To blatantly rip off the Bikesnob, I think the apocalypse is upon us. I call your attention to this eBay item:
280213042748
Bids are up to $127 dollars on this adulterated set of hoodless et of SR brake levers. No, these are not the really early ones, and even if they were this price seems crazy given that all the anodizing has been polished off by the enterprising seller. Maybe he figures that the typical eBay buyer of later SR parts is relatively unsophisticated and easily distracted by things that shine brightly. Sadly, it appears that he's right. Could it be that Mike Kone is correct that there is a booming new market for late SR and C-Record parts? It sure looks that way to me, and by no means do I base this only on this one auction. I've recently seen some late variants of C-Record parts selling for prices I'd associate with first generation Super Record. $200 of an early 90's seat post, $300+ for a late 80's derailleur, $500 for high flange hubs....
The same pattern seems to be emerging with framesets, particularly run of the mill late 80's to 1990's Colnagos. I just don't get it, but it has me thinking. I guess it's easy for one generation to see the value in the nice bikes of their youth, and not see the value in the nice bikes of later years. We can rationalize with discussions of hand-worked stamped lugs being more pleasing than investment cast, steel being enduring and CF fleeting, but in the end I think the best bikes of an era will be prized by the people who grew up drooling over them. This has been discussed at length on this list, and I don't want to restart that discussion. Even though many of you believe that newer bikes will never have the value, soul or appeal of those from the on-topic era, lets assume for a minute that the nicest bikes of an era will always appeal to those who grew up with them. Well, great, but that still leaves me scratching my head about people paying so much money for, say, Colnagos that emphatically were NOT the nicest bikes of their era. Some of the surprising eBay sale prices I've seen lately were for bikes that were not even top-of-the-line for the brand in their day. Many high bids are going toward parts that simply are not at all rare. The only conclusions I can draw are that there is a new crop of inexpereinced but enthusiastic collectors emerging, and that the resulting demands are driving up prices on items that are not particularly rare but are widely admired and sought after.
The whole thing makes me wonder about that $3600 problematic Pog. The auction winner is an established collector, and I assume he's aware of the 10+ year time gap between the parts and the frame. In fact, I have to assume that he intends to dismantle that eyesore and fit it with appropriate parts. Maybe he also has a newer Pog that he wants to hang the parts on, or perhaps he'll sell them off. No matter, based on his eBay buying the guy spends whatever he needs to to get what he wants. But that doesn't explain how this Pog got bid up so high. My guess is that the underbidders were largely clueless about the bike's issues, and were drwn in by the bling. I'd say there is a good chance they were the same sort of people who would be lured into bidding $127 on a set of polished brake levers. To me, and I think to most experianced collectors, a part with the anodizing polished off is radically decreased in value. My personal view is that such parts are worth less than rough parts with their original finish. Others may feel that conspicuous alteration is the second best choice to pristine parts, and perhaps they are not hands-on types and are willing to pay a premium for the labor of polishing. I suppose this could all be true, but that sure doesn't expalin why anyone would pay well above normal NOS prices for used, polished parts. All I can conclude is that the bidders are clueless. If I see this kind of thing keep up, I may just have to polish all my semi-rough SR parts to oblivion and cash in on eBay.
Tom Dalton Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
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