Category Archives: Informational

What’s a 1964 Schwinn Jaguar Mark V worth?

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1964_schwinn_jaguar_corvette

Photo taken from SchwinnCruisers.com

This weekend someone asked if I wanted to purchase a 1964 Schwinn Jaguar Mark V that had been discovered in an attic; it had been stored there for 34 years.

I certainly gave it some thought, but decided against it for two reasons. 1. I have a rule; if it’s not my size or I can’t ride it, I can’t buy it and 2. They are selling it for an old lady, thus, I’d rather not try and get some super deal, but rather help them maximize their sales price.

So, I researched documented sales history (in real-estate you’d call this comps) and here’s what I found between 2011 and 2014. I could only find 6 sales that I could back-up. The highest sales price being $729.95, and the lowest being $300. The highest sales price is deceiving as it was an auction with free shipping. So, the next highest, without free shipping was $680. Add in actual shipping and packing and the $680 can easily exceed the $729 sale. By the way, none of the other sales offered free shipping. I’m not going to dig into what accessories or options each bike had, however, they all appeared to be in very good shape, none were rust-buckets that I could see. I also did not see an increase or decrease in prices, there was high and low sales in each year.

In summary between 2011 and 2014
Average selling price: $500.96
Median selling price: $452.50
High: $680 ($729.95*)
Low: $300
*Sale with free shipping

Vintage Regina freewheel removal tool

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As you may have noticed, I collect a lot of Japanese bicycles. So, when it came time to remove the vintage Regina freewheel from the whee/Phil Wood hub that came on my 1975 Schwinn Paramount, my tool box came up blank. I didn’t have the correct freewheel removal too. What a bummer that was! Then, to test my patience just a bit more, my Amazon.com Prime membership also failed me, and it took the tool a week to get here.

Vintage Regina Freewheel removal tool

I took a gamble on the tool, as my search of forums etc., didn’t come up with a definitive answer as to which freewheel removal tool I was going to need. That’s the reason for this post. So, hopefully this post will gain some traction in the search engines and you won’t have to search long to figure this out.

Voila!

Voila!

 

I purchased the “Var Freewheel Remover For Old Type Cyclo And 4, 5 And 6 Speed Regina 2 Notch Freewheels” on Amazon.com. I know, based on the description it seems like an easy find…

Var RL-18800-C Freewheel Remover tool

1951 Japan’s Bicycle Guide – Preview

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1951-japans-bicycle-guide-intro1951-japans-bicycle-guide-coverI am a collector of Japan’s Bicycle Guides and was able to pick up a very first 1951 edition of the catalog. Below I have provided a few quick snaps from my iPhone. I plan to scan the entire book as delicately as possible. The book is in good condition conisdering its age and purpose. However, the binding is becoming brittle and weak so I would like to minimize viewing the actual book as much as possible.

1951-bridgestone-bicycle-ad1951-japanese-track-racer-bicycleFuji-AdFor those into classic ad copy and design this is a gold mine. Fantastic vintage design work throughout. I look forward to digging in a looking at every bicycle, part and ad. This is a major score of information for a collector like myself.

Raleigh Burner Mk1 Pro Burner (05/28/2011)

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Worthpoint.com reports a Raleigh Burner Mk1 Pro Burner (05/28/2011). sold for $32,928. I’m here to tell everyone that is a fluke on an enormous scale, and more than likely a false bid by the original lister that went unpaid. A mint Raliegh Burner Pro would be lucky to get $500 in today’s vintage BMX market.

As a user of Worthpoint.com it goes to show you should do additional research when it seems to good to be true.

The original article was Smart Pickers Find Gold in Vintage Bikes, by Wayne Jordan (11/08/13).

I’m really quite shocked this was stated. But it’s on the internet, so it must be real, right?

 

Fat Tires Come of Age – Vintage “Fat Tire” Mountain Bikes – Bicycling Magazine May 1983

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Fat Tires Come of Age

In the May, 1983 edition of Bicycling magazine there is a test of the now vintage Mt. Fuji mountain bike (see page 139 of actual magazine or pg. 22 in the linked article below). The test is part of a long “Workshop” article all pertaining to Fat Tire bikes- yes, before they were referred to as (Vintage) Mountain bikes. The article also features the Japanese made Specialized StumpJumper Sport, Diamondback Ridge Runner (Prototype), Trek 850 (Prototype). Ritchey MountainBikes Annapurna and the MountainBikes Montari. For any vintage mountain bike enthusiast, this is an awesome early article! It breaks down every component, fitting etc.

Frame geometry of Fat Tire- vintage mountain bikes

Click image to link to full article.

 

Great $8.00 classic looking bicycle chain

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Ventura Chain on bike

Ventura chain on a 1980 Fuji Feather Pro BMX

Ventura Bicycle Chain 1/2-Inch x 1/8-InchI had been looking for a bicycle chain with a classic look for my bikes that require 1/2″ x 1/8″ chains. For a black chain with a lighter colored inner link, I thought my only choice was the super shiny black/silver Izumi, which was way too shiny. Then I found the Ventura Bicycle Chain. These look great, and not only that, they actually function great too! The black outer links and, what I would call, dark grey inner links gives it the perfect look. It’s a more dull finish as opposed to the shiny Izumi’s you see out there. The shiny just doesn’t look good on a classic bicycle to me. Lastly, I was shocked at the $8.00 price tag on Amazon.com

СУПЕР Rider seat pillar

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СУПЕР (Hupel, Super) Rider seat pillar

СУПЕР (Hupel, Super) Rider seat pillar

As a collector of vintage Fuji bicycles you sometimes run into a few less common model names on parts. One of the most challenging to search for is the СУПЕР Rider seat pillar (post). More appropriately named Hupel Rider, this seat pillar was standard on the high-end Fuji bicycles ( Newest, Finest etc.) in the 1970’s.

A fellow over on Flicker has a nice little write up on the Hupel rider. He states that the “СУПЕР” stands for super in Russian. Type that into the Google translator and sure enough, that’s what it comes up with.

hupel-rider4

Hupel Rider Y.F.C Seat Pillar

Scott Ryder, the most famous of vintage Fuji collectors mentions in an older BikeForums.net thread that the Hupel (Super) Rider was made by Y.F.C. What exactly Y.F.C stands for is still a mystery, but they are well known for bicycle saddles.

Try searching for СУПЕР on ebay; yeah, good luck with that… Better yet, find one in 26.8mm contact me right away!

Hajime Kato Suntour Postcards

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I’ve recently discovered that Suntour distributed a 5 pack of postcards displaying reproductions of Hajime Kato original oil paintings. These paintings were abstract renditions of bicycle racing. I have been quite taken by Kato’s ability to capture movement in all his works.

Hajime Kato artwork on Suntour Postcards

Kato was a professional keirin cyclist in Japan in the 1940’s and 50’s. He is said to be instrumental in bringing keirin cycling to the world. He later moved to Paris where he focused entirely on his art.