Art Design Studio Fine Art Tips / Creating Art in Small Studios. Yes it is a design studio located down town of our small mountain town

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. . .

I bought a couple of vintage English bikes-Raleigh Sprites recently and decided to restore them. My idea of restoration is merely cleaning them up thoroughly, adjust few parts such as brakes, gears, gear shifter, re-pack wheel bearings etc and if I have to, replace parts but I try to avoid it if I can. I try to find bikes that are complete with all the parts present. Last thing I need is rummage through Ebay or surf the internet for hours looking for an obscure vintage part that's missing from the bike. So far I have had pretty good luck of finding some nice clean vintage bikes that people were getting rid of at a bargain. My last two bikes are early seventies Raleigh Sprites I bought through Craigslist, one is coffee brown and the other in deep red. They are both same year and model and also same size-60cm frames with 27inch wheels. Both bikes are in great shape except the sellers neglected them and they were covered with dirt, dust and greasy grime. I brought them home and gave it a thorough cleaning and they look fantastic. The brown Raleigh came with the gears completely frozen but it was an easy fix and I sold it a few weeks ago. I am also selling the red bike through my local Craigslist. I always forget to take before pictures to compare. . . hopefully next time. (see pics below)

This bike was a very nice Craigslist find. You can read about it in my earlier post.

I finally decided to sell my classic black, vintage '72 Raleigh Sport through the local Craigslist.  I'm a little sad to let this bike go but I do need some extra cash.  Within the last couple of years,  I've bought and sold six different vintage Raleighs and this bike happens to be the very first one I've bought and restored; so it does have some sentimental value.  The frame of this bike is not made in England but was made in Malaysia of all places and does have some surface rust on the paint; the chrome is not in so great condition. So for a bike I would like to keep as a collectable, I do prefer a "Made in England" and hopefully a much cleaner bike. I am always looking, so if you are selling let me know! This bike does have some nice parts; it comes with a vintage Brooks B55 saddle though not original to the bike; all the original Raleigh "R" nuts and bolts and even comes with the Sir Walter kick stand which is pretty rare.  I replaced the tires with some white-walls and it rides very nicely for a 40 year old bike. I listed the bike for $180 and a prospective buyer responded almost immediately. He came to see the bike the following day and within seconds of looking at the bike, handed me two hundred dollar bills and told me to keep the change.  I felt pretty good to sell the bike at a good price but it was definitely a bitter sweet moment. See pics below.