rogerlevin

I have a 1975 Bottechia full Campy components (Nuevo record) mechanically perfect less than 200 miles on bike. This was a high school graduation gift in 1977 . When I finally became a cyclist I learned this bike was way too big for me. Any ideas how too sell this bike to someone that could really appreciate it ? If I could ride it I would keep it.

randyjawa 

Have a look at this article that I published a while ago - Buying and Selling Bicycles.

Hope it is a help. Very cool bike, by the way. A Bottecchia Pro, from that era, is a worthy steed, in my book...

rogerlevin

Thank you.

ramzilla

I wouldn't advertise it on CL unless you're in a really hot market. Ebay would result in higher price offers. If it's in really good shape could be worth between $500 - $1000 somewhere.

rccardr 

VtwinVince

My first 'serious' road bike was a Bottecchia that I got in 1975. Great bike, wish I still had it.

T-Mar

The OP's pic....

CliffordK

What a nice little Time Capsule. Probably Universal center pull brakes. Hoods could well have gone bad, as well as tires. But, replacements are available.

Schrader? Is that 27"?

Unlike, @ramzilla, I would try to first sell locally. Put the price at around $600 - $800 (leave yourself some negotiating room without scaring off the buyers).

That will avoid the hassle of shipping, and risks of damaging the bike in shipping.

You can do some cleanup and a few judicious updates if you can do the work yourself. But, I wouldn't pay a shop to do the work. A lot of buyers would rather refurb the bike themselves.

There is a buy/sell forum here on BikeForums, but it does require an upgraded membership to start a thread.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage-sales/

CliffordK

You've been storing your bike for 40 years. Unless something major has changed, there is no reason to rush into a sale. Put your ad up and wait for a nibble on the hook.

Friends or family that might want it?

Another option to consider. Classic & Vintage is popular with some groups of individuals.

You might hunt down a frame that you really like and transfer most of your components to the new frame.

Hard to say what your groupset is worth.. $400 to $600 just for the components in almost unused condition (almost the same value as the complete bicycle).

You likely would find yourself better off simply re-using the old components and selling or trading your frame vs trying to build another similar bicycle.

rogerlevin

Thanks would like to see it go to a good home. And like myself I am sure someone would not mind cleaning it up a bit to make it their own. l

eja_ bottecchia

rogerlevin

Thanks would like to see it go to a good home. And like myself I am sure someone would not mind cleaning it up a bit to make it their own.

rccardr 

Messaged back and forth with Roger, have additional pics below.

Nice windowed lugs on 57-58cm frame, nutted Universal centerpulls and Universal levers with Dia Compe replacement hoods. Not sure about the hubs but would guess they are high flange Record. Rest appears to be Record/Nuovo Record. Based on rims and brake pads, looks like this bike has been used very, very little and was stored properly. He will ship but would prefer that the buyer look at it in person (he's on Long Island) so they know what they are getting. But to this group, the pictures say a lot regarding equipment and condition.

Prices are all over the place on these (and the Bottecchias I've owned have all been late 80's models) but I would think it's worth $500 or so.

rccardr 

More pics:

rccardr 

And yet more pics:

bikemig 

Nice bike. I'd like to find one of these but they didn't have much if any market presence in my corner of the midwest.

Wildwood 

Wildwood 

ramzilla

I call Bottecchia the "Schwinn of Italy" because they were the biggest mass market producer in Italy for decades. They made all kinds of bikes from klunkers to full blown race bikes. Don't let anybody tell you that a top of the line Bottecchia is less of a bike than anything made by DeRosa, Colnago or anybody else. I'd rather have a 70's era Bottecchia Professional than the equivalent Paramount.

bfvale

Hi all,

I’ve just bought this Bottecchia (150GBP). It’s great to find this forum and see that similar bikes are out there.

Can I find the exact age of mine by the frame number?

Anything you can tell me from the photos regarding the exact model? Which parts aren’t original?

And what should I replace first?

Regards,

Aaron

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0c532ODWUGq0E

bikemig 

You should start your own thread in the C&V section to get some feedback.

3alarmer 

...is there some reason you included the catalog page for the Giro model ? If you look at that catalog from 1972 where you got that page, you'll see a range of models and quality/price varied accordingly.

So I'd guess that the cottered crank, the front Campy derailleur, and the Universal CP brakes are original. Possibly the headset. bar and stem.

Again this is guesswork, but with the stamped dropouts, probably something on the order of a Special, but if that's the case, the wheels are probably an upgrade. I'm not expert in these, and have only seen a few in person. I do like the way they ride, and I have a couple of slightly newer ones here that are in the rotation.

bfvale

I found the 1972 catalogue on Google... no idea what year mine is from.

verktyg 

Back in 1974-75 we bought "all Campy" Bottecchias and Atalas wholesale for $300. Motor freight was regulated at the time so shipping was $9 a bike.

"All Campy" production bikes from the bike boom era usually meant all Campy except for Universal or Mafac brakes.

Campagnolo gruppos where in short supply until after the bike boom ~1975. They cost us about $300 less brakes.

For $300 we got a bike we could part out that had a good set of sewup wheels including tires, all the Campy components (less brakes), a Unicanitor saddle, 3TTT or Cinelli bars and stem plus bar tape, toe clips and straps. We were left with frames that we sold for $75-$100, usually to people who needed a cheap replacement.

We sold a lot of British, Italian and US made pro frames so it was a no brainer for us to switch components to build more expensive bikes.

verktyg