I'm doing a little calculation for inflation. What did Record LF hubs sell for 30 years ago? 25 bucks maybe? Ergal rims? 40 bucks a pair, 50 maybe? Stainless spokes? maybe 10 bucks for the set? 15 tops? Labor to build both wheels... 20-30 bucks?
total: $150 or so for brand new wheels in 1975...now, lemme just go to the handy-dandy inflation calculator... and I get $518. Rather shocking actually, considering that one can buy NOS stuff and build the wheels for the original figure of $150 or so, which is worth far less now than it was in 1975, as the calculator indicates.
LF record hubs with ergals and stainless spokes were THE wheel to have in 1975, you couldn't really do any better than that for a racing wheel at that time, as I recall. Adjusting for inflation they still cost less than half what a top racing wheel of today costs..
This inflation calculation says a lot of things, that's for sure, but one thing it proves for certain: used racing wheels within the CR time-line--in good condition--may be about the best bargain out there today, of all the used bike goodies one can buy. Run the calculation the other way: $150 in today's money is worth.....drum-roll...$43.43 in 1975's money. No way you could buy a set of good racing wheels for that money in 1975.
Suddenly, buying NOS parts and building some nice wheels doesn't look nearly so eccentric.
And, just for giggles, if you were to pay, say $2300 for a 1973 Colnago Pantografata in perfect condition (we will not discuss just WHO has done that in the last couple of years... ;> )...you did pretty well, because that's $564.93 in 1975 dollars. Which is, as I recall, less than the bike sold for new.
Strikes me the inflation calculator is an excellent tool in convincing your SO that you just got another great deal...$5K for that Bianchi Paris-Roubaix? It was a bargain! In 1951 dollars, that's $706.52 (which suggests that, at $5K today, a Paris-Roubaix has accreted some real collector value...because I bet they sold for about $250 in 1951...can someone confirm what a top Bianchi road bike sold for then?)
http://www.westegg.com/
Charles "If only I'd invested all that money I spent on bikes and high-end audio in MicroSoft, I'd be rich---but, I did have fun" Andrews SoCal