Help pricing bikes please

[edthevanman]

Hi everyone

My 86 year old father has the following bikes in his shed:

Mercian King s/n 80278 Mens 10 speed
Tom Bromwich 10 speed ladies
Dawes Double Blue gents 12 speed
Carlton ladies 10 speed

They are all approx 25 years old will less than 50 miles on each bike.He bought them when he retired to go cycling then Mum has a stroke so never really used and stored in a shed since.

Does any one had any ideas what they are worth and where I could sell them on his behalf.
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks
Pam
Happy cycling to one and all

 

[ASC1951]

I'm afraid old bikes are worth pitifully little, Pam, unless you can find someone who is particularly looking for what you have.

You could put them on Ebay and receive generally insulting bids - even 25 year old bikes in excellent condition struggle to get past the £50 mark.

The Dawes and the Carlton are mass produced bikes, although at the better end of the quality range, but no-one is going to give you very much for them. Your local bike shop or local paper might be your best bet there.

The Mercian and Tom Bromwich are presumably hand made examples with better spec equipment, so have a look at this link to someone else selling a Tom Bromwich last June -

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/men/article2503637.ece

You could also put them on Classifieds in this forum. You would need to say what size they are and what equipment they have. The Mercian and Tom Bromwich should attract some interest.

 

[edthevanman]

Thank you
How do you measure the size? The trouble is Dad thinks they are worth more than £50 and it will be hard telling him?
Thank you again
pam

 

[ASC1951]

Pam, don't take the £50 as gospel - that's just my experience from browsing Ebay over the last three or four years. All I'm saying is that your Dad is likely to be very disappointed with what he might get for them: to him they will be virtually new bikes which he paid top whack for in 1980, to a buyer they are old fashioned and below modern spec even if they have no wear and tear. For example, when I bought my first bike as a schoolboy in the 1960s a top quality mass produced bike, a step or so up from the Dawes, cost about £35 new - I had a BSA at £20. Even if I had kept the BSA in a box unridden for 40 years I doubt if anyone would give me £20 for it now, not even in today's money.

I might be wrong. As I say, stick them in Classifieds here for a week or so and see what happens, or what comments others have. Personally I would give them away to an enthusiastic friend or relation rather sell them for peanuts to some anonymous bargain hunter.

As to sizing, the simple measure is from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the crossbar, measured up the seat tube. See, for instance -

http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html

Despite imperial measures, most of us express this in centimetres these days. For instance, I'm a dwarfish 5' 5" tall and ride a 52cm frame. How tall was your Dad when he bought them?

 

[mlg_gsb]

Retro Value

Hi,

I think you'd get more than £50 if you stuck them on ebay and wrote the right sales pitch because these old bikes have one thing going for them...

Retro Value !!

The kids (students, generally art or creative studies) are loving bikes from 70's and 80's and will pay a little extra to get a bike which is unique. They'll do anything not to be in with the crowd. For some, a bike is not only a mode of transport but a fashion accessory also.

I live in Peckham Rye, London. Which is very near to the Camberwell and Goldsmiths Art college's. and you cannot walk, for tripping over old racers. Last night as I walked the 10 mins from the station to my house, I passed a very trendy bar and, as I'm on the look out or a bike myself, took extra special notice of all the bikes chained up on my way home. I'd say over half of the bikes were racers from the 80's.

Give ebay ago!

 

[edthevanman]

Thanks everyone
here comes ebay
happy biking
Pam

 

[ASC1951]

Let's hope you get a decent price for them, Pam; and if you get half a dozen people who know what they are seeing, you might.

Are you allowed to stick a link in here?

 

[Bigwig]

Frame material

Hi Pam,

If you stick them on ebay make sure to emphasise the frame material. A bike made from Reynolds 531 (or equivalent hi grade steel) will sell for a premium - its what the hipsters want!!

Cheers