There have been some pretty high prices recently, but it's nothing a good w orldwide recession won't correct, so not to worry. Of course some of us who have been hoarding bikes and parts for a decade or more may be happy to see the increase in prices. We may need them to fund our retirements no w that our 401K's have lost half their value.
Every time prices shoot up some say that classic lightweights are finally s elling for what they should be worth compared to other collectibles, but th e prices always seem to drop again. Besides, the high prices are very selective, with certain parts commanding amazing prices, while others of th e same level of quality from the same era are still pretty cheap. If you r objective is to actually ride classic bikes, and you are happy with somet hing functional and period correct rather than absolutely original, then it 's still possible to equip a bike for a modest price. Also, some astrono mical prices are only for NOS examples, while lightly used ones sell at a f raction of the price. I've never understood the attraction of NOS bits, as once you mount and use them they are no longer NOS. I do buy NOS part s, but only when they are reasonably priced as a surprising number still ar e. Finally the same price can vary wildly in price from one day to the next, especially on eBay. There was some discussion a couple of weeks a go about a clean Schwinn Super Sport, a model one used to have trouble givi ng away, selling for I think something close to $500. Yet a few days aft er that, I bougt an equally clean Schwinn World Voyageur, a more expensive model at the time, and much more rare, as it was made only one year, for ab out half the price that Super Sport fetched. Go figure.
There are a very few parts that have been talked up so much and are so well known to collectors that it is very rare for a eBay auction to sneak by ev eryone and sell at a bargain. The Campy no-name brakes are one of those, as is the Herse crankset that was discussed recently. I simply don't bu y these parts, as there are always perfectly acceptable alternatives, at le ast for my purposes. Despite sitting on a pretty good hoard of bikes and parts, I, like you, would prefer that classic lightweights remain a bargai n, to allow almost anyone with the interest to participate, as opposed to s ay classic sports cars, where many models are too expensive for any but t he wealthy.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Big Spring, Texas, USA
From: john strizek <lyonstrings@yahoo.com> Subject: [CR]no name brakes To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Thursday, October 16, 2008, 11:42 AM
I recently saw on Ebay a set of no name campagnolo brake calipers. The buy
it now was over $1200 and they were bid up to around $600. Are Campagnolo n
on-engraved brakes that rare?
I am dismayed by the recent increases in vintage parts. Is it speculation o
r a market gone wild or what. I occassionally need some parts for a project
and it scares me. It is almost like when Peter rich of Velo-Sport (in Berk
eley, California USA) found it cheaper to import whole bikes in the seventi
es and part them out instead of buying the parts in bulk. The reason then w
as different; the import duty on parts made the reason for importing the en
tire bicycles more economical. the result was the same for parts buying, hi
gher costs.
I am all for a free market, I am concerned by the rapid rise in the last ye
ar and a half.
Does anyone else share my concern as users of vintage parts, or am I just b
eing an alarmist?
John Strizek Sacramento California USA