to find someone who values it, in terms of dollars, the way that I do. Probably not many people would build/rebuild it in the way that I did. We all have our own vision of the ideal that we are looking for. If I really do end up getting rid of it, it would probably be better to part it out, instead of selling it as a whole. Your remarks have also given me pause to consider making a couple slight mods to make it more rideable for me, like getting the handle bars higher and closer, and putting some serious trail and lake time on it. A nice tall short Nitto Technomic would do the trick. I appreciate it again. THANKS! Fred Richard

PS - If someone could clue me in on how to respond to an individual entry, I would appreciate it.

fredlikesbikes

@mstateglfr Thanks for your reply. I was going for looks opposed to function with everything, which is why I chose the 600 Arabesque shifting. Same is true for the wheels. I certainly wouldn't want to push chrome steel wheels up very many hills, but I don't think even highly polished alloy can compete with the look of chrome. THANKS!

fredlikesbikes

@mparker326 Thanks for your reply. I think your non-believer comment is spot on. THANKS!

fredlikesbikes

@howeeee That is a nice find. I think it would be relatively rare to find something like that in OKC. I found mine on eBay in Fort Worth TX. Since my daughter lives in Dallas, I had a built in excuse to travel down there and save myself the shipping. THANKS!

fredlikesbikes

@jjames1452 Thanks. The orange is killer for me too. I think the Le Tours and the Superior were the only models that had this color. THANKS!

fredlikesbikes

@zazenzach Appreciate your comments. Regrettably it is a low end frame, but it rides buttery smooth. This effort was all about looks. THANKS!

fredlikesbikes

@wrk101I have sold quite a few bike, frames, and components on eBay. I have a great rep for going the extra mile with packing for shipping. Before the 2008 crash I found a lot of cool stuff at a local thrift store. Not so much after that. In fact my main bike for riding is a 1987 Schwinn Voyageur that I have ridden across the state a couple of times. I bought it at said thrift store for $10. Thanks for your reply.

fredlikesbikes

@elboGreaze THANKS!

schwinn70s

I have just 1 question what do you do with your OEM parts off of this bike ? I am looking for a few to restore mine to all orignal OEM parts

tronnyjenkins 

Nice ride!
I sold the "pink" brother to this bike this spring (1977 Le Tour II).
I paid $80 for it as my first fixer upper, added new tires and tubes for $25, tape for $10, and much time and grease.
I ended up selling it at the peak of the sales season (May) for $180. It say on CL a couple of weeks.

ETA
Mine didn't have a Brooks, otherwise I'm estimating sales price would've been $230ish.