Dsnyc1

I have a 1996 LeMond Alpe D'Huez bike that has been in the garage (probably not well cared for) for 20 years from my college days. Looks like it has a 853 steel frame and Shimano 105. I know nothing about bikes anymore but I don't want to get rid of it but I don't see myself riding it again soon. I am moving soon and I would like take it apart and have it cleaned up and put it in a bike storage box and put it in storage. Is the frame the only part really worth keeping? Should I trash everything but the frame? If so will be easy in the future to just buy new parts to add to the frame to get it rideable again? Would it even be safe to try to ride it with 24 yr old Shimano 105 parts?

icemilkcoffee 

Do no such thing. The 105 groupset is perfectly good and useable groupset. Clean it up and tune it up and get it back on the road!
By the way, the '96 Lemond Alp D'Huez had True Temper tubing and Campy groupset. I am guessing yours is a 2002+:
https://www.vintage-trek.com/Trek-Fis...2002lemond.pdf

force10

I picked up an 01 lemond Zurich this spring that had been in storage for almost 20 years. New tires, tubes,chain and cassette and I put 1500 miles on it since. Still using the same brake pads.

You can modernize if you want but I would keep the original parts - they could be desirable to a subsequent owner if you decide to sell it.

Andrew R Stewart 

Whether or not you store the bike age will continue to take it's toll. The first item on that list might be the shifters. If not already, but soon enough, the shifter pod internals will become gummy in their function, to the point where the shift lever motion completely stops having any effect on the ders. I suggest you check the shifter function before any decisions are made. If their condition is already gummy getting them back to full function is far easier if they now still have some shifting ability. Getting them working after all function is lost is less certain. Try to find a suitable shifter pair 10 or 20 years from now when you decide to get that old but nice bike back on the road. Andy

fishboat

Sell it now and you'll get decent money for it(if it's in good shape..+/- $500). In general, there's not a thing wrong with the bike or its components. Sitting in an unheated storage cube/garage will do it no good in the long term.

If/when you ever start riding again, odds-are you'll want a different type of bike. Sell it now and save yourself any concerns over storage.

freeranger

A friend has a similar (not sure of year) LeMond. Too small for me, but would fit my wife. His is like new-if he ever sells it, I'll buy it for my wife. 853 steel and 105 components= fine riding!
Keep the bike, go over it, and enjoy!!

shelbyfv

I second the suggestion to sell it and buy another bike if you ever decide to start riding again. I had a nice bike I bought in the 70s. I moved and stored it for 30 years that I wasn't riding. When I resumed riding, I soon found that it wasn't what I wanted to ride. Due to Covid, this is a decent time to sell a bike. Take your $$ and move on with your life.

bikeaddiction1

I just did an overhaul on what sounds to be the same bike and sold it for $625 Canadian in early December and we had snow on the ground. If I waited until spring I would have got more but I need to thin the pile a bit and make room in the garage. I did put on new tires, chain and bar tape but the components where fine, including the brake pads which was a pleasant surprise.

HillRider

Unless this bike has great sentimental value, and it doesn't sound like it does, sell it now, even in as-is condition. Buy a newer bike when and if you start riding again.

FastJake

Like any bike that's been sitting for a couple decades, it will need an overhaul to be properly functional: new tires, cables, housing, and fresh grease in the bearings. Possibly other problem spots like the brifters, as mentioned.

But the bike itself should be good forever.

As suggested, I'd recommend getting rid of it if your only other option is to let it slowly rot in storage.

davidad

Sell it and save the money for a new one later. It would be a shame to store it again.

Dsnyc1

yes it is a 1996, but yes sorry it has Campagnolo Mirage parts, not Shimano. Are these parts still considered good?

HillRider

Mirage was one of Campy's lower line groups and, while decent, it was nothing special. Also, it was an 8-speed group, badly obsolete, and not compatible with any later Campy groups. Even cassettes will be hard to find and command collector's prices.

Sell the bike as-is to a Campy collector who will be happy to have it.

Dsnyc1

OK understood, I am willing to sell it, but looking online I don't see inexpensive/comparable steel road bikes to purchase to replace it with in the $1k range anymore, they seem to be $2k++, I guess steel bikes aren't as popular anymore/command a premium price now? So again I guess my question is if I decide to keep it (a) can I just keep the steel frame and replace the "parts" with something more modern (what would the cost $ be?) or (b) keep the bike as is/are the Campy Mirage parts going to last another 10-20 years? Thanks!

70sSanO

I’m having a tough time getting my head around this thread. You had a decent road bike when you were 20. At 40 you no longer see yourself riding it. But when you are 60 you want to know if you will be able to ride it again.

In the interim, you want to take it apart and store it, sell it but current bikes, which I guess you will also store, cost $2k, or only keep the frame and get parts 20 years from now and put it back on the road.

So, do you really have this bike?

John

Classtime 

Sure. If you don’t need the 3-500 bucks and you have space to store it. Take the parts off it. They will fit in a box, the frame and fork will fit in another box, and the wheels in another. Nice frame and ok parts will all work fine when you want to ride again. If you can hang the complete bike out of the way, it won’t hurt it or decrease its value.

vane171

If you have some storage space that you would otherwise have anyway and if it takes a negligible part of it, I'd store it away. It needs to be dry storage, with no damp air rising from floor, as people found out, typically when storing a car for years in a barn damages it fundamentally. Selling as you found won't bring in $s to make a significant dent when buying new bike, also what you get for the bike now, you very simply won't 'have it' some years down the road (to use it towards purchase then). Your financial situation is likely not such that having the sale money or not will make any real difference.

If you store it and in the future will find you want something else to ride, chance is the resale value then will be much higher than it is now, due to it being even more vintage. I'd sell only if you think storing would be in some way onerous in longer run.

shelbyfv

You can definitely replace the components with current/better and probably be able to do so in the foreseeable future. If you really want to keep it, I'd suggest the following. Strip the bike, retaining the frame, fork, seatpost, stem and headset. Donate all the rest to a co-op or bike charity. What you have left is compact and easy to store. Spray the inside of all tubes with Framesaver (or Fluid Film from the auto parts store.) Touch up any chips that are to bare metal. Put some wax on the frame if you want or wipe it with WD 40. Secure some foam around the frame tubes and put those plastic spacers in the drop outs. If you have to keep it in a garage, basement, shed or attic, check it every year or so for rust. Better to keep it indoors. If you ever decide to ride again, you'll have to buy components and build it back up so you may not save much over a complete new bike.

Dsnyc1

Looks nice, but mine is bright orange!! I guess I will need to try to find a photo to post to this thread.

Dsnyc1

The issue with selling it is just to get in condition to sell I have spend $300 at a bike shop to clean it up and tune it and then have them pack it in a box and ship it. So for the $500 I get I make nothing on it. If I have to do that seems like I should just store it or donate it or leave it on the street.

fishboat

Well..if you're going to leave it on the street..then I'd have to ask, "..where do you live?"

You can't sell it locally? When you sell, if shipping is a must, then shipping is always extra..on top of the sale price. Sell it for $500, then shipping will be about $150 extra(i.e. you get $650)..unless you sell it on ebay, in which case you'll get appreciably less after ebay fees.

No tune up is mandatory..if it runs ok and just needs some adjustment, then a sale on craigslist (facebook..etc) only involves a free ad and an appointment with a buyer to pick it up. The buyer will be responsible for tuning up, lube, cleaning, new tires/tubes...etc... If a tuneup is desired prior to the sale, then it'll run $75-ish, parts would be extra.

If you think saving the frame, fork, BB, headset... is desirable..and cheaper(???)..you may want to price out what a 105 or above component groupset runs$ (today..it won't be any cheaper in the future, https://www.merlincycles.com/en-us/r...oupsets-75294/) along with a set of wheels and tires/tubes(near $100 for tires/tubes and $300+ for wheels.. for basic good stuff, easily $500+ if you want nicer stuff). It sounds like you'd have to buy parts new and have them installed. My local bike shop wanted $600 to build a set of wheels. I got much nicer wheels for far less money (on sale) online..but you need to know what to buy & where..you probaby won't have that advantage, if/when the time comes.

I think you're following false economy. There's probably a 50% chance you'll never ride again..which supports the case of sell it and move one. If you do want to ride in the future, a complete, near new, used bike of the style you're interested in at some future point, will be far cheaper than have a shop build up an old bike with new parts. I have a number of near-showroom condition bikes (Lemonds) that were purchased for 30-35 cents on the dollar relative to their cost when new. There's tons a very nice bikes available today that will be on the used market in the future...take your pick..

With respect to your overall premise..been there, done that, life is more simple if you face up to the fact that your interests change through life..sell it and move on. If/when you ride again..when you're older, you'll be looking for a more comfortable ride..gravel bike-ish with 38mm tires. Been there, done that too. I have road bikes running 28mm tires(as that's about as big as they'll take)..fun bikes, I love riding them on certain routes. I enjoy having the option to ride them on fast day rides. However, the bike that gets the most miles, as it's a do-everything pretty well bike, is a Poprad with 38mm tires. Fast, fun, and cushy ride..if I had just one bike..this may be the one..or two..or three.

mitchmellow62

This is really a value/opinion question with no single right answer. Here's mine: Store it, provided there's no additional cost and the storage space is dry. I wouldn't have someone clean it up now with the exception of wiping some of the greasy parts down. I doubt it will lose value over time. The 8 speed Campy parts will be fine to start with if you ever begin riding again. It will need some attention and expense if you ever do decide to ride again but you can make another value judgment at that time. I think you'll be more likely to get into riding with this bike once you see the cost of anything new of similar quality. After 24 years, this remains a upper level frame/fork with quality steel tubes and quality construction. Components can be replaced and you would have a choice of what components you replace and at what level of quality/cost.

FastJake

OP needs to read "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo.

You don't need to spend $300 to sell an old bike (???). People sell old bikes all the time. You'll get less for it, but more than if you paid someone to fix it up and then sell it.

Packing it into separate boxes is the worst possible idea. Best case scenario, you find all the boxes 20 years from now and get rid of the whole mess. Worst case, things get separated and you find the components after you've already gotten rid of the frame, etc. If you pack it into boxes I guarantee you'll never ride it again.

I'll say one thing I forgot before: RIGHT NOW, remove the stem and seatpost. Put grease on them before reinserting them. If you store the bike in a dry area, they should not become frozen (making the frame and fork worthless) for many years.

easyupbug 

If your bike is orange it is a 1997 with True Temper chromoly not Reynolds 853. I don't know what market you are in but I think some of the prices mentioned would be high in all but the premium areas with out significant investment if a shop gets it ready to sell. You are the only one who knows what kind of rider you would be, 20 mile cruse around town where that bike would be fine or senior shop/group rides with guys and ladies that like to push it and you might want updated fit, lighter weight, etc. If you want a lot more input, post over a the Classic & Vintage Forum and if you have photos the Classic and Vintage Bicycles: Whats it Worth? Appraisals Forum

Geepig

It is always worth considering that unless it is some super dooper special bike, it is not worth wasting your storage space on. I had a sweet bike in the 1970s, I didn't keep it but could pick up another for not much money tomorrow. That is like 40 years of unwasted space, and I have bought other things instead.
I don't meet people making a fortune over things they stored, but they went on and on about how much it cost to sell over the years, and spent more and more time fussing over, moving and cleaning the stuff they had, so spending less and less time doing interesting things.