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VALUE AND FRAME SIZE
 Size
counts. Small vintage road bicycle frame sets are few and far
between. Not many ladies were into buying Ten Speeds in the early
seventies. Hence, fewer small frame sets. But today, women
are very into the vintage road bicycle scene. Sadly, there are not
enough, small frame vintage bicycles, to go around. Be prepared to
pay bigger for smaller frame bicycles, of bygone days.
Looking at the other end of the scale, one needs to
consider the large frame vintage road bicycle. Those with 60cm
seat tubes and larger. These frame sets are not all that common,
but neither is the demand for them. The population of interested
buyers is limited, primarily to men and darn big men at that.
Thus, even with low supply, the low demand keeps monetary value down, at
the time of this writing.
  Basically, small frame vintage bicycles are those with a 50cm seat tube
(measured center to center), or less. Some vintage road bicycles
even offered the sloping top tube, causing the frame to appear even
smaller. However, often times a very short seat tube, will be
coupled with a higher bottom bracket. When this is the case, the
stand over height of the bicycle in question will be greater.
   The most popular sized vintage road bicycles, fall into
the 54cm to 58cm range, with interest declining, as the ends of the
spectrum approach. Bicycles, falling into this size category,
target the average person's height. Most males, five six to six
foot, will be able to find something to fit, from this category.
And, to add even more cost value, these sizes fit many women, entering
today's vintage bicycle market. That, of course, equates to
increased demand, and corresponding value increases, to boot.
   Finally,
the bike bike. Those exceeding the 60cm seat tube measurement.
Not only are these bigger bikes harder to sell, but they often cost more
to ship. More to ship? Yes, because shipping costs, today,
are based on three things - size of the container, weight of the
shipment and distance to be shipped.
So, when seeking a bicycle to purchase, know that it is a
buyer's market just about every time, for big vintage road bicycles.
Everything else will be comparatively priced, the smaller frame sets,
often times, being the easiest to sell.
  Another
size issue to contend with, sort of, is gender based.
Step Through vintage road bicycles lack the collectable value of
their brothers. This is not as applicable to the
Mixte design, which though sporting gender like appearance, are, in
fact quite popular with today's vintage crowd. Expect to pay less
for a single bar Step Through. The Mixte, on the other hand can,
and often does, mimic value diamond frame man's gender. It should
be noted, that in today's bicycle world, gender plays a much different
roll. A woman's bike is engineered for the female anatomy, yet
looks no different than a man's bike.
  Of course, in addition to make, vintage and location,
and perhaps gender, at
least one more characteristic will impact the value of a bicycle.
Condition. What state of repair is the bicycle in?
The
components? Can it be
test ridden, safely, as it sits? Is it dirty? Rusted?
Bent? Dented? Or just cosmetically challenged? Any of these
situations will negatively impact value.
NEXT - INCREASING SALES VALUE |
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