eBay: French bicycle (circa 1891)



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Otherwise it is SPAM.
 
In article <[email protected]>,
"Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo. com> wrote:

> "Ted" <[email protected]> wrote in
> message news:[email protected]...
> > In article
> > <[email protected]>
> > Ted <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>
> >> http://301url.com/FrenchBike
> >
> > Winning bid $1,500
>
> Well, I'm glad some collector got what he wanted. I wouldn't give you a dime
> for it.

Unlike a lot of the stuff in eBayland (or worse, Craigslist, home of
fantasy pricing), this seems a reasonable price for what must be a
pretty rare bird these days.

It's not restored to pristine condition, but a "survivor" like this one,
apparently in very good, unrestored condition, is starting to become the
new holy grail for collectors. I don't know how it is with bicycles, but
among rare cars the urge to do bottom-up restorations was so strong for
so long that precious few high-end collectible vehicles have survived
without getting the full treatment, and even fewer of those are in
working condition.

There aren't going to be many working-condition 19th-century bicycles
out there; while I have neither the storage space nor the wherewithal to
give this bike the proper care, I certainly would have put up, say, $200
to acquire this bike.

Working against this machine is the fact that it has no provenance,
isn't obviously a very sporting model, and its condition could be
better. But I think it's fair to guess that those bikes go for rather
more, snapped up by the same people who buy mid-century bikes that were
provably race-ridden by pros.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"My scenarios may give the impression I could be an excellent crook.
Not true - I am a talented lawyer." - Sandy in rec.bicycles.racing
 
In article <[email protected]>,
"Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo. com> wrote:

> "Ted" <[email protected]> wrote in
> message news:[email protected]...
> > In article
> > <[email protected]>
> > Ted <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>
> >> http://301url.com/FrenchBike
> >
> > Winning bid $1,500
>
> Well, I'm glad some collector got what he wanted. I wouldn't give you a dime
> for it.

Unlike a lot of the stuff in eBayland (or worse, Craigslist, home of
fantasy pricing), this seems a reasonable price for what must be a
pretty rare bird these days.

It's not restored to pristine condition, but a "survivor" like this one,
apparently in very good, unrestored condition, is starting to become the
new holy grail for collectors. I don't know how it is with bicycles, but
among rare cars the urge to do bottom-up restorations was so strong for
so long that precious few high-end collectible vehicles have survived
without getting the full treatment, and even fewer of those are in
working condition.

There aren't going to be many working-condition 19th-century bicycles
out there; while I have neither the storage space nor the wherewithal to
give this bike the proper care, I certainly would have put up, say, $200
to acquire this bike.

Working against this machine is the fact that it has no provenance,
isn't obviously a very sporting model, and its condition could be
better. But I think it's fair to guess that those bikes go for rather
more, snapped up by the same people who buy mid-century bikes that were
provably race-ridden by pros.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"My scenarios may give the impression I could be an excellent crook.
Not true - I am a talented lawyer." - Sandy in rec.bicycles.racing
 
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