I was somewhat tempted myself recently.
I acquired a 1958 Rochet touring bike that had a lot of unusually juicy bits, including:
*Campagnolo huge-flange 3-piece hubset, the rear being a fixed-free. These had skewers that were different from any others I've seen, differing in the shape of the "D" ring on the acorn nut from most early Campag skewers.
*Very nice Brooks B17 with the funny shaped cutouts. The saddle is nicely broken in, but not broken down nor cracked.
*Simplex suicide shifter.
*Very unusual early model Huret rear derailer, one I'd never seen before.
*All metal Mafac Guidonnet brake levers.
(Photos at: http://sheldonbrown.org/
I believe all of these parts had very serious eBay potential, as did the frameset, which has matching racks and aluminum fenders, chromed Nervex lugs, generally very nice.
I very seriously lusted after the hubs myself to ride, but they were built up into original Mavic Criterium 700c clincher rims, which were still as true as the day they were built.
Anyway, I just couldn't bring myself to do it in this case. The bike appeared to be completely original, down to the Dunlop metal caps on the presta-valves. The only thing that didn't appear original was the crumbly Grab-On foam that was falling of the handlebars.
I wound up selling it complete on eBay to a Japanese fellow who says it fits him (doesn't fit me, alas.)
Then again, sometimes it goes the other way. A year ago at Larz Anderson I picked up a really beat PX-10, bad paint, missing lots of parts, droopy AVA bars, etc...but it had the original wheelset, in undamaged condition. In this instance I had no compunction selling off the wheelset for more than I paid for the whole thing.
Sheldon "Circumstances Alter Cases" Brown
Newtonville, Massachusetts
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| Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned. |
| --Mark Twain |
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Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772, 617-244-1040, FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
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