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Classic and Vintage Bicycles: Whats it Worth? Appraisals. Use this subforum for all requests as to "How much is this vintage bike worth?"Do NOT try to sell it in here, use the Marketplaces.

1970 Atala Super Professional

Old 05-21-22, 04:10 PM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by Yune_Garage
It’s safe to assume that the local guy that restores vintage bikes knows its worth quite a bit more than $300. His offer hints at a higher selling price IMO since he’d probably have to make some profit if he ever sold it.
...I restore vintage bikes, myself. But mostly I do it to ride them. I had a good chuckle at this, because the way restored vintage road bikes are priced now, the idea I'd make a profit on any of them is pretty entertaining. I guess maybe there are some people doing this (buying up old road classics, to restore, repaint, resell. But they are mostly selling them online, at sites like this one and this one.

For an actual strip, repaint, and rebuild, I have at least a couple of weeks into a bike. Then there's the cost of paint, stickers, tyres, rebuilding the wheels, cables, bar tape, etc. Even if I bought it for $300, selling it to make money is out of the question, because the local CL usually tops out at around a thousand dollars here. If I was trying to do this to make money, I'd be very disappointed. I honestly think most of the local guys you meet who do restorations are in the same boat. Buying your project cheaper by a couple of hundred bucks only means you'll lose less if you finally decide to sell it, after riding it a while.

I find there's a lot of confusion about "restored" versus "original unrestored", and what a bicycle commands in the marketplace. I think it goes back to what was said about most local buyers not knowing all that much about what goes into it, and what's a really top end bike from the '70's or '80's, and those that might be a little bit lower in the hierarchy. It was a long time ago.
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Old 05-22-22, 08:08 AM
  #27  
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+10 to the above. While someone who restores bikes may recognize the value, they may also put a HIGHER value on the bike than others. You may actually get MORE from that restorer, than anyone else.

A lot of the bikes I buy have been for sale for weeks or even a month or more. Had I not come along, the bike may well have been donated.

Over the years, I have sold probably close to 100 bikes to just one single collector, lots of high end stuff. They get a great deal, and they appreciate the good stuff. Finding other local buyers can be difficult. I have no problem selling to someone who wants to restore, collect, ride, resell, or whatever. I do not consider one buyer to be more virtuous than another. And when selling a top of the line vintage bicycle, more than likely, it WILL go to a knowledgeable collector, who may know more than me. There is no way joe average rider is going to pay $500 for what they consider to be an old, obsolete, down tube shifter bike.

As far as making a lot of $$$ flipping stuff, as someone who resells a lot of stuff, and has been doing it for over 22 years now, I can only say my LOWEST margins are on bicycles. Books enjoy the BEST margins. Can take a while, but one book bought for $1 can sell for $50, $100, or even more. 50X to 100X is typical for vintage books. Meanwhile, doubling my money on a bicycle can be a lot more work, there are often surprises that reduce or eliminate the profit entirely. Then add the costs of bicycles: storage, tools, and supplies, and it's closer to break even. At least now, all the tools have been paid for.

If someone asked for my advice on what items to resell for a profit, I would discourage bikes and encourage books. In the bicycle arena, I have done better on vintage JERSEYS than I have done on vintage BICYCLES.

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Old 05-24-22, 04:13 PM
  #28  
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Sorry roadvulcan I don't mean to hijack your thread, but what is the seatpost size on your bike? I'm about to restore a almost identical Atala (red), and the 27.2 campy seatpost seems a bit tight in there. A few prts have been changed on my bike so it might not be original.
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Old 05-24-22, 05:06 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by jonny7
Sorry roadvulcan I don't mean to hijack your thread, but what is the seatpost size on your bike? I'm about to restore a almost identical Atala (red), and the 27.2 campy seatpost seems a bit tight in there. A few prts have been changed on my bike so it might not be original.
...sometimes, on the larger size frames, the builder might sub in an SL seat tube, instead of an SLX. It's risky trying to fit s post to one of these just by referencing the marque and model. And different frames got reamed to different final sizes in a lot of hand built operations.

If a 27.2 post fits in there now, but seems a little snug to you, there's a good chance that it's the correct post. If the snugness bothers you, try cleaning up the interior of the seat tube with some abrasive paper wrapped around a dowel, and the exterior of the post with a fine abrasive paper as well. The grease or anti-seize applied lightly to both surfaces, reinsert, and clean up the mess at the seat post insertion point.
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Old 05-29-22, 10:20 AM
  #30  
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Randyjawa, that is a beauty!

Last edited by roadvulcan; 05-29-22 at 10:33 AM. Reason: incorrect
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Old 05-29-22, 10:22 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by panzerwagon
Beautiful bike-- what is the frame size? Some frame sizes are more in demand than others.
I believe it is a 58.
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Old 05-29-22, 10:30 AM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by jonny7
sorry roadvulcan i don't mean to hijack your thread, but what is the seatpost size on your bike? I'm about to restore a almost identical atala (red), and the 27.2 campy seatpost seems a bit tight in there. A few prts have been changed on my bike so it might not be original.
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