Breakdown of a Salvage: Trek Antelope

As you may recall I purchased an 87 Trek Antelope for $40 last month.

I was really just wanting the bike for the front wheel which matched the rear on the Ibex and the stem which is shorter than the one on the Ibex.  I figured I could recoup some of the price by parting out the bike, so how did I do?  My first lesson was I should have offered below asking to start, the bike was obviously something the seller wanted to move, it needed work and it had been on CL for a week, all indications that an offer of say $35 wouldn't have been out of line.

After cleaning up the bike I realized the paint and decals were in great shape so I threw it CL for $35. And included the; BB, Headset, quick release seat post clamp and the funky roller rear brake cable guide.  It got snapped up for full price by a guy who likes old mixtes, there are debates about what exactly makes a "mixte" but I wasn't going to split hairs with a man with cash.  I also ended up throwing in the seat post.  So at that point I had earned most of the money back and I had my parts for a total of $5.

The Sakae crank I disassembled and ran through the sonic cleaner and reassembled.  I listed it on eBay and made sure to mention that it included the metal dust covers for the crank bolts.  It ended up going for $30! must have been the dust covers.  That brought me to plus $25 over all.

The next to go were the diacompe canti brakes.  They went for $15.50 which I attribute to the cool roller cable hangers,  That brought me to $40 over what I initial paid for the bike.

The stubborn part of the salvage was the Suntour accushift drive train, I relisted it on eBay multiple times.  I finally resorted to changing it to free shipping and adjusting the price to cover that and it finally sold but I only got $7 for an entire drive-train including thumb shifters!!?  I can't ever figure this stuff out.

I am not complaining though for a $40 outlay I got a front wheel and a stem for the Ibex overhaul and $87 in sales for a net of $47 and I even have a few odds and ends to drop off at bike works.

I found the 89 Rock Hopper on Face Book market place and since it met many of the criteria I had seen for the Trek (priced to sell, lingering on the site, needs work) I offered $30 and was accepted.  It was a bit farther out than I usually go but not as far when leaving from work.  We'll see if it has the same success as the Trek in Salvage part Deux.

Ride.Recycle.Reuse.Repeat