Old Merckx, whats it worth?

[MrCannonCam]

Anyone know what this is worth? Came across it today, according to the decals it's a Falcon built Merckx. I don't know much about these vintage road bikes. I'll try to clean the bike up a bit tomorrow to see the serial number some of the paint is rough around it I could only make out a few numbers.

[smontanaro]

As I understand it, before he started building his own bikes, Eddy licensed his name to other companies. Falcon was one such bike manufacturer. The Eddy Merckx Falcons I've seen pictures of have generally been fairly low end.

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[MrCannonCam]

Originally Posted by smontanaro

As I understand it, before he started building his own bikes, Eddy licensed his name to other companies. Falcon was one such bike manufacturer. The Eddy Merckx Falcons I've seen pictures of have generally been fairly low end.

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I've read this as well. Seems like the few I've seen on ebay have had high asking prices still considering. I'm trying to gauge what kind of price point it'd go for.

[rwsaunders]

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/falcon.html

[paredown]

Originally Posted by rwsaunders

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/falcon.html

Oh snap--that was me!

From the look of it, that is a midpoint model in the Falcon hierarchy (like the Black Diamond)--but I have no idea what it would be worth. The full catalog pages used to be online, but I don't know if I have them. Let me dig around a little...

There we go--helps to be a packrat...looks like it would be the Kermesse model--straight gauged Reynolds main tubes, stamped dropouts etc...

[Aaron O]

I'd estimate it at about $125 -$150 (if cleaned up and ready to ride). As it sits - maybe $75.

[josephr]

Originally Posted by paredown

Oh snap--that was me!

wow....a contributor to Sheldon's page...we are in the midst of royalty!

[paredown]

Originally Posted by josephr

wow....a contributor to Sheldon's page...we are in the midst of royalty!

nah--I wrote that because I couldn't find any decent information online when I got back into cycling--at that point I was interested in the bike that I raced on back in the day, and had thought I would restore it.

I never got to meet Sheldon, and I forget exactly how it happened--I may have just emailed and offered to correct the copy of what he had for a description originally, and then he asked if I would write up what I knew. Sheldon was interested in the Coventry Eagle connection, so he was kind of interested in the Falcon genealogy as a consequence.

I always meant to write up a more detailed piece and host it somewhere, but have never found the time. There's a thread on Road Bike review where I was posting as I tried to figure out the model years and variations if anyone wanted to read my (and others') musings--sadly most of the detail from posted pictures has been lost because of their server upgrades:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/ret...ree-62987.html

[MrCannonCam]

Originally Posted by paredown

Oh snap--that was me!

From the look of it, that is a midpoint model in the Falcon hierarchy (like the Black Diamond)--but I have no idea what it would be worth. The full catalog pages used to be online, but I don't know if I have them. Let me dig around a little...

There we go--helps to be a packrat...looks like it would be the Kermesse model--straight gauged Reynolds main tubes, stamped dropouts etc...

This is really cool!

[jumphigher]

Originally Posted by Aaron O

I'd estimate it at about $125 -$150 (if cleaned up and ready to ride). As it sits - maybe $75.

I agree with these estimates.

[fignon's barber]

OP, I think the estimates are right on. In good condition, I've seen them go for $150 or less. In that condition, not real value. It looks like the seller is covering something with the odd placement of those track mitts as well.

[dddd]

As with so many of these neglected old bikes, one should remove and carefully inspect the wheelset if possible before deciding on a value to be willingly paid.

With deflated and deformed tires with the rim strips hanging out, one finds it difficult to discern if any rim damage has occurred.
Having to replace the wheelset or spend hours fixing this one part of the bike affects the value that you could ever get out of the purchase.
Look for rough axle bearings or flat-spotted rims in particular, then move on to inspecting the rest of the bike.
For occasional or light use, not every bike needs a proper rebuild, the oil-can tune-up often is fine for limited service! So inspecting the present state of the assembled headset and bottom bracket will also help determine the bike's realistic value.

Lastly, without being able to ride the bike before purchase, examine the bike's visible frame alignment the best that you can, looking for any sort of asymmetry, cracked paint, dents, cracks, bends, etc.

And don't neglect to check for a seatpost or stem frozen into the frame. Hours can be wasted there, and in extreme (but not uncommon) cases, parts might need to be cut out with a saw blade.

This post came out after hours of work over several week's time, but as a result I realized that I simply paid too much for this old, mid-level bike. The wheels also turned out to be throwaways, and I still haven't been able to source proper decals for it after another year having gone by, so a valuable lesson has been learned.

[MrCannonCam]

Originally Posted by dddd

As with so many of these neglected old bikes, one should remove and carefully inspect the wheelset if possible before deciding on a value to be willingly paid.

With deflated and deformed tires with the rim strips hanging out, one finds it difficult to discern if any rim damage has occurred.
Having to replace the wheelset or spend hours fixing this one part of the bike affects the value that you could ever get out of the purchase.
Look for rough axle bearings or flat-spotted rims in particular, then move on to inspecting the rest of the bike.
For occasional or light use, not every bike needs a proper rebuild, the oil-can tune-up often is fine for limited service! So inspecting the present state of the assembled headset and bottom bracket will also help determine the bike's realistic value.

Lastly, without being able to ride the bike before purchase, examine the bike's visible frame alignment the best that you can, looking for any sort of asymmetry, cracked paint, dents, cracks, bends, etc.

And don't neglect to check for a seatpost or stem frozen into the frame. Hours can be wasted there, and in extreme (but not uncommon) cases, parts might need to be cut out with a saw blade.

This post came out after hours of work over several week's time, but as a result I realized that I simply paid too much for this old, mid-level bike. The wheels also turned out to be throwaways, and I still haven't been able to source proper decals for it after another year having gone by, so a valuable lesson has been learned.

The wheels are straight and spin well. Seatpost comes out no issues. Frame seems to be straight as well. It was in a barn for over 20 years, just a lot of dust and some old road grime.

A bit bummed it's not worth any more. I am re-doing my basement in a cycling theme though so it may be a cool display to have!

PS The old mitts were around the pump mount, they just slipped. Not covering any major dings or what not

[dddd]

I'm curious why you have any concern of what someone else (i.e. the market) will pay for the bike?

If it's for your own use, it's a small investment that might offer recreational wrenching and riding value far beyond it's market value.

I "developed" this cheap Austrian bike's function, form and fit over many week's time for my own pleasure, yet it's market value is still too low for me to worry about, perhaps still less than $200. And maybe that's the beauty of it. It's still fun to own and even more fun to ride, and makes an attractive, somewhat rare conversation piece as might your Falcon/Merckx find. It's up to you if the bike seems cool then it is cool, and you can go fast on that old bike!




Oh, and here's the same bike after only "round one" of tinkering and riding over the first few fun weeks (I have over three thousand miles on it now, some ~4 years later).

[Aaron O]

Originally Posted by MrCannonCam

The wheels are straight and spin well. Seatpost comes out no issues. Frame seems to be straight as well. It was in a barn for over 20 years, just a lot of dust and some old road grime.

A bit bummed it's not worth any more. I am re-doing my basement in a cycling theme though so it may be a cool display to have!

PS The old mitts were around the pump mount, they just slipped. Not covering any major dings or what not

At the risk of being rude, but in the interests of honest advice - it's not especially cool to me, nor is it something to display. It's not at all unusual. I don't think I'd put in much effort or money.

It's a lower end falcon with some stickers on it.