This was an impulse buy - one of those that makes you wanna kick yourself asking, "What was I thinking?" I had been looking for a vintage Trek (they are really nicely built). This was on Ebay for "buy it now" or "make an offer". It was also local. The guy wanted $500!!! These are bikes that are often given away! I saw there were several offers so I offered somewhere between too much and half of his asking price in an impulsively competitive way. I sis this while out of town and thought/hoped it was over when a few days later I got a winning e-mail. Crap!
It is not my size, the advertized date was off by 5 years, it won't even roll or shift, and I paid WAY too much. The seller didn't divulge the overall crappy nature of this thing. I hadn't really looked the bike over too well and even thought for several months that the rims were tubulars as the tires felt glued on. They may come right off once the spokes are tight enough! My only hope is that the Campy Victory group, hardly prized by collectors, will polish up well(such groups cry for drillium!) and that the frame cleans up. I like the seat post and the one good Campy NR hood(like I'll find a matching one!) These parts and the brake levers were pirated already as it hangs in the basement. Overall, I could likely break even by selling it in parts but I don't do that - that's for hacks IMO.
Well, there is some hope. The GF wants a steel bike and I think it will fit her. I would hate to repaint it so I'll just tear it down, clean it up, and replace the necessary parts. I hope I can convince the GF that down tube shifters are acceptable in the modern world. We'll see. I do think it will ride nicely.
Here she is laughing at me when I got it home - or so it appears. It really is a turd. At the time she didn't know it would one day be hers. Then again, had I been dancing around, she would have thought it was a steal.
Since it doesn't look so bad, here are a few closeups.
1 comment:
Just stumbled onto your post. I am about finished cleaning mine up. It's been down the road a bit. Still has original parts except the campy brake pads, which I just changed out. Bought the bike new, ran into the receipt in my "parts box" Original rims were clinchers by Matrix, with campy hubs. Replaced them with tubulars. Been a good bike all in all. As originally set up cost $530. This was never a top of the line bike, but got me down the road very nicely.
The bike has been hanging in my garage for most of the last 20 years. Can't find shoes for the pedals. May have to bring that part into the modern era, as my old shoes have about given up the ghost.
Post a Comment