This is meant to be a way of describing condition, not necessarily value, al though I can see a logical correlation from the top to bottom ending in P (P oor). REB isn't meant to be in the order of value. I think this is just a way of properly describing the item. In fact, an excellent b ike ridden by Eddy Merckx would likely be worth more than a NOS team bike me ant for him, but never ridden. Likewise, a NOS Bianchi from 1951 might be worth a bunch, but a very well worn Coppi ridden Bianchi in F condition might be worth a lot more than NOS. Even a rebuilt or repainted Coppi bike might be worth more than NOS. How many of us would fault a collector who found a Coppi ridden bike with many parts replaced over the ye ars, with proper provenance, who then rebuilt it with correct parts. So, it depends.
The point being that repainted or rebuilt isn't the same as original. It is just that, a repaint or rebuild. Mike Schmidt throws a curve at this when he mentions a NOS 1972 Montelatici that had ne ver been painted. Then, when it is painted in 2000s, is it NEW or NOS or some other category. To me, it would be described precisely as Mike described it--NOS frame, originally unpainted, but painted anew in the U.S. in the 2000s. Agreement on terminology isn't always necessary as long as coompleteness of the description is made. Lou Deeter, Orlando FL U SA
-----Original Message----- From: Donald Gillies <gillies@cs.ubc.ca> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Cc: LouDeeter@aol.com Sent: Mon, 4 Jun 2007 2:30 pm Subject: Re: [CR]When is a restoration not a restoration?
Lou Deeter's post brings up a very interesting point. A restoration
according to Lou's post) is classified as "REB: Rebuilt/repainted".
f no modifications are made to the frame and the restoration is done
n the spirit of "as close to the original finish, minus blems", then
here does value now fall on Lou's list ??
> NIP: New in original packaging.
NOS: New, unused, old stock.
NEW: New, unused, recent production.
EX: Excellent, virtually unused or unblemished.
VG: Very Good, minor wear or blemishes.
G: Good, moderate wear or blemishes.
F: Fair, significant wear or blemishes.
P: Poor, incomplete, non-functional or very blemished.
REB: Rebuilt/repainted.
I think it depends on the bicycle brand and restorer. For a MASI
ainted by a MASI painter, my impression is that the value might be
omewhere between EX and NOS.
For other bikes (like a Raleigh) painted by a master painter, with
ood decals, value might be higher than NIP (perhaps this is wishful
hinking on my part...)
For other items, such as a Schwinn Paramount painted by repaints-r-us,
aybe the value falls to somewhere between G, F, and P...
Interesting to contemplate.
- Don Gillies
an Diego, CA