Caliwild

Hi gang,

I have the opportunity to purchase a Davidson Impulse. It's almost identical to the one pictured below, and looks to be in 8/10 shape. What's a reasonable price to pay for it? Thanks in advance!

3alarmer 

.
...probably around 800 bucks. But I tend to overvalue this stuff. I can see it on the local CL here advertised at anywhere from $650-1000.
Davidson qualifies as a small volume, custom frame builder. And you really can't go wrong with that Dura Ace group, if it's working well.

alexihnen 

This is correct, IMO.

Caliwild

I reached out and they're looking to get $450. Sounds fair I guess?

Dave Mayer

Very nice, or about as nice as a race bike could get in 1993. The Dura-Ace STI shifters produce as clean, crisp and accurate shifts as anything made today, short of electronic. If the shifters are not outright worn-out, then new cables, housing, and a new chain should restore the shifting to original, which is very very good.

One caution: Dura-Ace was/is a racing group, so the crankset is a standard, and the rear derailleur will struggle to handle any cog larger than a 26. So this is not a bike for climbing, unless you are Marco Pantani. This generation of Dura-Ace has a unique cable pull ratio, so no other Shimano rear derailleur is made to function with the shifters.

Obscurities: you may be able to pull of a hack such as using 8 cogs from a 9-speed spaced cassette (with a Shimano 9-speed MTB derailleur), or a long-cage Suntour Accushift RD, but your options are limited when it comes to lower gearing.

Dave Mayer

One more thing: the Dura-Ace 7400 brakes are as good as single-pivot brakes get, which is pretty mediocre. The next generation: 7403 dual-pivots are about as good as rim brakes get, to date. Much more power and less hand strength needed. This vintage of Shimano brake pads were awful, and given that they will now be hardened with age, they are now worse. Plus, if you ride in the rain, these pads will turn your rims into a black gooey mess. Discard, and get something modern.

rccardr 

At $450, that’s a good price. Have owned a couple of Davidsons and they have all been lovely well built bikes.
However, unless the derailleur hanger is unusually short, that RD should happily shift a 28, perhaps even a 30.
And if you need more climbing gear, a 130bcd 48 ring will do the trick.

Caliwild

Thanks, everyone. I'll take a look and see if the bike is in good shape. Have had experience with this Dura Ace group before, and the shifts were amazingly smooth...

plonz 

That sound like a smoking good deal to me. Dura Ace group alone is $300+ for 8spd and $400+ for 10spd.

I paid $250 for this Impulse with 8spd tri-color group in 2019. It was in pretty rough shape and I’m just now getting around to touching up the paint and building it. I’m upgrading the group to DA-7800 and will have much more into it by the time the cable ends get crimped. Of course, I know I’ll never recoup my costs but still… $450 and it already has Dura Ace? Go get it!

robobike316 

It seems like a good price even if you want to change some things in the future. I would still attempt to haggle down but would bring the asking price in cash and be prepared to go home with it. That said, there are alot of great deals out there for really cool vintage bikes and this definitely is one!

zukahn1 

With the full matching DA group I could $700-800 even the really soft market.

Insidious C. 

$750 sounds FMV for this bike, which appears to be in very nice condition. $450 would motivate me to an extent. Better deals do come up on rare ocassion. All depends on your discretionary funds and how long you are prepared to wait.

seagrade 

From quite a distance I’d say $750 with zero frame/fork rust, clearance (not fit, clearance) for at least 28s, correct down tube shifters and matching aero brake levers rather than brifters, and 28 or 32-spoked wheels. Thats just where the value is or isn’t for me as a rider of race bicycles of this era. Collectors may vary.

jamesdak 

I'll echo the others $450 is a great price IMHO. These are wonderfully riding bikes and you should really enjoy it. Mine looked like a mess cosmetically when I picked it up but the "scratches" were actually just marks on the very shiny, hard paint. It polished up beautifully. The Dura Ace is an added bonus. Good luck with this one.

reissue59

I run 7400 with brifters
48t ring or 50t
30 cassette no problem
best shifting group of all, including 7700, 7800 and 7900

Caliwild

That's gorgeous! Love me a pink bike!

Caliwild

I offered $400 and the seller is thinking about it.... Stay tuned.

Caliwild

Done deal! Seller accepted $400. She actually had two Davidsons to choose from (she wanted to keep one) and I ended up going with an all-purple Impulse, partly because this one was in better shape and also because it had the matching Silca frame pump. Also, this one is a 54cm, while the other one was a 53cm, which is kinda small for me. The paint is in phenomenal shape and the bike doesn't look like it was used too much. The Dura Ace shifting is super crisp. The owner said she spent about $500 a year ago to change cables, regrease everything, new bar tape, rim, etc.

I just dropped her off at my LBS to swap out the cassette (going from a 21 to 25 tooth because I'm not Hercules) and wheel set to a newer set of H Plus Son rims with Ultegra hubs (which almost have a purplish hue that matches the bike.. see below) that they had just taken in on consignment, as the rims on this bike were mismatched (the rear Campy rim was replaced with a Velocity one) and I'm way too picky for that. Also going to swap out the bar tape and saddle to make it an all-black affair (thinking black Cinelli volee tape and whatever decent black saddle I have in storage), even though the Brooks bar tape is basically brand new (just not digging the brown). Even comes with Dura Ace 7401 clip-in pedals that apparently work with the Look Delta cleats I have laying around (the pedals say Shimano, but built by Look). The 700x23 Michelin tires will also be swapped for some 700x25 Continental 4-Season black edition tires. I'll post pics once it's all done. PS: the welds look super clean and it looks very well built.

Caliwild

Just found this on Davidson's site... pretty cool.

zukahn1 

Great you got the bike at a good. price I agree with the seller if I had to choose I would go with the plum crazy paint job as keeper.

jamesdak 

Very nice deal and a great color!

Rick_D

Well bought, I think. Have a slightly older model Stiletto--DA 7400 w/ downtube shifters--and perhaps the same Campy rims. I'll caution those are the most cranky rims to fit tires to, and I find many tires are just too tight, especially folders that never stretch.

They build a lovely bike and well worth owning.

Caliwild

OK, it's all done... Here are some pics:

Caliwild

Side note... On a whim, I went with the Cinelli Volee bar tape on this bike. I must say, I really like the feel of the tape. Very grippy and looks amazing.

https://usa.cinelli-milano.com/produ...ibbon-bar-tape

bboy314

Love the frame/hubs color combo.