Evil D

I picked this up at the local Salvation Army for dirt cheap. Immediately noticed the 700C rims and forged dropouts and bought it without hesitation. I gave it a good cleaning and need to throw a chain on it but otherwise it's ready to ride (I did ride it before buying). Everything shifts like new, etc. The only things I can tell aren't original (and this is a guess as I'm not a Lotus expert) is the back rim...it's a "Wheel Masters" 700C rim laced to a Sovos quick release hub. The front rim is an Araya 700C laced to a Sansin quick release hub. Obviously it has the original Biopace stuff, seat/post/bars/stem/forks/headset all appear to be original stuff. I also have the toe cups and original Lotus straps but they're in rough shape. Of course it needs new bar wrap, but even the brake hoods look to be original and after a good cleaning look pretty good (just a little rough around the brake cables). The paint isn't in the best shape nor are the decals, and it appears to have had some paniers on the back at some point (the previous/original owner wrapped the frame in electrical tape to protect the paint, which mostly did the job) and it has had an aftermarket kickstand on it at some point which indented the frame a bit. It also has some random hardware store bolt for the seat tube which I'll replace with the right kind. It's a 58cm frame.

I've already read this page https://vintagelotusbicycles.com/Lotu...e_Bicycle.html And believe the year to be 1987, and I've read all about original pricing and such. I'm not interested in selling it (plan on throwing a chain and bar wrap on and riding the crap out of it, maybe get some new wheels) but I wouldn't mind knowing what it's worth. Also, how hard would it be to find a matching rim for the back? Was this rim/hub combo common/easy to find? I'm really just a recreational rider so I don't mind keeping everything original.

KonAaron Snake 

My dad has pretty much the exact same bike...even the size looks the same. I thought his was an 86', but it could be an 87'. I wouldn't worry about the rim until it's time to replace one...it can be easy or hard to find an original replacement depending on where you are and what you want to spend. It's certainly not impossible.

Value...maybe $175 on a good day in a good market...probably more 150ish with a well written ad in a solid market.

himespau 

That paint looks really pretty.

Evil D

It really is a great color, they called it Electric Blue, it's a cobalt looking color, a bit darker in person than in those pics.

Snydermann

That's a sweet Lotus Excelle, and quite possibly the best one they ever made. The Excelle existed from 1980 to 1988-ish and Lotus liked to brag that it was their best selling model.

By 1987 Lotus had perfected the balance of performance and price and offered the Excelle to the masses that wanted a "better" bike, but at a great price.

Cool features on the 1987 model not found on the earlier bikes were triple butted tubing, LOTUS engraved handlebars, LOTUS branded headset, LOTUS branded toe straps (very rare), and Benotto-style slick bar wrap with color coordinated brake hoods. The bike also featured Shimano SIS shifting, which was apparently a big deal at that price point. The 1987 model was the first Excelle to use 700c rims and tires.

Easiest way to tell a 1986 model from a 1987 is the crank, 1986 used an SR crank and 1987 used Shimano Biopace. There are many other differences, but that's usually the easiest to spot.

Lotus offered the 1987 Excelle in 2 frame styles, 6 frame sizes, and 3 colors, more than any other Lotus model. Your bike is Electric Blue color number 85S-685.

Finding the correct wheel will be very difficult, I'd consider looking for a parts bike. The 1987 Excelle was very popular and it is relatively common as far as Lotus bikes are concerned.

It's cool that you have the original reflectors, that parallelogram style on the wheels is unique to 1987 and they are somewhat hard to find, at least in my travels. Reflectors to me are an indicator of a bike that wasn't used much or molested too much. Plus it looks all show-room-y with the reflectors, just like it did when it was brand new.

Based on the Lotus bikes I've seen sell over the last few years I'd say the bike is worth $150.00 to $250.00.

KonAaron Snake 

Just as a follow up to the above...I could likely check with bikeville/via bicycles and source you the right wheel or rim at a pretty reasonable number if you're interested.

Evil D

GAAAAAAAHHHH I was just taking some pics of it leaning against a brick flower bed and the damn thing fell over and scratched the crap out of the fork and rear seat stay

Sometimes I'd like to punch myself in the face lol.


Oh, so now the natural question is, which bike do you guys think is better? My '81 Voyageur or the Excelle?

Here's the Voyageur for comparison..

Narhay

Voyageur hands down.

Evil D

Are you basing that off looks/preference or quality? I know the Voyageur was about $90 more in '81 than the Excelle was in '87, which says something since the Voyageur is 6 years older, but from what I've read the Excelle was also a LOT of bike for the money.

Snydermann

You are in the ideal situation to tell us which bike you like better, and why.

I don't think there is a hands down winner here, and I'm obviously biased toward the Lotus. I don't know enough about the Schwinn to make a comment, and unless you've had both bikes you probably can't make an accurate judgement. The Schwinn does look nice and has more chrome than the Lotus, but they appear somewhat in a similar class, to me.

Edit: Looking at the Schwinn a little closer, and relating it to 1981-era Lotus bikes, it looks to be a few models above the Excelle of 1981, probably closer to a Unique, Eclair or Classique.

Plus, it's not really fair or equal to do a direct comparison of pre 1985 bikes with post 1985 bikes, given what happened to the value of the Dollar to the Yen around 1985. (Plaza Accord)

Evil D

Yeah those are good points about the value of the dollar. Also 6 years is a long time especially in the '80s when things were progressing so quickly. Which do I like better? I'd have to say the Schwinn overall, mostly because of the color and chrome accents. Both ride very nice, really about the same. Once I set the bars and seat on the Lotus to my liking, I could probably close my eyes and wouldn't know the difference apart from the feel of the Biopace. I had thought the Lotus was lighter, but side by side they're too close to tell just by picking them up. The lugs on the Schwinn are "fancier", so there's that if you like those kinds of details. Component wise the Lotus seems to have a nicer group set and I like the Shimano brakes over the Schwinn's Diacomp, but performance wise there's really no difference. I like the one piece crank/spider on the Lotus, I like the forged drop outs and screw in wheel adjusters they have, but again performance wise I don't know if there's any real advantage there either (and now that I look again, the Schwinn does have forged dropouts, just not with the screw adjusters). The Schwinn is definitely in better shape overall (especially after I dropped the Lotus today). The sick part is, that Schwinn hasn't even been cleaned in those pics...I just wiped down the frame. Everything else is covered in years of dust and grime. Once I give it a good detailing, it's gonna bling like a brand new bike.

Have you ever looked into matching the factory paint for chip touch ups? I had considered it before this but now I'm just disgusted and it's going to eat at me every time I look at it.

KonAaron Snake 

Let it go - bikes get chips and scratches if you use them. No use crying about it and they work with chips!

FastJake

There's not a hands down winner. The Lotus might have better tubing, double butted vs. triple butted. The Lotus has a better crank, and because it's newer it has the nice feature of Shimano SIS shifting.

I don't see how value of the dollar vs yen is relevant here. The better bike is the better bike. It doesn't matter what the MSRP was, 20-30 years later.

edsall78

I'm biased--i agree with snydermann that this particular model year for the excelle is really nice. I have the same bike, same size..its relatively light..sport tourish and it takes wide tires.
Also the great thing to me is that its just a great workhorse of a bike--i use it for commuting and long rides.

Also, the thing isn't a show piece. I hope that the scratch from the fall is the first of many more from extensive use.

I like that mine keeps getting weathered..

Snydermann

Yes, I knew someone would bring up that point and you are correct. A bike is a bike and they can all be compared to each other.

One can compare an apple to an orange because they are both fruit, but the comparisons will be wildly different. I just think the discussion becomes more interesting when the apple experts chime in on Granny Smith vs Red Delicious.

I find it interesting that these mid-priced bikes are different because of when they were made. The earlier 1980's bikes had more chrome and fancy details, after the value of the dollar tanked in the mid 1980s the feature sets on the bikes had to change to keep them price competitive. But in the end, yes, you're really just comparing bikes to bikes.

Biketiger

Both are nice bikes. It's cool to find an original rim. I love vintage bikes too but I've always favored modern rims, albeit those with a retro look - like H + Son TB14s. There are so many nice hubs too. Vintage original is nice too but I stay away from 27" too.

Biketiger

"Also, the thing isn't a show piece. I hope that the scratch from the fall is the first of many more from extensive use."

I agree. Bikes are tools, awesome machines. We baby them and love to take pride in them but bikes are meant to be ridden.
Chips are okay. Be glad our legs still work!

Bianchigirll 

Hello and welcome to the forums. The OP has been absent for over 5 years.

Deal4Fuji

I'm glad this old thread got brought up, I hadn't seen it before and in most Lotus discussion threads the Excelle is rarely mentioned. @Snydermann 's post below provided some good information about the value of this model. As I've found with a lot of bikes, the larger size frames are harder to find in "top of the line" models. Nice to see my '87 was one of the banner years for the Excelle. Welcome @Biketiger

Hard to see the frame color is a deep burgundy with rose accents

thriftyswift3

The Excelle I just picked up is that color scheme, including the pink brake cables. It's also a tall frame like yours.

thriftyswift3

Shoot. Hate to say it, but the other night I cut off my Lotus-branded toe straps! Tried to pry them out of the pedals with pliers first, but I was low on time. I see you say they are very rare. I'm not used to having rare stuff – ha!