miamibeachcg

I found this bike at a local thrift store yesterday & was amazed with it's condition - besides being dirty it appears ready to ride.
Can anyone tell me the year of this Lotus America - and what it's worth? (I could only find 1 example on eBay & it was a mixte frame)
Thanks for any help!

T-Mar

The rear derailleur is a Shimano Altus AT-11,which was manufactured from 1979-1984. Lotus bicycles were first marketed in the 1980 model year, with Altus having been replaced on the America by 1983, so it is 1980-1982. Altus was upper entry level and this is consistent with the bicycle's other features such as stem mounted shift levers, stamped dropouts, brake safety levers, nutted rear hub and total lack of brazed-on fittings with the exception of top tube brake cable tunnels, On the plus side, it does aluminum rims and a Tange #5 frame. Cleaned up and ready to ride, it's about a $100-$125 bicycle in an average market.

miamibeachcg

Thank you!

StarBiker

Emphasis!

ramzilla

Those Tange 5 frames are very durable items. That bike was built to last a long time. It's a nice complete bike with original front & rear cateye reflectors. I generally consider any bike with stem shifters & brake safety levers as a candidate for upright handlebar conversion. With a nice upright handlebar, stem, new brake levers, soft foam grips, & new brake cables you could probably get around $200 or more for it. As is maybe $75 - $100.