rossiny

NOS , never used, never put together.
I'm wondering on the value . Should I keep or sell 🤔?

cyclophilia 

Do you like it?

Does it fit?

Would you ride it or enjoy having it around?

= all good reasons to keep this Raleigh.

The right buyer might pay $500 or a bit more.

You could get more money by parting it out - New old stock "take-off" parts command a premium price to buyers who do period-correct restorations.

Fairlane63

If it fits you, build it, ride it, enjoy it, show it off!
That is a cool find for us Raleigh aficionados or anyone really that loves vintage bikes.

rossiny

Thanks for the advice. I just bought it today. It's my frame size! I have a few other bikes, Super Course, with Cappella lugs, Super Course Mk11, a couple others, but none like this. It's basically a new Raleigh Competition, . I'm thinking I'll keep it, I'll just have to have wheels trued , and maybe new grease and tires. It's been sitting all these years. .
now if it was worth $2k , maybe I'd sell. 🤔

cyclophilia 

Very glad to know you might keep the bicycle - it certainly fits with your other Raleighs.

It would be fun to hear your acquisition story, if you are willing to share the tale of how you found it and how such a time capsule came through the years.

A Raleigh Competition GS thread with some good information is here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...on-please.html

TugaDude

Like anything else it is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. But that isn't helpful, so I will opine that it might get more than the $500.00 mentioned, at least in my opinion, but nowhere near the $2K you threw out there.

There are companies selling steel frames that are no better, and to me much uglier, for more than $500.00 and that's frame and fork only. This bike comes with all of the kit and in NOS condition on top of it. Yes, it is all old technology, but around here that isn't a dirty word!

As is typical, the OP didn't say WHY they might want to keep it. To hang on a wall in a man cave? To actually ride? Just remember once it is ridden it is no longer really NOS, so take that into account.

albrt 

If that's a 25" frame I would pay $500 in a heartbeat. I would pay substantially more if I did not already have too many bikes.

Do you know what year? Mid 1970s?

Kabuki12

I bought mine in 2015 , maybe 2016, in unused condition for $300 from the original owner who never rode it. It had some marks on it and certainly not NOS like yours , but super nice. I ride it quite a bit and love the sporty feel. They are fairly light and have a tight geometry so I would describe the ride as lively. I would keep that bike as there isn’t much monetary value these days on these classics compared to the joy of riding them. It would be a shame to part it out but that would yield the most dollars.

rossiny

it's a 22.5. I'm leaning towards keeping it , and riding it. I'm thinking it needs to be gone through and new grease, as from what I can guess it's a 1977 , with the nuovo record gruppo. Does grease go bad after all those years ?

TugaDude

Original grease should be replaced. Two reasons. One, it is sometimes the case that whomever assembled it scrimped on the amount they used. And two, old grease can harden, so cannot be counted on to do its job.

It is a very nice bike and deserves to be freshened up! If you do keep it, I'm confident you'll love it.

Jeff Neese

You might be surprised. There are collectors out there with money burning a hole in their pocket, always searching for something special. This bike, in NOS condition, may very well fetch over $1000. It depends on who sees it.

TugaDude

Very true. Among my other "collecting habits" are watches and pocket knives and it never ceases to amaze me when I see the prices they go for. Some collectors hardly bat an eye over a new knife with a $1K price tag. They see it, they want it, they buy it. Same with watches, only in multiples of thousands.

There is no harm in putting the bike out there to test the waters. If sufficient bids don't develop, just hold onto it.

albrt 

Old bikes are surprisingly robust, and they often appear to work OK with decades old grease. That said, it would obviously be better to service the bearings if you're going to ride it, especially with such a fine example. All grease degrades over time, and 45 year old grease has a big head start.

CrescentWrench

Nice find.

big chainring 

So funny. I went into the paint store this morning and my cycling friend that works there told me about a friend of a friend that recently bought a vintage Raleigh, new in the box. He said it was black with Campy components. I showed him the pictures from this thread and he said, "thats it!".

Gary12000 

I have the same bike, i bought it 18 months a go, from a guy who kept in in his living room, its a tad large, but i'm 6ft 1 and its a comfy ride for me, the original owner claimed to have ridden it very sparingly, as he bought two one for riding and one for looking at, he had them chnage out the Gran Sport rear mech for a Nuvo Record, claiming it shifted better, he gave me the original bill of sale which was from 1981, so i think mine was new old stock even back then, i paid $500.00 and got the original bill of sale a nice display stand , some tools and extra Toe clips and pedals, lovely rideing bike... well done... there are not that many NOS bike from that era left, and this is right below the top of the line, maybe sell it on to an avid collector for a wall hanger.. i think its worth a $1,000.00 to the right buyer, if you can get that then flip that money into a rider quality bike and put some in the bike fund.


my bike bit big but rides great..

rossiny

It's tempting to try and sell it to a collector that wants a NOS in that model. However it's very tempting to ride it and keep it since it's my frame size. But once I ride it , it's not NOS, never assembled. It's still wrapped in the paper . I actually pealed some off the frame.. value already went down.. 🥸😄😄