Since November of last year (2011), I took up a new hobby of buying vintage bikes, restoring them and reselling them for a small profit. Being a novice bike restorer, I still have a lot to learn but it’s been a fun journey so far; I get to practice my negotiation skills, get to ride some cool vintage bikes, and learn a thing or two about fixing bikes along the way.
Here’s my latest find: I recently bought two used ‘70s French road bikes-Peugeot-U08 and Bertin-C31 through my local Craigslist seller. The seller was the original owner of the bikes, nice old guy, who told me that he and his wife used to ride together but for the past 20 years or so, these bikes have been sitting in his garage. Both bikes came with a pair of nice vintage pumps with braze-on attachment on the frames. They seemed very clean for its age, hardly any scratches on the paint.
First time owning Peugeot and Bertin. Most of the bikes I’ve bought in the past have mainly been Raleighs, Schwinns, and a few other types of vintage American bikes. And this is the first time that I actually bought “racing”road bikes; I always preferred the vintage city bikes with upright handlebars and for one reason or another stayed away from racing types of road bikes with the “ram-horn” handlebars.
I wasn’t able to test ride them before the purchase because both bike’s tires were flat. I suppose it would’ve been helpful to take a bike pump along. But once I brought them home, I pumped the tires and it inflated just fine. Typically, the tires on an older bike that have been sitting around for many years will be deflated but nine time out of ten it inflates without any problem as long as the tires and the tubes are in good shape.
Much like shopping for anything else; I researched the bikes as much as I can. But more than anything else, I try to find out what’s a fair value for the bike and how much I would be able to turn around and sell it for. adhuntr.com is one of several sites that I use. This particular site gathers entire Craisglist ads nationwide under a single search and is a great way to determine a value for an item by comparing different sellers around the US who have listed the same or comparable items on their own local Craigslist.
Prices certainly vary from places to places; but primarily it’s the condition and the components on the bike that really dictate the cost. The costs can also depend on the seller’s knowledge or motivation. A well informed seller who knows the value of a particular bike and is not too motivated to sell would likely to list at the top of its price range while another seller, motivated to sell quickly will list much lower.
So far, the bikes have gotten a good cleaning and it looks great! Only thing I really need to do is to replace all the rear derailleur pulleys on both bikes. They were old and brittle and were just breaking off when I cleaned them. I bought 2 pairs of Shimano pulleys from an Ebay seller that looked almost identical to the Simplex Pretige pulleys I took off the Peugeot and the Bertin. I’ve learned that the Simplex Pretige is kind of a lower-end component and is not that durable. While wating for the parts to be delivered, I’m just hoping that the Shimano pulleys would fit. . .
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