Doesn't strike me as strange at all. Shimano 600 components, as functional as they are, are simply lacking in any sort of panache and have relatively little value compared to SR or C-Record parts as can be seen by the prices they fetch as separate pieces. The top of the line Campagnolo stuff is "right" on a high-end Italian frame whereas the 600 stuff looks more at home on a nice mass produced Japanese or Taiwanese mid-level road bike. If on the street I see a lugged steel frame and notice it is built up with Shimano 600, I'll probably never give it a second look whereas a bike equipped with top-line Campagnolo parts will probably have me walking across the street to see what it is and have a closer look. Dura-Ace stuff falls somewhere between, but I guess I just figure that nothing truly high-end was ever likely to have come originally equipped with a 600 gruppo so the frame it's mounted on was probably somewhere down the maker's range- rightly or wrongly. How many pro races were won on 600 equipped bikes? No pedigree.
Kurt Sperry Bellingham, Washington USA
2009/2/17 Steven Maasland <themaaslands@comcast.net>:
> I outed a few auctions that I have running for 3 different De Rosa bikes
> on the 15th of February.
>
> I think that what is happening with these auctions is the perfect of
> example of how the strange mindset of most "collectors" works.
>
> All three bikes that I am selling have very similar frames that are
> assuredly made by De Rosa at about the same time (my guess is that they
> were built within 4-6 years of one another). All were built in a time
> period when De Rosa was neither at the top nor the bottom of his game.
> They are all "standard" De Rosa frames without any major distinguishing
> features (apart from one frame that has the sought after diamond
> chainstays).
>
> The strangeness comes out when you look at the number of bookmarks, the
> bidding and the questions received. The 54.5 cm frame has in fact
> received the most views and has the paint that is in the best shape of
> the three. It has a ratio of views to bookmarks of 1:14. The 57.5 cm and
> the 56.5 bikes with slightly lesser paintjobs have a ratio of views to
> bookmarks of 1:11. So this would seem to indicate that there is
> something "wrong" or "lesser" with this one particular auction. I have
> excluded size and paint as these are clearly visible before you even
> enter the auction. So what is the "sin" of the 54.5 cm frame? It is
> fitted with a Shimano 600 groupset! This is further reinforced by the
> questions received. I have now received 4 questions relating to this one
> bike asking whether I would be willing to ship the frame/fork alone,
> without components to save on shipping. None of these people are even
> asking for a rebate for the Shimano parts that would be removed. The
> moral to be learned is therefore that if you have shimano components on
> a De Rosa, it is better to strip them off and sell as a frame alone
> rather than try and sell as a complete bike. Whereas as a buyer, watch
> out for sought after frames with "lesser" groupsets and you can possible
> walk away with a great functional bike for less than the price of the
> frame alone. BTW, the present price of the whole bike is still below
> what any bare De Rosa frame of the same vintage has sold for in months.
>
> Steven Maasland
> Moorestown, NJ
> USA