gazman22

Hello,
Just finished this rebuild of a Viscount. Death fork replaced with a nice condition chrome Tange fork. Full break down and rebuild. Bike did not come with drop bars so I replace old risers with new flat bars. Was thinking $500 plus or minus but don't know if there are users looking for this bike in particular? I also live in the Bay Area / Northern CA which definitely has a price premium. Any suggestion, opinions or musings are appreciated.

Thanks,
Gary

wrk101

Missing some original parts. In my market, a Viscount at best is a $150 bike. Add whatever premium you think the Bay Area will give you. I've owned four of them (I paid a lot less but I tend to not pay market price).

I assume someone drilled the top tube for that rear brake cabling.

Mis-matched brake pads.

Very few DT shifter bikes in my market bring $500. The ones with a chance are either Italian, or top of the line USA or perhaps Japan. Most buyers want STI bikes and hate DT shifters. DT shifting without indexing is even worse. People wanting DT friction shifting are either cheapskates or collectors/enthusiasts.

I've never met someone who wanted a Viscount/Lambert.

gazman22

Thanks for the input. Surprised to find out no Viscounts came drilled for internal cable routing. Thats a bold modification to make.

wrk101

Drilled TT was kind of a 1980s thing. And the better ones had reinforcement at the holes. Viscount/Lamberts had clamps on the TT for holding the brake cable housing. These bikes had Shimano Crane RD (quite nice), Titleist FD, leather saddle, Viscount stem and Viscount pedals.

The odd BB crank mount was prone to problems. Good looking crank, but the non-tapered spindle was a crazy/bad idea.

A Lambert/Viscount collector, if one exists, will want all the Viscount parts. Finding those parts can be challenging. But the typical rider won't care.

Ad above is a different year, where it came with Simplex derailleurs.

juvela

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mixed gear ensemble something it would not have left the barn with

missing pedal dust cap (de riguer)

probably merited a slightly nicer fork, not one with a welded crown

some futzing done to get brakes operating

late enough to be from the Yamaha time...

would think about a buck eighty tops


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noobinsf 

I don’t have an opinion on value, but the pic of the brake gives me pause. Those straddle cable ends look like they’ll pop out at the first panic stop, and you should probably replace them. Typical centerpull cable ends will fill the space, like in these example pics (not my pics).

gazman22

Thanks! Good catch. I will replace them.

zukahn1 

Nice looking bike but as others have said IMHO the brake bar setup is somewhat bad . While paint brush the paint is well done and the pinstriping is exceptional and the clear coat is nice l. If all is good mech wise I would say $200 or so nice bike just not special with a bit of a odd iffy setup. Yet great cosmetics in the Bay I could see $400.

rjhammett

I purchased this bike for $84 and sold it for around $200. It was in excellent condition. I really disliked that bike.

gazman22

Very nice condition and with the potential "death fork" still intact (depending on the version they were prone to failure).

rjhammett

This bike had version 3 of the fork which was supposedly safe.

Drillium Dude 

Forgive me if it seems I'm ringing the alarm bell, but I'm genuinely curious - particularly as the fork has been replaced: has the bike been crashed? My aging eyes (which were never very good in their original specification) seem to detect a tell-tale line that suggests a prior paint-crack, possibly as a result of a collision.



DD

TugaDude

Good catch! Certainly has some of the "tell-tale" marks of a front-ender.

gazman22

I got the chance to look closely at the bike yesterday and inspect the head, top and down tube, and the welds as well.

Regarding the fork, the fact that it is not original does not concern me that much given that the original fork on this bike was nicknamed "the death fork" and was replaced by the manufacturer, with, I believe this Tange chrome fork.

Regarding the frame, there are no signs of any deformation to the top or down tube. Nor the head tube as well. The brazed welds also look fully intact with no sign of cracking or chipping.

Interestingly, I also own a Bob Jackson with the same type and location of paint cracks. Someone had asked about a collision. Other users had said their Jacksons had similar paint cracks.

So, I would like to hear from people with more knowledge and experience than me. If a steel framed bike shows some paint cracks near joints, but shows no sign of any deformation or material failure, is it a cause for concern? I had generally thought one of the benefits of steel is how it can move and return to original state. If it does not deform it is OK.

Thanks,

Gary

TugaDude

OP said "I had generally thought one of the benefits of steel is how it can move and return to original state".

Not sure what you mean. Steel can be straightened when bent, perhaps that's what you mean. Dents can be removed with success sometimes. The fact you cannot discern any damage to the tubing is a good thing. Who knows what is going on with the paint? As I said, issues with the paint in that specific location is a tell-tale sign, but it isn't always I guess.

Trakhak

Took another look at the photos. The head tube looks to be about as close to parallel to the seat tube as one could expect for an undamaged bike, so that's good. Whatever apparent distortion may be present at the down tube/head tube junction would likely be an artifact of the brazing cleanup process having left a tiny bit of material behind.

gazman22

I mean a bike could have a front end collision, force could be imparted on the top tube and/or down tube that would cause them to flex/move, perhaps to the point of paint chipping/cracking, and they would then unflex back to their original state with no damage to the frame.

Trakhak

If a frame was hit with enough force to show paint chipping/cracking at the tube junctions, the force was beyond the yield strength of the steel. It won't spring back to its original state on its own.

gazman22

well, let’s look at it another way. With the bike above, there is no deformation. All the tubes and welds look to be undamaged. Only the paint shows some cracking. I would tend to think the frame is OK. Prioritizing healthy tubing and welds over paint condition.

TugaDude

No, the steel would either bend or bend and crimp if the impact was severe. It wouldn't bend and spring back to its original condition.

Drillium Dude 

It's possible for a frame to take a hit hard enough to stress the joint, micro-crack the paint - and still be difficult to detect any frame tweaking with the naked eye.

I only pointed it out because (a) the cracks as seen mirror what I've seen in the past as a result of a frame taking a header, and (2) because of the reputation for failure of the original 'death fork'. Wondered if perhaps the paint cracks were related to a problem with the original fork.

To be on the safe side, ride it and pay close attention to any changes in the way the bike handles. If it ever begins to feel wonky, stop and examine the area in question - the life you save may be your own

Here's hoping all is good - and stays that way!

DD

Viscount Rider

In the UK, that would be worth between £60-£120 approx.

macstuff 

There was a dealer here in Des Moines that sold them in the 70s so at the co-op we regularly get them in as donations, two or three a year. Most are completely original.
I really like the looks of the cranks but we can't give them away. We have changed forks and turned them into city bikes with some sort of upright bars on a few occasions but generally they get scrapped.
Sorry to be a Danny downer.
When we convert and sell them as city bikes we usually sell them at $150