[CR]What was your best deal ever? Now my top 10! KINDA LONG

(Example: History:Norris Lockley)

Date: Fri, 04 Nov 2005 10:23:29 -0800
From: "Matthew Gorski" <bikenut@verizon.net>
In-reply-to: <20051103.073823.22582.44957@webmail38.lax.untd.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR]What was your best deal ever? Now my top 10! KINDA LONG

Ok-Ok...here are a few of my 'Bluebirds'... <<Parts>>

Simplex Juy Record 60 derailleur for $12 and a month later another one different shop for $20 both NOS. Sold each on ebay eons ago at the then staggering prices of about $1380 each.

JB, Brian Baylis and I were cutting up and cruising the San Diego Velodrome swap-Brian was looking at some sunglasses-I see a Brooks saddle sticking out of a small box. I start pulling it open and the seller say it's just old road junk. I stop in my tracks seeing Open C shifters and say...OK how much for the 'Road junk' ....the seller says $10 and I reach into my pocket unrushed and pay. Brian whips out $10 and says to me he needs the saddle-who am I to say no. So I have $0 in this box and here was what it was... all EARLY 50's
>Magistroni cranks with Sheffield pedals (now on my 50's Masi)
>1st .5 Generation Campy Headset...worth $300-$500(now on my 50's Masi)
>Ft/rear GS derailleurs with open C shifters-sold on ebay for $660
>Early Universal brakes and levers (now on my 50's Masi) <<for the Masi I paid $8 for Campy 3pc hubs on Fiamme rims at an LB swap>>

A really worn/dirty Simplex LJ 23 & Juy Record 60...for the price of a soda. I cleaned them up and they were still no better than old/tired/beat users. I put them on ebay a year later and they went over $650

At the Long Beach Motorcycle and Bicycle swap I paid about $165 for two large rifle boxes FILLED with old bits...Gobs of 60' Campy cranks, hubs, derailleurs, Brooks saddles, Universal brakes, Regina clusters, 3 0r 4 inches in the bottom each of Campy and other small parts. There were Mafac Tiger Brakes, Simplex derailleurs of all types, Campy Open C shifters and skewers, Just tons of old road stuff. The seller had a shop in HB and had specialized in Balloon tyre stuff. I stopped counting after I had sold off 10X the buying price.

I bought a carton of Stronglight P-3 headsets WAY back in the day for $20 ...to my joy or should that be juy ;^) they went for between $180 and $225 each on RBM and then ebay!

Over a summer long ago I bought 50+ Sugino Mighty Comp and Aero Tour road Cranksets complete in the box all NOS and perfect. It was in 3 installments that worked out to about $22.50 each... There were bought by the Shop from another shop that had gone out of business. Sam's shop owner had a big boat that cost mega hundreds to fill the gas tank...whenever he was taking the boat out I showed up with the 'Franklins' ....usually the Friday he would fill the tanks. He would squirm but I got them all. I sold these on Rec. bicycles.marketplace back in the OLDEN days.... at an average of $75 each. These deals I happily showed my wife as examples of my 'self funding hobby'

Another San Diego Velodrome swap I bought a COMPLETE Regina box/kit for building freewheels...all nos...enough to make 30 or so freewheels plus some bunches of extra cogs. That was $35 ... I had to have JVdV carry it to a safe spot because I had a shoulder injury from a bicycle mishap!

<<Bikes>>

-A Rene Herse for $400 -A Super Record equipped Atala for $10 -An early 50 Raleigh ? bike w/Dunlop SS rims and head clip stem-all the cool stuff for the princely sum of $3.33 (had to buy 2 other POS to make3for$10)

I won't bore everyone with the scores of $100-$200 Full campy bikes I found. 12 years ago I didn't have discretionary $$$ so I had to self-fund my bike addiction. Now I have almost no discretionary time but $$$. I used to stop at EVERY shop and thrift store no matter what-I would hit 3-5 shops daily and go to every swap meet. I always figured out a way to get in early...but even still found lots of stuff later in the day passed over because it was at the bottom of the box/still in the car or truck of simply out of the ordinary that most bike guys didn't see for what it was. The glory days of great discoveries may be past but there are still deals to be had.

Matt Gorski
Belmont Shore, Ca