At 5/8/2006 03:52 PM -0400, Tom Sanders wrote:
>Take my latest venture...I bought a '74 Chris Kvale frame for $250 ( A
>number of folks have remarked that I practically stole it) .
Tom,
Maybe not stealing, but I'd certainly like to get that lucky some day.
> On that frame
>I intend to hang $500 worth of wheels and components. Saddle, bars, stem,
>tires, bar wrap, and similar accessories will add a few hundred more.
>This is after a $250-$350 paint job and $45 worth of new decals
So for $550-$650 you'll have a restored Kvale frame. How much would
a new one cost? Now I don't know what his work looked like in '74,
but the most depressing thing about building my 1st frame in '79 was
having a '76 Kvale hanging in my workshop. Novices should not be
comparing their work to the masters.
> (Bet you folks can tell I am not sending the bike to the
> California refinishers by that price, huh?).
Will you be having Chris do the paint? If he ever gets the
recognition I think he deserves, that could affect the value of the bike.
> When done I will have a minty but not original bike that is probably worth
>at least a couple of hundred less than I have paid for it..
Depends on your definition of "Worth". Going by market value alone, you may be right. But is there any 2006 bike you could buy for $1200 that would be as satisfying to own?
Mark Stonich;
Minneapolis Minnesota
http://mnhpva.org
http://bikesmithdesign.com