Bikedued

Moving out sale on facebook marketplace. I asked if they had the original parts, and hoping for good news. Some local Fuji nut probably already jumped on it and didn't think to ask. No answer yet, and not holding my breath. Looks like they got the "bike shop special". They probably charged them 4-500 bucks to ruin it. 81, I think? Fuji America.,,,,BD

John E

It just needs pedals, bars, stem, brake levers, and barcons, none of which should be budget-busters.

repechage

That kind of looks the configuration of my last purchase-
high riser bars, thumb shifters on mine, exchanged the rims for 27" from tubulars... forgetful saddle.

i swapped the rims to 700c clinchers as the 27's had way too short spokes... really surprised the nipples were not breaking. ( was done by a bike shop!)
now the spokes fully engage.

other weird item was Campagnolo pedals were crammed in 2/3 of the way into French threaded cranks. Fixed that with French pedals. Amazing!

i probably paid top of the market for what it was, but it was the same year, color, model, batch ( just 8 s/n digits away ) from my first road bike I purchased in 1972, in a better size even. I bought originally to "grow into it"
little did I know I was close to max height.

Bikedued

Yeah, but it's the principle of the thing, and it's perfectly fine if you have all of the parts in your stash. I don't any longer, I used to but not anymore. Buying each part individually would end up costing almost as much as the bike is worth, unless you get lucky. And nope, they have none of the original parts. They paid $250 for it as it sits, so they would probably want that much at least. That would kill any profit you could make off of it, if that was what someone was planning to do with it.

Bikedued

And derailleurs, crankset, brake calipers, bottom bracket, etc... If you were trying to return it to original that is. The crankset would be the real b***h, I can't remember the last time I saw a Sugino Mighty triple for sale.,,,,BD

norcalmike

Seeing any vintage road bike turned into a beach cruiser is hard to watch.
To some, it's just an old bike. To others, it's history.

Bikedued

That is true. The seller didn't give a crap about it. They just wanted the money... Sad thing is, he'll be lucky to get half of what he paid for it, and will likely throw it in a dumpster when it doesn't sell for the amount he wants.,,,,BD

Cyclist753

I hope you are able to get it! If you do then you might offer to trade components with someone who might wish to rid themselves of the 'racing bike' components for 'beach cruiser' components(?).
As a side note: I routinely see bikes that are too large for their owners (per the one above, as set up, appears to be) but rarely ones that are too small!

scarlson 

Yeah it's funny what people will pay a bike shop to do. My Jack Taylor tandem came to me with steel ape-hangers on the front, with the stem clamped down on them (wrong diameter) so hard that the pinch-bolt was bent. Pretty weird and silly, but luckily the owner included the original "racing handlebars" (GB Maes) with the Mafac tandem levers as a bit of an afterthought!

Some people just don't get it.

merziac

All true enough but also one of the reasons we find some of the finds we do. Flippers, scammers and butchers don't see the diamond in the rough, pass and we swoop in, sometimes.

cudak888 

The stem is awful looking, but the build really doesn't deserve the criticism it's getting. It's the 2000's idea of the same thing people did to "old" 1950's road bikes in Italy: Demoting them to city/commuter status.

From a practicality standpoint, it is a well executed hybridization of an older road frame, and - importantly - nothing appears to be irreversibly modified.

From a C&V standpoint, it's ugly.

From the PO's point of view, it was probably (no, is) a bike that shifted better than it did when new. The flat bar choice was unfortunate, but not everyone needs to drink the North Road Kool-Aid, do they?

It's an excuse to have fun re-building it with the C&V bits you'd like to have on it. So long as it hasn't been Drewed, this is a nice blank canvas with some modern parts throw into the deal.

-Kurt

Mr. 66

Must have been owned by the same guy, down right creepy.

Yep, I bought it.

repechage

Ah, there's the rub. It will languish no doubt, Maybe what you need is a tag team, a friend who knows to engage with the seller and educate them, then you can make a true offer and leave with a bike.

Soody

I did this the other day
shoot me
it's fun to knock about on
if it makes anyone feel better, i rode all the original parts to death, and they sucked anyway

ok honestly i actually kind of hate it without drop bars

Bikedued

Soooooo, on to the next one. Anyone recognize this headbadge? It's in a group of bikes that are mostly Wally World junk. Yes this is as good as pics get, even blown up. No turkey levers, so better than most bikes that meet such a fate. It also appears
that the bar tape is original and never been replaced, or was replaced so long ago it was cloth. Has a white panel in the middle of the seat tube, with double stripes set off from it a couple of inches.

cudak888 

Whenever I see an ad with pictures like that, I can just imagine the seller saying "You want it, I steal it."

-Kurt

Bikedued

You can't let it bother you, cause in Houston it is probably at least 50% of the facebook ads. Besides it was a CL ad with pictures exactly like this, where I got my Moto Grand Record,,,,BD

thumpism 

Batavus. Dutch. I had one.

Bikedued

Well, they saw my message, and no answer... Why do people do that? Put up an ad, then ignore people asking about what they're selling.,,,,BD

cudak888 

Send them another message. It worked for me once - 5 months after the original posting. Nabbed it for $40 less too.

-Kurt

rustystrings61 

Batavus Tour de l’Europe, early-mid 70s Dutch gaspipe 10-speed. My first bike-shop bike - I rode all over southwestern Virginia on one including a 3-day cycle-camping trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s the equivalent of a Raleigh Grand Prix or a Peugeot U-08.

Cyclist753

@Soody- at least the bicycle, as set up, appears to be the proper size for you, i.e., the saddle isn't 'resting' on the top tube. As an aside...that was the point I was trying to make previously. I wasn't criticizing componentry so my apologies if that was inferred. When I was a kid we would relish seeing a bike like that (seat on top tube) because it gave us a chance to talk about 'nut busters'. Oh...youth... such simple pleasures!

Pompiere

I got my Peugeot tandem because I spotted a black and white checkerboard decal in the background of a generic CL garage sale ad. There was no mention of any bikes for sale, although they listed a lot of other stuff in the ad.