My dad has asked me to sell a bicycle from the 40s and I have no idea how or where to do that to get the money he wants for it. I don't really want to box and ship it and if I go local, it'll be a lot of tire kickers and offers of $20. I'm guessing there a GRB forum out there where I'll have to join, build a rep, and eventually sell it. Bikes aren't my jam. Neither are Hess truck and I've been asked to sell a pile of those too. Here's the bike:
I’ve seen a few old bicycles offered at Mecum auctions. Maybe that’s an option?
Vintage, unrestored, good condition road bikes can bring some money. Vintage cruiser bicycles generally do not, in my experience. That bike will require re-chroming which is very expensive. We have a guy here locally who restores them for people; the sense I get is that it's almost always a memory lane keepsake for the owners or their family members. He does a beautiful job, they spend a grand or two, and the bikes go on display or into the garage and are never ridden.
I have seen a number of restaurants who display them as part of the decorations; there has to be somebody buying them for that sort of purpose I suppose?
Kendall Frederick said:Vintage, unrestored, good condition road bikes can bring some money. Vintage cruiser bicycles generally do not, in my experience. That bike will require re-chroming which is very expensive. We have a guy here locally who restores them for people; the sense I get is that it's almost always a memory lane keepsake for the owners or their family members. He does a beautiful job, they spend a grand or two, and the bikes go on display or into the garage and are never ridden.
I have seen a number of restaurants who display them as part of the decorations; there has to be somebody buying them for that sort of purpose I suppose?
Really? My experience is old road bikes are worth berkeley all with a few exceptions.
In reply to 93EXCivic :
That's what I was thinking. He saw a similar one on eBay for $800 and said he'd take $500. I'm not sure it's even worth the $20 I'd get offered locally. Same goes for the Hess trucks - not worth the time and effort.
93EXCivic said:Really? My experience is old road bikes are worth berkeley all with a few exceptions.
To expand on that, vintage road bikes that were high end models or from desirable brands. Think vintage Italian frames, a few high end American labels (Paramount, custom frame builders), and some Japanese higher end and keirin stuff. You can pick up nice mass market steel frames from the 70s for $50 all day. I used to buy them, get the frames powder coated, put some semi modern parts on them, and have a super nice riding, beautiful bike for a few hundred dollars. Here's a Schwinn I originally bought for $5:
80’s to early 00’s bmx, some road bikes and rarer mountains bikes have the momentum in the market right now.
What make is the bike? That may make some difference in value. Being a girl's bike may affect value as well. I can't tell from the photo whether the wheels and chainwheel are rusty only, or if there's just some dirt and grunge on them. I'd spend some time cleaning them up with whatever cleaning products are required (soap and water, degreaser, rust remover) and I'll bet they would look a lot better. Same with the frame and fenders, clean them and then get out the rubbing compound.
Where is your dad located? Perhaps someone here is nearby who would be able to assist.
In reply to stuart in mn :
It says Shelby Flyer on the front of it. The bike is in Lewisburg, WV which is a small, rural farm town in the southeast part of the state. There is no bike scene there or where I live two hours away. We had a good friend on the next farm over from ours. He was born and raised there and this was his sister's bike. She bought it new and left it in the barn when she married off. He inherited the homeplace and when he died about 15 years ago, dad bought his farm. So the bike has been sitting most of it's life in a barn. Dad hosed it off and that's about as much work that will be put into it. All chrome appears to be affected by rust. Has Goodyear tires and they surprising took air.
Fueled by Caffeine said:80’s to early 00’s bmx, some road bikes and rarer mountains bikes have the momentum in the market right now.
Old school BMX bikes are hot for a reason: It‘s what we had or wanted as a kid.
Sorta related: Last night, I dreamed that I had lunch with Eddie Fiola. (Just remembered that.)
There might be some hipsters in Richmond/Ashville/Raleigh/DC but yeah Lewisburg is small time.
Might catch some folks who are mountain bikers and over there for one of the ski resorts coming and going who'd pick it up.
Here are a couple comps that show up from local search
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2925564787617631/ $300
https://www.facebook.com/share/1A7owWKyXP/ $600
https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ys5yjzda4/ $500
https://www.facebook.com/share/1BZj8kZP1M/ $100
https://www.facebook.com/share/17SxFiP4ME/ $75
One in Cali that looks very close https://www.facebook.com/share/14NibvUEnWG/
Good job Apis. More pics for the rest of us. I didn't notice the button on the left side of the tank, is that the light or a horn?
When I drove for Napa on Saturdays (just for employee discount) there were 3 bicycles near the road one day. I knocked on the door and asked the lady if they were for sale. "Nope, we're moving to Florida, they're free".
One was a blue fat tired bike from the 50s. the other two were Royce 3 speeds. Similar to the picture below, but they had a hand punched into the front sprocket. They ride really nice!
In reply to 914Driver :
Dad told me what was in that tank, but I don't recall. I'd guess battery storage for the headlight because I don't see a generator. The light has a little switch on the side. That forum FbC suggested seems to be the hot ticket for this stuff.
I gotta say I’m impressed with how many responses you’ve gotten already!
Based on similar bikes I see sell (or fail to sell) at local estate auctions I would estimate the value between $0-20.
Is it 24 inch or 26 inch rims / tires ?
Being a girls bike really lowers the value ,
I am going to say around here its a $50 bike if 26 inch and it would get new tubes and a nice seat and be ridden down on the strand bike path as is ......
At least around here (Wisconsin) it's a big fad to park an old bike in the yard as decoration. A few years ago, it was old wheelbarrows, now it's old bicycles. The last time I was at the Iola Car Show, there were lots of them for sale, asking stupid big money.
My youth bike was a Columbia with a tank and a headlight, the batteries went inside the tank. This one could well be the same, although I don't see any wiring from the tank to the headlight (and I assume that's a taillight and not just a reflector.) If not, then it's just decorative, a lot of bikes had tanks of various designs to imitate motorcycles.
Those rims are pretty crispy, but some Evaporust or similar could shine them up a bit. The name badge on the headstock is cool. I always liked those bikes with the extra stays on the front fork, they weren't as cool as the ones with an actual springer fork but they were still neat.
That button on the tank could be a horn. There would have to be a way to open the tank to put a battery in there.
Unfortunately women’s cruisers just don’t have much value. If someone offers $100 for it take it, but $50 is probably more likely.
Unfortunately there is a lot of things going against it:
The light, fenders, and racks are kinda cool and would swap to similar era bikes for someone looking to put something together, but thats the most likely use case.
I would offer it at the bare minimum you would take for the time-waste (I dont list stuff under $50, if i cant sell it for that I dumpster it or give it away) and if it doesnt go in a few weeks, put it out for the scrappers.
In reply to Kendall Frederick :
I used to have a set of Cannondale panniers that looked just like yours, but yours have leather lash points and the label doesn't look like Cannondale (I can't read it). Anyway, that bike looks terrific.
You can put it on FB but be prepared for no responses or offers under $20 for a few months. That bike is of no value, the cost to make it rideable or look better is more than you will get for it. Get your dad a FB account and set up an ad in his name. He may enjoy the social media thing, it is very popular among us senior citizens.
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