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Rodriguez Touring Bicycle

Old 01-10-22, 05:56 PM
  #1  
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Rodriguez Touring Bicycle

'Assisting another BF member, I'm looking for any thoughts on value of an early 1980's Rodriguez touring bicycle with a small frame. Here goes.....

826DC33F-0F20-4D4B-AFA2-063B94AAD6D0

This bike is for a smaller rider. Seat tube is 44cm (ctc) actual, 47cm effective. The sloping top tube is 51cm (ctc) effective. Reynolds 531 tubing sticker is badly scratched, so 'not sure if tubing is straight gauge or DB. No visible dents/dings. Front/rear dropouts and seat stays have eyelets for fenders/racks.

10 speed drive train is primarily Sun Tour components. VGT Luxe RD, VX FD, Pro Comp freewheel, downtube shifters, and Superbe brake calipers & levers. TA crankset with 42 x 32(?) chainrings. 700c Rigida rims laced to 36 hole Shimano Hubs equipped with oil port covers. Brooks B-72 saddle, 3T stem, SR drop bars, MKS pedals. No rust, no rash.

Drive train needs a good cleaning, but the bottom bracket and hubs spin very smoothly. Rims run true. Gum hoods need to be replaced. Paint is in very good condition. Most notable blemishes are a ~1/2" x ~1/2" square patch of paint missing under the top tube (auto rack wear?) and small scrapes in the NDS downtube decal. Minor pain chips here and there could be easily touched up or clear coated. More pics....


75933E36-7AFB-47D6-A39A-001FF7CD8F08 IMG_7507

Objective of sale is get the bike into the hands of a rider that will appreciate an early Rodriguez. Owner is looking for input on how to value and market this bike. Currently located on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. Local pickup or delivery to the Seattle area would avoid boxing (~$80) and shipping (~$60) fees. Any and all thoughts will be appreciated!

Dean
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Old 01-19-22, 05:37 PM
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Surprised you haven't gotten any responses here yet.

I think I'd probably post it on craigslist in Seattle, described much like you have so far.

Small bikes like this size are tough to come by and but there's also not a huge market at the same time. I was selling a Bob Jackson that I think was 50cm on Seattle Craigslist, Ended up selling it on eBay because there just wasn't quite enough interest at the price I thought it should go. I think the most serious buyer was someone from Portland who was willing to drive up, but I think her measurements were still a little too small for the frame, so I advised she look for a smaller bike... She would have fit this one most likely! So the buyers are out there.

Rodriguez probably wouldn't get much more name recognition elsewhere than Seattle/PNW also, which I think means this bike would do better than the Bob Jackson did locally. Although I also had the Bob ready to ride condition, so that may also work against you.

As for price, I'm just going to toss $500 out there, if someone told me they bought it for that it seems reasonable to me for a rare size custom 531 frame and good components. Could certainly price it higher, and if it were me I'd consider it, I'd also probably get it all ready to ride, fresh grease and the works, then there's nothing a buyer would worry about mechanically and I'd get a higher price. Maybe someone else will come along and dispute this appraisal,

Good luck with it!
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Old 01-19-22, 05:42 PM
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Another thought. Rodriguez is still making bikes, and if the goal is truly to get someone that appreciates an old Rodriguez tourer, then you may even try to sell or consign through them. I know they sell some bikes on their site that are 'used'

No idea how the pricing or payout structure works on those deals, but just an idea. Surely a big Rodriguez fan would follow their Social accounts or stop by their shop and come across this bike if it were sold in that way, and may not be cruising craigslist ads randomly.
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Old 01-19-22, 06:32 PM
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Originally Posted by habes78023
Another thought. Rodriguez is still making bikes, and if the goal is truly to get someone that appreciates an old Rodriguez tourer, then you may even try to sell or consign through them. I know they sell some bikes on their site that are 'used'

No idea how the pricing or payout structure works on those deals, but just an idea. Surely a big Rodriguez fan would follow their Social accounts or stop by their shop and come across this bike if it were sold in that way, and may not be cruising craigslist ads randomly.
@habes78023 Thanks very much for your thoughts on value and marketing. I'll reach out to the owner to be sure he has seen your posts.

I agree with your recommendation for Seattle Craigslist. The owner has already reached out to Rodriguez, but they did not respond.

Thanks again!

Dean
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Old 01-19-22, 06:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Dean51
@habes78023 Thanks very much for your thoughts on value and marketing. I'll reach out to the owner to be sure he has seen your posts.

I agree with your recommendation for Seattle Craigslist. The owner has already reached out to Rodriguez, but they did not respond.

Thanks again!

Dean
Bummer on the Rodriguez no response... Recycled Cycles is just down the road and they do consignments,

Good luck, if I knew someone who was in the market and that size it's a cool bike!
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Old 01-20-22, 08:16 AM
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Generally, "reaching out" should mean in person. Sending texts or emails can be routinely ignored. Most businesses are short handed, so don't have the time to deal with emails or texts.

Priced at $500, maybe $600 max, you really are only going to get someone who wants a Rodriguez. As a pure touring bike, it has a few limitations, #1 being the side pull caliper brakes instead of cantilever brakes. Not sure how long the seat stays are either. Wheels are nothing special. Its redeeming feature is that it is a Rodriguez. That makes it special. And it is going to need full maintenance, not just a simple tune up.

As far as how smooth the bottom bracket spins, I have learned they pretty much ALL need service at this age. Might be smooth spinning, but grease could be mud. Last "smooth spinner" I opened up was just this, mud, mud, mud. I find grease either dries out and gets hard, or gets water in it and turns to mud. TA cranksets require a unique puller, many shops no longer have. This can lead to deferred maintenance. If a seller told me they had been maintaining it themselves, I'd ask them to include the puller. If they don't have the puller, then it has not been maintained (by them at least). If they do have the puller, thats great as they likely won't need it once they sell the bike.

Objective or not, the only person that will pay a premium price is someone who appreciates Rodriguez. "Objective of sale is get the bike into the hands of a rider that will appreciate an early Rodriguez. " You can't guarantee who gets it. I've sold pristine, fully refurbished bikes that buyers immediately stripped. Its how it goes.

To the right buyer, $600 is a steal for this bike. Just a matter of finding that person.

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Old 01-22-22, 01:29 AM
  #7  
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Originally Posted by wrk101
Generally, "reaching out" should mean in person. Sending texts or emails can be routinely ignored. Most businesses are short handed, so don't have the time to deal with emails or texts.

Priced at $500, maybe $600 max, you really are only going to get someone who wants a Rodriguez. As a pure touring bike, it has a few limitations, #1 being the side pull caliper brakes instead of cantilever brakes. Not sure how long the seat stays are either. Wheels are nothing special. Its redeeming feature is that it is a Rodriguez. That makes it special. And it is going to need full maintenance, not just a simple tune up.

As far as how smooth the bottom bracket spins, I have learned they pretty much ALL need service at this age. Might be smooth spinning, but grease could be mud. Last "smooth spinner" I opened up was just this, mud, mud, mud. I find grease either dries out and gets hard, or gets water in it and turns to mud. TA cranksets require a unique puller, many shops no longer have. This can lead to deferred maintenance. If a seller told me they had been maintaining it themselves, I'd ask them to include the puller. If they don't have the puller, then it has not been maintained (by them at least). If they do have the puller, thats great as they likely won't need it once they sell the bike.

Objective or not, the only person that will pay a premium price is someone who appreciates Rodriguez. "Objective of sale is get the bike into the hands of a rider that will appreciate an early Rodriguez. " You can't guarantee who gets it. I've sold pristine, fully refurbished bikes that buyers immediately stripped. Its how it goes.
I have a different option about the desirability of cantilever brakes. If I was using 700C X 32 tires, I strongly prefer 47/57 side pull brakes like this one has. Of course I live in the flattish midwest. YMMV. They have set the rear brake bridge so there is plenty of room for 32s and a fender under the brake. That is a beautifully built frame and worth at least $500 for the frame alone throwing away or parting out all the other components. In fact those components date the bike and might decrease the value of the frame.
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Old 01-22-22, 04:35 PM
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There's a short, athletic wife out there in Seattle that needs a pretty blue vintage tourer like this, so she can ride with her husband who usually does weekend randonneuring without her.

Clean it up, buy a new Sunrace freewheel, get it riding smoothly, take it to the park for pics (without hands or feet in the shot), and list it for $500 on Seattle Craigs come Spring.
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Old 01-22-22, 06:56 PM
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Doug Fattic SurferRosa wrk101 Thanks very much for all of your input! FWIW, the Rody is coming to "Dean's Bicycle Day Spa" this coming Friday to scrub the drive train and a general tidy up. If the bike was mine, I'd be diving into the hubs, bottom bracket, and headset, as suggested, to verify their condition and reassemble with fresh grease......, but it's not mine. I'll give the owner some pointers on appropriate photos for a C/L posting. I believe Pro Compe freewheels come with gold, sometimes silver, colored cogs. From the picture, I'm not sure if I'm looking at dirty grease over gold colored plating or if it is rust.....we'll see next week. Is there a concern about the freewheel other than it's appearance??

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Old 01-23-22, 02:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Dean51
Is there a concern about the freewheel other than its appearance?
Maybe not, but appearances are most important when selling a bike.
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Old 01-28-22, 02:26 PM
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One last post here to express my thanks to all who responded to my inquiry about the Rodriguez Touring Bike. It cleaned up very nicely this morning and I expect the owner will offer the bike for sale via Seattle Craigslist. Here is a pic of the Pro Compe freewheel tidied up.

6C4DCEAE-DEF6-492A-9C90-55A80C655CBF
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Old 01-08-24, 08:33 PM
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Hi Dean51, sorry to revive a dead thread. Do you still have pictures of that old Rodriguez? I'm doing some research on a mystery bike that I recently learned was most likely an old Rod. If you have images still you would help me out a ton with IDing. Thanks!
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Old 01-10-24, 09:54 AM
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SirGustaf 'Sorry, but I can't help you. All the pics of that Rodriguez were purged from my iPhoto and Flickr libraries sometime in the past year.

Dean
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