Quoted post said:Originally Posted by Jonas DW [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]
Also, thanks to Froze for bumping, no offence intended with my previous post!
I'm quite new to classic bikes and components myself, and it is a fun research project so far.
No offense taken whatsoever.
I knew I didn't know a whole lot about Colnago or any other Italian bike manufacture. I can't justify spending the money the Italian jobs get for a used bike so I don't research them. Not saying people are wasting money buying them, but I'm rather a tightwad and that's where my mindset is.
I have several 80's era road bikes including a 84 Trek 660 with all Superbe components (that's why I know a fair deal about Suntour, in good condition, a new buy); 84 Fuji Club with Suntour ARX (excellent condition, a used buy); 85 Schwinn Le Tour Luxe with Suntour Mountech (mint condition, a used buy); 87 Miyata Team Dura Ace (excellent condition, a new buy); and a 88 Miyata 712 105 SIS (excellent condition, a used buy. Note the used buys, none of those bikes I paid more then $100 for! The Fuji and the Schwinn I got earlier last year, the Fuji was ridden 5 miles and then stored, the Schwinn 250 miles then stored, both were sold by the original owners with receipts. I saw the exact year and model of Fuji for sold in a Louisville KY LBS for $650!...in my opinion the bike isn't worth that, and I would have never paid close to that price to obtain the Fuji I have, I might have gone as far as $150 but that would been the max. I think used bike prices are ridiculously high just as classic cars are which I do have a small collection of, but I wouldn't pay the prices that classic cars are getting today either. Although lately prices have fallen in the classic car market, and I have been keeping my eye open again for a good deal, but so far their still a bit high, but I'm hoping for a desperate seller!!
Also vintage era Campy components were the worst components for shifting and durability of any Japanese manufacture with Suntour being the best; so it's a good thing in regards to headaches that you don't have a Campy equipped bike! And I would search for a set of NOS or lightly used Suntour Superbe hubs to complete the Superbe group you have on the Colnago.
But that's where my mindset is, I don't think any used bike from the 80's and 70's is worth more then $500 regardless of country of origin!! The Campy stuff was horrid back in those days, Only one Italian frame was worth anything and that was the Columbus SLX with the eternal ribbed tubing, but even back in the 80's when that was made I couldn't afford new bikes made of that stuff; the rest of the European frames were not as stiff for racing as a lot of Japanese tubing were like especially the Miyata's triple butted splined tubing, Fuji's Valite quad butted tubing, and Ishawata 022 and 020. When I bought my new bikes in the 80's I test rode a bunch of bikes from America, Japan and Europe, and since I was racing I could tell as soon as I hammered the bike if the frame was any good, and I always liked the Japanese steel the best, even over the Reynolds. By the way, I'm not Japanese, in case your wondering if I'm bias!!! So I would much rather buy a vintage Japanese over most others for practicability, but there is a yearning to someday find a vintage Italian job (and a vintage British job) for cheap that someone is selling that really doesn't know what they have and try to get a outrageous price for it. So I wouldn't mind owning a Italian bike but the price would have to be right.
By the way, I don't buy bikes to turn and burn, I buy to keep.
Anyway, you have a great marque of a bicycle. Because of my classic car hobby I'm the kind of person that restores cars and keeps them to as close to original as possible, so that thought process echos into my bikes, so if I had your bike I would try to restore it to original condition and even color...BUT AGAIN THAT'S JUST ME.
