Team Bikes 4 Sale

[campy man]

How can a buyer validate a bike for sale was actually owned or used by a specific rider?

I have always played with the idea of having my Csi refinished in the team colors that replicate Hampsten's Giro Huffy. While looking at pics of a frame on tour I noticed the green stripe on the downtube goes in the opposite direction of the green stripe on the top tube. When I look online at pics of Andy riding his bicycle wearing the Maglia Rosa the green stripe goes in the same direction. A couple of other differences, it looks like the True Temper is beat & there is a decal near the seat lug.

Just a wild guess, the bike with opposite green stripes was specific or different than others.

Yes, I'm a Hampsten fan ... both rider and bikes

[ultraman6970]

If the frame was refinish that explains the differences.

[Joxster]

For the bigger named riders you get to keep the bike you won a GT or big event with and some times these were given to the team mechanic for the help. For the other mere mortals the team would sell them off at the end of the season to recoup some cash. The riders got first dibs. The team would try to make stock frames fit the riders although some riders would have favored frame builders that would do your frames and have them branded up in the team colours. Steve Bauers Motorola bike is on eBay just now for about $5000 with nothing other than a sticker on the top tube. Sky sold off Brads pina with a certificate to say he rode it, but it could have been his spare bike of warm up bike. You pays your money, you take your chance. I saw Robert Millars bike in a shop last year, but it wasn't the correct one as bob never used the shifters on the bike and a different saddle brand.

[tiretrax]

Good catch on those stripes. Probably repainted, as pointed out.

I bought an ex-Mercury-Viatel team bike through one of their former mechanics. I did some research to be more certain. It was custom ti for a specific rider when the team bikes were Alu. It doesn't have a number hanger, but it also has no serial numbers. I can't imagine that anyone would go to the trouble of making a replica of an obscure continental team that existed for one year. I'm pretty confident it's authentic, and if not, it rides wonderfully.

[Aaron O]

The Merckx factory confirmed my Bauer Motorola. I wish I could tie it into particular rides.

[Charles M]

And then there's the fact that lots of riders had several bikes even within a season...

And then there's the consideration that teams dumping team bikes would frequently rebadge lesser rider bikes of similar size with the big star's name tags or even painted name just to sell em off for 2-3 times what the lesser riders bikes would sell for (if they sold at all because team bikes frankly get thrashed more in a pro season than mortals would in a decade....

sometimes the team editions can be confirmed but beyond that its a crap shoot.

[Satellite]

I bought Kenny Christoff's team 7-11 bike directly from him, but I had Serotta confirm the serial number years later. Serotta's records showed it was Kenny's team bike. Luck for me it was a replacement and basically he got it late season and he raced it to win the National Criterium Championships on then he got his 7-11 Huffy. His signed Jersey and photograph was hanging in The Bicycle Peddler bike shop for years, I kinda wish I would have bought it too, when they went out of business (I don't know if it was actually for sale). I did buy a killer bike stand from the Bike Peddler it weights about 200lbs, I assume everything was for sale.

Oh the point to my ramblings try to reach out the manufacture with the serial numbers.

[oddsaabs]

I don't know that it matters, but Andy's bike at the '88 Giro was not a Serotta but a Land Shark painted in team colors. That being said, great catch on the seat tube stripe. Makes me wonder whether it was repainted or that's a different bike.

[choke]

That stripe difference is interesting. The later pic is from NAHBS in Denver and I remember the sign saying it was the Giro bike.

[93legendti]

Originally Posted by campy man

How can a buyer validate a bike for sale was actually owned or used by a specific rider?

I have always played with the idea of having my Csi refinished in the team colors that replicate Hampsten's Giro Huffy. While looking at pics of a frame on tour I noticed the green stripe on the downtube goes in the opposite direction of the green stripe on the top tube. When I look online at pics of Andy riding his bicycle wearing the Maglia Rosa the green stripe goes in the same direction. A couple of other differences, it looks like the True Temper is beat & there is a decal near the seat lug.

Just a wild guess, the bike with opposite green stripes was specific or different than others.

Yes, I'm a Hampsten fan ... both rider and bikes

Yup. The Wolber decals on the seat stays are in different places and the true temper decals on the top tubes are different as well...it's possible he had more than one Giro bike that year.

[tiretrax]

Originally Posted by choke

That stripe difference is interesting. The later pic is from NAHBS in Denver and I remember the sign saying it was the Giro bike.

Kinda hard to dispute it's his bike when it's at his stand and he's standing next to it. It could be his backup bike from that race, or a spare on which he put the same number because he's got the original locked up someplace.

[choke]

Originally Posted by tiretrax

Kinda hard to dispute it's his bike when it's at his stand and he's standing next to it. It could be his backup bike from that race, or a spare on which he put the same number because he's got the original locked up someplace.

I wasn't disputing that it was his, there's no doubt about that. I talked to him for a bit there and I don't recall his exact comments on the bike....just what the sign said. IIRC that frame is on display at University Bicycles in Boulder.

I took this pic...

[campy man]

Maybe the stripe was used to designate a stage specific bike? I wonder if McDonald, Bedford or Kirk could answer that question?

No intention to suggest the bike at the show was not used in the Giro.