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Your oldest bike bought from original owner

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Your oldest bike bought from original owner

Old 06-06-18, 04:42 PM
  #1  
dddd
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Your oldest bike bought from original owner

I thought I would take a stab at coming up with a clever new topic here on C&V. Probably been done before, who knows?

A couple of recent (one today) Schwinn EF purchases brought on the idea for this thread, first a couple of months ago I found and bought a 1970 Varsity from the original owner, and I remember joking with the seller and his wife that this was the oldest bike I had bought from a still-living original owner. The bike was the blue color and obviously very well cared for, kept hanging in the garage of a long-time homeowner.

Today I got a call in response to an email inquiry (prompted by a tip-off from a fellow bike club member) whose octogenarian neighbor was looking for a new owner for his bought-new 1960 coppertone Continental in my preferred 23" size.

I had waited a few days since I sent him an email and today got the call. No mention of price but very local so I was on my way.
The bike appeared all-original but for apparently the rear tire and rear derailer, and I was able to test-ride it on the spot. A lengthy conversation over his laptop computer brought the brief negotiation to the two-and-a half figure that we both immediately agreed on.

This was a bit of a "grail" find for me, as I consider myself a hard-riding enthusiast of the EF models. And this one was not only of my birth year, but also from a shop just three miles from my birthplace. It wasn't going to be easy to find the oldest road EF model in good shape and in my size, but after many years of hoping, finally here it was.

As I so often forget to do, this time I did actually take a photo before starting the rebuilding process. I will be looking for the appropriate Tour de France rear derailer for it as well as new coppertone bar tape as I begin cleaning 'er up.

I just wanted to share my excitement and see what others have bought from older original owners, and would appreciate hearing from anyone perhaps having a suitable spare 5-speed TDF derailer for sale.




A previous Schwinn find of this late-1962 Continental (having a few 1963 model features) was a close shot, and was entirely original as found at Goodwill, but with it's chromed fork somehow was never quite all that I was looking for in an early EF schwinn road bike. Both bikes have handlebars and gearing that don't suit me well, but I'll set up an alternate handlebar assembly that I can swap in for serious riding. And a Triple crank spider from a Sierra model is one way that I might get lower gearing on board without ruining the look.

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Old 06-06-18, 04:49 PM
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My 1979 Raleigh Competition GS was purchased from the original owner. A 1985 Pinarello Treviso as well.

Otherwise I cannot remember.
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Old 06-06-18, 04:55 PM
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1959 Raleigh Sports. I haven't taken pictures. His parents bought it for him for his first "real bike." Still has the original dyno H/L and T/L. Tonnage.

1985 Raleigh Competition.
$100 all original, and he included a spare tire and tube.
I have done a bit of modifying.
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Old 06-06-18, 05:04 PM
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I've posted this before, but my neighbor was the original owner of this 1972 Puch Bergmeister, which he put on his bulk pickup pile. It now has upright porteur bars and is my main daily commuter, but I don't yet have a flattering picture of it with upright bars.

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Old 06-06-18, 05:24 PM
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My 68 Raleigh Sprite was purchased from the original owner's daughter after he passed away.
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Old 06-06-18, 06:28 PM
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I'm on a different continent, which I'll consider a valid excuse for purchasing my 1951 New Hudson Silver Arrow from a dealer on Ebay, who had purchased it from the original owner and cleaned it up to sell. The warranty card was included, and also the odometer the owner reportedly put on when the bike was new (with less than 800 miles).

-Gregory



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Old 06-06-18, 06:48 PM
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The "original owner" thing never resonated with me. One owner can **** the bike all to hell, leave it outside in the rain or stick it in the rafters and not touch it for 50 years. 30 owners can take care of a bike, leave it out in the rain or stick it in the rafters for years at a time...

The receipt is a nice piece when you get that... but I really don't care about it coming from an original owner.
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Old 06-06-18, 09:06 PM
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Late 70s/early 80s Nishiki International.



Owner told me he had the frame customized by Ron Boi (RRB) to take 26" wheels. Also added cantalever brakes and the shifters. Apparently he had traveled the world with this bike. Phil hubs and Brooks saddle too.

purchased at a garage sale a block from my house. Just happened to be "walking by"...

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Old 06-06-18, 09:48 PM
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Great timing, as I just got done riding it, taking some updated pics of it and posting them to the build thread here: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ro-strada.html

The photo is from today; I'm only the second owner, tho now the only original items are the frame/fork:



DD
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Old 06-06-18, 10:12 PM
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I have a 1947 Hetchins Super Special, not bought, but from the original owner via his son - a friend of mine. My next oldest is my 1951 Hobbs of Barbican bought new by my Wife's Dad. Next is my 1964 Allin Belgique (never seen another), next is my 1980 Allin Stan Butler Special (from very famous CTC member). I also have a few of my own (Roberts & SBDU) bought new, that I've now had for over 30 years - didn't realise I was that old !

John.
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Old 06-07-18, 03:51 AM
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1971 Hetchins Italia

Not purchased from the original owner but from the shop that knew her. I'm the second owner.

The bike was custom built by Hetchins in 1971 for a local NorCal woman who was visiting the UK. Her name was hand painted on the top tube in Olde English script. The lugs and the "Hetchins lace" on the forks and seat stays are fancier than on the standard Italia model. It's still all original except for the tires and bar tape. It has a Hetchins H2O bottle and Hetchins branded toe straps.

Alf Hetchins used all steel Suntour GT derailleurs because the 2.1 pound Campy Gran Turismo derailleurs shifted so poorly. In 1971 there were only a few other long arm derailleurs available.









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Old 06-07-18, 04:43 AM
  #12  
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I was given 2 old Raleigh Bikes, one was a 1953 and the other was a 1954. These were bikes owned since new by the gifter and his brother.
You could see where they had received new pocket knives because they had carved into the otherwise beautiful Brooks seats.
On close inspection I noticed that on both of these bikes, someone had over tightened the kickstand to the degree that the tubes were crushed!
Must have received a new wrench at some point, too.
They were passed on to a friend who bleeds Raleigh.
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Old 06-07-18, 06:47 AM
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Raleigh Super Course

1981 Schwinn Super Sport
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Old 06-07-18, 06:50 AM
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A pair of '63-64 Fiorellis, that were purchased from a local shop by two brothers.



A '72 P15-9 that I got with the original purchase receipt, that regrettably has since been sold...

...a '76 Sentinel Whisper, complete with the original "billboard" front & rear reflectors, owner's manual and purchase receipt...

...and an '87 Specialized Sirrus, purchased from the original owner who proudly rode it in High School.


I've also got one of those Coppertone '60 Continentals, although I'm the third owner for this one. I wish my Conti was the larger size like yours! Good luck in your quest to find that original RD. From what I've read they were almost always swapped out for one that actually worked properly, like the Paramount above that originally came with a Campy Gran Turismo.
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Old 06-07-18, 06:53 AM
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Cool bikes in this thread.

I have two original owner purchases - ‘86 De Rosa Professional and ‘89 Bianchi Giro. I enjoy them more for meeting the owners and knowing the stories of the bikes. In the case of the De Rosa, the owner later contacted me and passed them to me when he found the brochure and magazine that inspired him to get the bike.
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Old 06-07-18, 06:55 AM
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1974 Paramount P10-9 and I paid him what he paid when it was new when I bought it in 1999. Roger

1974 p10-9
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Old 06-07-18, 07:18 AM
  #17  
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My 1977 Motobecane Grand Record came from the original owner, he provided the sales receipt when I picked up the bike. My 1985ish De Rosa and 1988 Eddy Merckx also came from the original owners.








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Old 06-07-18, 07:36 AM
  #18  
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An early 1940s, war grade Hercules, obtained from the wife of the original owner, shortly after he passed away in the mid-1960s.
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Old 06-07-18, 08:04 AM
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Originally Posted by T-Mar
An early 1940s, war grade Hercules, obtained from the wife of the original owner, shortly after he passed away in the mid-1960s.
Allright Tom; time to conform to yer signature!
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Old 06-07-18, 08:28 AM
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Originally Posted by The Golden Boy
The "original owner" thing never resonated with me. One owner can **** the bike all to hell, leave it outside in the rain or stick it in the rafters and not touch it for 50 years. 30 owners can take care of a bike, leave it out in the rain or stick it in the rafters for years at a time...

The receipt is a nice piece when you get that... but I really don't care about it coming from an original owner.
I'm surprised to hear that from you. Original owner usually means a good story comes with it...
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Old 06-07-18, 08:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Hudson308
Allright Tom; time to conform to yer signature!
Sorry, no pics, as this was sold due to space limitations and the ad pics were lost in a hard drive crash. However, I assure you, they were drive side! Regardless, shortly after receiving it, I repainted it and converted it to a English racer, so it was far from OEM. Ah, the follies of youth!
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Old 06-07-18, 09:12 AM
  #22  
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I got this 1987 Trek Antelope tank from the original owner for $20 while I was estimating damages to their Lexus suv. Had the original Trek tires still on it.



This 84 Gitane Sprint was purchased from a local shop where the original owner had consigned it because his wife told him he was too old to ride:



2 weeks later I picked up this 1984 Gitane Tour de France from the owner of Classic Cycles on Bainbridge Island, WA. My impression from him was he was the original owner of the bike. Photo was taken 20 minutes after picking it up - all original except tires



Bought this 1996 Klein Pulse Comp from the original owner. Eventually sold to Drillium Dude



Another LBS consignment from the original owner that my dad picked up in the early 80's in Spokane WA



Finally, I received this 1989 Spectrum titanium from my dad. He ordered it after a severe crash on his Vitus 979 in 1989 while on a century ride. I emailed Tom Kellogg a few years ago some photos and he confirmed when it was shipped and to which shop (Lewiston ID). He also loved hearing the bike probably has a good 20,000 miles on it or more. Started out as downtube Campagnolo shifters and eventually moved to 8 spd Campagnolo brifters.



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Old 06-07-18, 09:17 AM
  #23  
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I purchased my ~80 Ron Cooper from its original owner, my next door neighbor, in February 2017. He passed away a few months later from a nasty cancer. His name was CAPT Mike Stenger. Mike was a US Coast Guard fixed and rotary wing aviator who purchased the Cooper new from Tony Tom at A Bicycle Odyssey in Sausalito, CA.

CAPT Stenger was enamored with Porsche Guards Red and gave this Cooper the CycleArt repaint you see in the photo. While Mike was still living, I rode his Cooper in the 2017 Eroica California. I was anxious to tell him about my experience with the ride and his bike when I returned. However, I came home to find his health was failing quickly. Our conversation was appropriately brief, but it did muster a smile from him.

I ride this bike often and think of him every time.


IMG_2623 by Dean Reed, on Flickr

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Old 06-07-18, 09:42 AM
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Early 70s Sekine SHS 271

Early 70s Sekine SHS 271. The owner rode it a few times and then put it under a tarp in a garage for 40 plus years. I bought it last year. I have as much money sunk into the tires, tubes, and rim strips as I do for the rest of the bike, : ). The bike is pretty much all original other than the consumables and saddle. All the bearing surfaces are in excellent shape which is a nice plus in an old bike. I've been riding the bike a lot as a lock up bike. It needs a rack but there is a lot to be said for the simplicity of this bike. It reminds me of the bike I rode in high school which also had turkey levers and rat trap pedals.
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Old 06-07-18, 11:21 AM
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Not bought but given to me by the daughter of the original owner - posted threads about this before - 1952 PAFF...

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