Sixty Fiver

Yep... some folks pay way too much for Colnagos.

spiderinked

Educate me. I'm not familiar with any cloverleaf cut-outs on anything but Colnago. My other Zeus road bike (which I sold back in '80) had the same lug design as this one. Is this perhaps not a Zeus? Or are you saying that only Columbus tubing/high end Italian can command top $ when dealing vintage steel?

As stated back in July I'm out of the loop. But perhaps some things never change.

EjustE

Yes, the cloverleafs was a Colnago reference... (meant to be a generalized example of a high-end italian steel and market trends these days - sub Gios Torino Super Record, if you want).

My main point is that a 531 frame is not much of a rarity as far as availability goes these days, compounded by the facts that a. it is a track bike, b. made (actually assembled, more correctly) by a parts manufacturer (who a lot of collectors think that it is a second rate at that), and c. is an obscure make, and all of that would really drive a valuation down...

As I broke it down earlier (a few posts ago), I think that $275 would probably be it. (and 531 frames are not exactly "high end frames" in a lot of books out there).

Not to detract on all the work that you did, but that's not a $1000 bike, unless someone is willing to pay for it, and maybe someone would...

spiderinked

Thanks EjustE. I never imagined anything close to $1000. Indeed I was really quite suprised to hear that number tossed out there in the CL post. That bike has what appears to be all of the original badging etc. but it's a poor pic and I certainly wouldn't shell out a grand based on that pic alone. Then agan, I wouldn't shell out a grand for my bike either. I will hold onto it for now, ride it and enjoy my blisters. I had fun as I worked on it, reminiscing of all the miles...................

spiderinked

By the way, where is the before and after thread? I can't find it

mkeller234

Here is a link to the thread... it's not you, I had a bit of trouble finding it myself.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...+after&page=37

krems81 

I think it'd have to be in pretty poor shape (i.e. bent or dinged up frame) to be worth only $300. Vintage track frames are much less common than vintage road frames. The frame is probaby where most of the value of your bike lies. That and the hubs and crankset. These are the factors unique to track. Also, it is a very desirable name, regardless of how it was made. I'm guessing they sourced some competent framebuilders. I think your bike is worth closer to $800 in the right market with the rebuilding you've done. The Zeus track crankset alone would probably take north of $120 on ebay, mind you.

There are TONS of track bikes out there today. Fuji, Surly, EAI, SOMA, these people roll out "track" frames to the young urban public like hotcakes. Inevitably, some of these people will want something older, with more history, and something that was originally intended for racing on the track, not intended as a consumer item. Vintage track frames with real history are so uncommon, even compared to vintage road bikes, that they are very highly valued today, as I think they should be.

unworthy1

There's what I'd LIKE a bike to cost, and then there's what the market determines a thing is worth...I bet if you offered that Zeus track bike in the right market, today, you'd be surprised what it will fetch.
Great job on it, BTW!
Believe it or not, there are people who know exactly what Zeus is and they seek out and pay top dollar for the both the parts and the complete bikes...

here's a little history, check out post #122:
https://search.bikelist.org/?SearchString=zeus%20&pg=5

spiderinked

Thanks unworthy1 - I tried the link but I'm getting an error message. Do you have a "work-around"? It's all a bit overwhelming and I would like to absorb as much as I could. BTW, I mentioned in an earlier post that I used to have, but sold, a Zeus RB. I came across a few of the parts. I guess I didn't sell it whole. My Italvega that I lent to a friend came back to me so I could help him clean it up and use. Picture the Zeus "before" pics and add more moving parts. Some of those parts are Zeus: high flange road hubs and six speed cluster. I found also in a parts box Zeus 2000 CP brakes w/ levers and various small parts. I should take an inventory..

unworthy1

sorry but the link doesn't work consistently. What I was trying to direct to is this paragraph quoted by an avowed "Zeus Fan" Walter S. (whose last name I won't even try to spell) and he goes by "wspokes" on the CR list...sorry, but this is long:
For those of you who are unaware of who Zeus is I have included a short
history provided by Greg Overton of the Classic Corner: "Zeus Industriale
S.A. was established in 1926, in the town of Eibar, northern Spain. Eibar
was known as the hotbed for precision design and production of everything
from firearms to sewing machines. Several small bicycle manufacturers were
located here as well, and this led to the need for a company to produce
small parts such as axles, nuts and bolts, and special fittings for bikes.
Don Nicolas Arregui saw this need and established Zeus. While these may have
been humble beginnings, Arregui envisioned a loftier goal, and developed a
company that would for years remain at the forefront of design, but never
seem to get over the hump that was Campagnolo. It is Tullio Campagnolo who
is given wide credit for the first rear derailleur system, when in fact,
Nicolas Arregui designed and developed a rear derailleur based on an
articulated parallelogram in 1931. This preceded Campagnolo by several
years, but did not quite make the grade in terms of operational reliability,
and the development sort of stalled. Then the hard luck story of Zeus began
in 1936, with the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. For three years this
war destroyed the country and forced Zeus to abandon bicycle parts in favor
of producing items needed for the war effort. Just as the Civil War had
ended and Spain began to rebuild, and the bicycle industry started to
resurface, the second World War began. An already pummeled industrial nation
was now forced into survival mode with very little raw material, capital, or
up to date manufacturing machines or methods. Zeus stayed solvent in this
period, and actually was forced to grow a bit because the bicycle became the
means of transport for most of the population of a nation without fuel. This
situation required that Zeus abandons its development of high tech, new
products for the racing cyclist, and provide more basic, standard parts to
keep the everyday bikes on the road. At the end of World War Two, Spain was
not considered a key power in Europe, and did not benefit from the economic
aid given to other countries. Zeus returned to the design and pursuit of its
initial goal, the cutting edge of racing equipment; however, Spain was
essentially derelict of raw materials, especially high grade alloys, and
Zeus was being surpassed by its competition. In fact, even into the
Seventies when the company was enjoying success, the sting of the post war
period was evident in this out take from the company brochure: "The great
European powers, through geopolitical necessities, enjoyed unprecedented
aid......thus, the technological development which Zeus had attained during
the thirties was stifled and Italy became the leader in this field,
occupying the place that we had hoped for ourselves." This mindset may have
actually motivated the company to surpass all others, because once back on
track, Zeus was at the forefront of design from the early Sixties to the
early Seventies, and was enjoying great success the world over. Many
professional teams were using the parts, and certain components were
substituted by riders who normally rode with Campagnolo equipment, such as
Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck and Tom Simpson. Product quality was very
near equal, sometimes surpassing the Italian competition, but the striking
thing was the nearly identical design and appearance of items such as
derailleurs and brakes. We've talked with several collectors and historians
who suspect that production of some of Campagnolo's components was actually
"farmed out" to Zeus, along with co-creation of new technology. Zeus was not
content to produce only components for the bicycle, and endeavored to
expand, hoping to overcome the giant that was Campagnolo in the world
market. As the company grew to three separate factories, it produced a lower
and mid-product line of parts and complete bicycles, drawing on its past
experience. This product was called Alfa, and the name extended from the
frame through to each component, which could all be purchased separately or
as a complete unit. For the competitive racer Zeus manufactured hand built
frames, in three models, for the young racer up to sponsorship of top pro
teams. These frames were designed to work in conjunction with the company's
Criterium line of components, its top line group, which was very similar to
Nuovo Record from Campy. Our image of these bikes is a white frame with red
panels on the down tube and seat tube, with white lettering inside the
panels and red lettering elsewhere, built with Reynolds 531SL tubing. These
are very cool, and quite rare in the U.S., and yes, we really want one.
Hennie Kuiper won the 1972 Munich Olympic road race on one of these bikes,
giving Zeus some momentum for its next product release. The Zeus 2000 group
was the company's benchmark, based upon the patented use of titanium. This
new alloy was partially used in the crank, pedals, and headset; while the
bottom bracket and pedal axles were mostly titanium. This lightweight group
was revolutionary, and arrived a year or so before Campagnolo's Super Record
group. While Zeus enjoyed great success and reputation throughout the world,
it never seemed to crack the American market in a big way. The hard times
and difficulties of its early years, none of it any fault of the company,
seemed to always limit its potential. Campagnolo was always the Goliath, and
Zeus the David. And while David was watching Goliath, a new Goliath came
along from Japan with two heads, Suntour and Shimano. Then the bicycle world
turned upside down with those new "mountain bikes." More hard luck for Sr.
Arregui's company and the white flag was raised." This particular bike is a
Victoria model purchased in Puerto Santa Maria during my first year of
living in Spain- 1986. I bought it new from the factory custom fit to my
height of 5 "7 155lbs. (I ordered it in late July and was shocked to find
out it would take six weeks because the factory shuts down for four weeks in
August- but it was well worth the wait.) The frame stands 32" off the ground
and is 42" long. All of the parts are stamped Zeus made in Spain accept the
tires which were made in France by Rigida (700 x 22c.)

spiderinked

That's a mouthful - thanks - Had I recognized the link, I could have saved you the trouble. It looks similar to something I came across when I started this project back in July - very good info though - Many thanks for all of the support here. I've posted pics to the Before and After thread. I'll get some "after" pics of the Italvega up maybe sometime in 2010 (sooner I'm sure)

Thanks again