1973 Volkscycle Mark 100 Made in West Germany Rare find All Original.
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 15
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
1973 Volkscycle Mark 100 Made in West Germany Rare find All Original.
I bought this from a man who got it from his boss. He said his boss bought this bike new in Hurst, Texas at The Bike Rack (still has the sticker)
in 1973-74 for $390.
(2014 value: $2100)
Made in West Germany
***Kalkhoff frame (edit)
All original
Unmolested
Brooks saddle with truss rod adjustment
Full Dura-Ace brakes
Shimano quick release 'flared mag' (unique looking) hubs. I was told by the seller that this was Shimano's first year quick release hub.
Shimano Wheels
Thunder Bird FD
Eagle GTO RD
Strange crank/large sprocket. Missing teeth. I have never seen this before, See photo.
Anyone have any information on these bikes?
I have looked on the internet but have had no luck.
Please help to give me any additional information and an estimated value.
This appears to be a rare find with better than average components. With a hefty original price tag of almost $400 US in 1973-74.
As stated by the seller, this bike was bought new for what translates to around $2100. He also told me his boss is a seasoned cyclist with money to spend.
Thanks for any help,
Johnson =)
in 1973-74 for $390.
(2014 value: $2100)
Made in West Germany
***Kalkhoff frame (edit)
All original
Unmolested
Brooks saddle with truss rod adjustment
Full Dura-Ace brakes
Shimano quick release 'flared mag' (unique looking) hubs. I was told by the seller that this was Shimano's first year quick release hub.
Shimano Wheels
Thunder Bird FD
Eagle GTO RD
Strange crank/large sprocket. Missing teeth. I have never seen this before, See photo.
Anyone have any information on these bikes?
I have looked on the internet but have had no luck.
Please help to give me any additional information and an estimated value.
This appears to be a rare find with better than average components. With a hefty original price tag of almost $400 US in 1973-74.
As stated by the seller, this bike was bought new for what translates to around $2100. He also told me his boss is a seasoned cyclist with money to spend.
Thanks for any help,
Johnson =)
Last edited by johnson430; 08-13-14 at 06:58 PM.
#3
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 15
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Thanks Norman. I guess that is why I can't get any info. I bought the bike to fix up and ride but I am wondering if I should sell it if it has some value. Do you think it has any value as is?
#4
Thunder Whisperer
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: NE OK
Posts: 8,847
Bikes: '06 Kona Smoke
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 275 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times
in
2 Posts
Moved to Appraisals from C & V.
__________________
Community guidelines
Community guidelines
#6
Senior Member
Low end entry level bike in poor condition. Not even !00 in current condition. As to mint condition, nope not no but hell no.
#7
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 15
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Please explain.
Thank you,
Johnson
Last edited by johnson430; 08-09-14 at 12:02 AM.
#8
Friendship is Magic
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 22,930
Bikes: old ones
Mentioned: 304 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26245 Post(s)
Liked 10,228 Times
in
7,097 Posts
...sorry to pee on your parade, but VolksCycle bikes show up from time to time here at the
bike co-op as donations, and while sort of interesting, I've never seen one that was anything
other than bike boom level stuff.
Yours is no exception, but thanks for the photos because I've never seen an early Dura Ace centerpull
brake before, which is kinda interesting if you follow the manufacturing history of bicycle cycles.
It would take a long time (longer than i have right now) to explain to you the difference between this
and a high end bike from the same time period. maybe someone else will take a shot.
And ridden much or not, it is not what most of us consider as "good condition", but it might clean up better.
What you need to understand is that the Shimano company, and the Japanese in general, started out
making stuff that was an imitation of the European stuff of the time, and they got better and better at it,
but this early in the scheme of things, their stuff was still pretty primitive.
Historically interesting is not the same as high end or worth a lot of money.
Good luck with it. Current value is not the same thing as "what it cost adjusted for inflation".
If it were, my Raleigh Sports would be worth well over a thousand bucks.
bike co-op as donations, and while sort of interesting, I've never seen one that was anything
other than bike boom level stuff.
Yours is no exception, but thanks for the photos because I've never seen an early Dura Ace centerpull
brake before, which is kinda interesting if you follow the manufacturing history of bicycle cycles.
It would take a long time (longer than i have right now) to explain to you the difference between this
and a high end bike from the same time period. maybe someone else will take a shot.
And ridden much or not, it is not what most of us consider as "good condition", but it might clean up better.
What you need to understand is that the Shimano company, and the Japanese in general, started out
making stuff that was an imitation of the European stuff of the time, and they got better and better at it,
but this early in the scheme of things, their stuff was still pretty primitive.
Historically interesting is not the same as high end or worth a lot of money.
Good luck with it. Current value is not the same thing as "what it cost adjusted for inflation".
If it were, my Raleigh Sports would be worth well over a thousand bucks.
__________________
#9
Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 9,170
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
Mentioned: 132 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1554 Post(s)
Liked 1,273 Times
in
845 Posts
With an original price of $390 in 1973-4. How can you call this is an entry level? What is your reasoning? I can understand if it was a Japanese made but ts is West German made and has some unique components. Including a Brooks truss rod saddle. That doesn't sound low end. And it has been in a warehouse since the 1970's, hence the dirt. The brake pads show no wear. The tires look never ridden. I do not understand your assessment of value.
Please explain.
Thank you,
Johnson
Please explain.
Thank you,
Johnson
I bought one at Goodwill some years ago, I took the brakes off and saved them, then used the bike's BF (Belleri-Franco) stem on my Gitane TDF. I had to really go at the crude stem with file and sandpaper to correct the jagged casting, but that's what I bought the bike for. I used the wheels on a flipper I think, then put the frame in the trash with the remaining parts still on it.
These bikes were unusual to come with that first almost-Dura-Ace brakeset (really a re-badged Tourney brakeset?), but overall these were low end bikes that sold for perhaps $140 in the US, not $200, not $300 and certainly not $399.
I might be a great-riding bike to restore, but it has a pretty low market value, perhaps $80 to $100 as it sits. I've restored and ridden bikes of similar quality, and some of them are worth the trouble.
Here's the bike's stem on my Gitane TDF:
[IMG]DSCF0133 by dddd2002, on Flickr[/IMG]
#10
Friendship is Magic
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 22,930
Bikes: old ones
Mentioned: 304 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26245 Post(s)
Liked 10,228 Times
in
7,097 Posts
...OTOH, it ought to make a fine, functional rider, which is what you bought it for originally.
Needs total overhaul, though, which will take probably 20 hours or so to do correctly.
Needs total overhaul, though, which will take probably 20 hours or so to do correctly.
__________________
#11
Bianchi Goddess
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Shady Pines Retirement Fort Wayne, In
Posts: 29,716
Bikes: Too many to list here check my signature.
Mentioned: 191 Post(s)
Tagged: 2 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2910 Post(s)
Liked 2,830 Times
in
1,457 Posts
I have to agree. I am not expert on German bikes sold during the /70s 'Bike Boom' but my cheap Royce union had Eagle and Thunderbird derailleurs. The QR wheels and Dura Ace calipers may make this a bit more upscale but it is still a basic lower tier bike.
So you paid $2100 for this? Or did the seller just look on ebay and find a bike with Dura Ace brakes selling for $2100 and decided his was just as good?
Personally if you paid over $50 I think you should get your money back.
Volkscycle sounds a lot like Volkswagon which was meant to be a cheap affordable mass produced car so everyone could own one.
So you paid $2100 for this? Or did the seller just look on ebay and find a bike with Dura Ace brakes selling for $2100 and decided his was just as good?
Personally if you paid over $50 I think you should get your money back.
Volkscycle sounds a lot like Volkswagon which was meant to be a cheap affordable mass produced car so everyone could own one.
__________________
“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
#12
Senior Member
1973 Volkscycle Mark 100 Made in West Germany Rare find All Original.
People have strange recollections of what they paid for things 40 years ago.
My 1974 Motobecane Le Champion with full Campagnolo components was $425. Unfathomable amount to pay for a bike at the time for most people. The Volkscycle was perhaps a $130-50 bike back then.
My 1974 Motobecane Le Champion with full Campagnolo components was $425. Unfathomable amount to pay for a bike at the time for most people. The Volkscycle was perhaps a $130-50 bike back then.
#13
Senior Member
Big chain ring is right on with price. I worked in a shop back then, and its 130-150 is pretty close. If the OP friend paid 390 for that bike the shop saw him coming all the way from the turnip patch in Arkansas.
#14
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 15
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Thanks for your help everyone.I do not have much money in the bike and it was purchased as a cheap get-around. I just didn't see anything about Volkscycle, now I know why.
The bottom line, it is my size and I like it.
=)
The bottom line, it is my size and I like it.
=)
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Middle Earth (aka IA)
Posts: 20,505
Bikes: A bunch of old bikes and a few new ones
Mentioned: 178 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5877 Post(s)
Liked 3,445 Times
in
2,066 Posts
It's a nice piece of history well worth fixing up and riding. The value is meaningless as long as you like how it rides.
#16
Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 9,170
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
Mentioned: 132 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1554 Post(s)
Liked 1,273 Times
in
845 Posts
Some of these lower-end "gas pipe" bikes as they are called, turn out to be great in the long term, with owners bringing them to a more-evolved state at minimal cost.
They're particularly useful because they don't attract thieves, ...the way that higher-end bikes are thus limited in their overall utility.
Welcome to the "gas-pipe riders" club, and enjoy your unusual Volkscycle! The bike actually looks pretty good with the chromed "socks" at the front and rear of the frame, and it surely has potential whether you keep it entirely stock or indulge in some level of upgrades.
#17
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 15
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - burrrrr!
Posts: 11,672
Bikes: 1958 Rabeneick 120D, 1968 Legnano Gran Premio, 196? Torpado Professional, 2000 Marinoni Piuma
Mentioned: 210 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1370 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1,743 Times
in
934 Posts
6lb.
Weighed at my LBS.
What does that tell you?
Thanks.
OP
Weighed at my LBS.
What does that tell you?
Thanks.
OP
I have owned a couple of Volkscycles and found them to feel heavy (never weighed one though) and sporting features that were not indicative of what a Quality Vintage Road Bicycle looks like. I have weighed lots of bicycles and none have come even remotely close to a single digit figure. Even today's carbon fiber wonders miss that mark by lots.
I can't really add anything other than agree with the BF member who questioned the original price, which to me, seems like an awful lot for such a bicycle.
__________________
"98% of the bikes I buy are projects".
"98% of the bikes I buy are projects".
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Alta California
Posts: 14,318
Mentioned: 414 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3780 Post(s)
Liked 3,284 Times
in
2,145 Posts
mods -
the forum now has a twenty post thread on this machine here at appraisals and OP has begun a new thread on it at C&V.
is it necessary to have two threads on one cycle? it would be less confusing for readers if the two threads could be combined.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...n-project.html
the forum now has a twenty post thread on this machine here at appraisals and OP has begun a new thread on it at C&V.
is it necessary to have two threads on one cycle? it would be less confusing for readers if the two threads could be combined.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...n-project.html
#20
Friendship is Magic
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 22,930
Bikes: old ones
Mentioned: 304 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26245 Post(s)
Liked 10,228 Times
in
7,097 Posts
mods -
the forum now has a twenty post thread on this machine here at appraisals and OP has begun a new thread on it at C&V.
is it necessary to have two threads on one cycle? it would be less confusing for readers if the two threads could be combined.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...n-project.html
the forum now has a twenty post thread on this machine here at appraisals and OP has begun a new thread on it at C&V.
is it necessary to have two threads on one cycle? it would be less confusing for readers if the two threads could be combined.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...n-project.html
__________________
#21
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 15
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
mods -
the forum now has a twenty post thread on this machine here at appraisals and OP has begun a new thread on it at C&V.
is it necessary to have two threads on one cycle? it would be less confusing for readers if the two threads could be combined.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...n-project.html
the forum now has a twenty post thread on this machine here at appraisals and OP has begun a new thread on it at C&V.
is it necessary to have two threads on one cycle? it would be less confusing for readers if the two threads could be combined.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...n-project.html
I started a restoration process and therefore a new thread as I do not think my restoration needs to be placed in A&I.
Who are you? The forum police. =P
#22
Friendship is Magic
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 22,930
Bikes: old ones
Mentioned: 304 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26245 Post(s)
Liked 10,228 Times
in
7,097 Posts
__________________
#24
Friendship is Magic
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 22,930
Bikes: old ones
Mentioned: 304 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26245 Post(s)
Liked 10,228 Times
in
7,097 Posts
...no really, if you find it to be a thing of beauty and value, I'm in.
Sounds like a lot of work you plan on doing, but enjoy it and then ride it with panache and joy.
It's ten times better than the first bike I had...and I that bicycle cycle.
Sounds like a lot of work you plan on doing, but enjoy it and then ride it with panache and joy.
It's ten times better than the first bike I had...and I that bicycle cycle.
__________________
#25
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 15
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I think it is a thing a beauty. Waiting on bearings to come in for the rebuild.