p2592b

There is a schwinn super letour 12.2 for sale on craigslist. Here is the listing-
I have a Japanese-made 1976 "Silver Mist" Super Le Tour 12.2 in excellent condition with no bends, dents, or scratches. On a scale of 1 to 100, it is literally a 95 or better. You might want to replace the black cloth handlebar tape, and there’s a tear in the right lever cover and a scratch on the right brake lever, but other than these small issues, the bike is in absolutely unbelievable condition. - how mouch should i offer him, he wants 300 which i believe is outrageous. thank you

roccobike

I recently sold a 72-73ish LeTour for $30, picture attached. Granted it was a little bit beat, but I'm trying to gain a perspective as to where a Super LeTour from that era should sell. IMHO, $300 is too high for that bike from that era.

well biked

The Super le tour 12.2 was a special le tour from the '70's, because it had a chromoly main triangle and weighed approx. 12.2 kilograms for the complete bike. $300 is indeed too high, though, even for one in excellent shape, in my opinion. I'd say more like $150-$200 would be fair, and that's only if it's in as good a shape as the description. Truth be told, you can get one from '83 and later that will have a full chromoly frame, aluminum rims, etc. if you look hard enough. The '80's le tours generally sell for about the same as '70's le tours (usually very cheap), and once they went to full chromoly frames ('83) the '80's bikes are better bikes by quite a bit-

jacksbike

I agree that $300 is absolutely outrageous. Even though this is a well spec'd bike, I think $150 is enough to pay for it. Just my opinion.

alicestrong

I would pass on the $300 Schwinn and find a more motivated seller. It's not like they're rare bikes. Too bad you and roccobike hadn't met up with each other.

dtipton

I purchased an 87 Letour (True Temper frame) over the winter for $100 and my buddy picked up a mid 70's Letour for $75.

Nothing against my buddies bike, but the 80's model is much nicer. Probably not as collectable, but if you're looking for something to ride there really is no comparison in my opinion.

Good Luck

alanbikehouston

A bike is worth whatever a buyer THINKS it is worth. These days, I selling most of my old bikes, not buying them. But, when I bought a 1980ish bike cheap, such as at a Goodwill shop, I often found I was spending $200 or so replacing or fixing bad wheels, realign the fork, putting on new tubes and tires, replacing brake cables and shifting cables, and getting the bike tuned and the wheels trued by someone who knows how to do it right (which ain't me). So, my "$30" bargain bikes usually cost closer to $250 to get into "rides as good as new" condition.

So, if I found a 1980ish bike that I liked that was already in "rides just as good as new" condition that was selling for $200 or so, I considered that a good deal. A good deal to me, but to other folks, it seemed like a lot of money for "just an old bike".

In my buying days, I'd have been happy to pay $200 for a 1976 12.2 that was in "perfect" riding condition, clean, with all of its original components. But, "Vintage" is full of guys who like to find their bikes at Salvation Army and Goodwill, and who would think $200 for a 12.2 is about $175 too much.

raverson

Picked up a 12.2 a few months back on CL for $60. It is in good shape, though missing the original bars and levers.

$300 is too high, even if the bike is mint. Sit on that CL ad and see where it goes.

alicestrong

A bike is worth whatever a buyer and seller AGREE that it's worth....

Craigslist is also filled with people who find a $30 bike at a rummage sale and try to "flip" it for as much as they can without doing anything at all to it. And some people think Schwinn is some kind of magic word in the bike resale world.

Brins

Trying to date my SLT
Schwinn Chicago badge #1732 (1972,1982,1992 ????)
Sugino Crank
Shimano ALTUS gearing
Weinamann brakes
Weinamann Wheels
4130 chrom-moly frame (no country of origin)
Color metalic gold with brown hylights on the head tube and brown,white,red stipes on seat tube

Old Fat Guy

They are nice bikes...but not $300 nice.

Here's my chrome 12.2, after cleaning, before assembly:

well biked

Well, there wasn't a '72 Super le tour, and no le tour models in '82 were anything but 1020 steel. I have no idea about a '92. Are you sure you're reading the date code on the headbadge right? '76, '77, and '78 had Super le tour 12.2's with 4130 chromoly main tubes, and from '83 on all le tour models had full chromo frames of one type or another.

Brins

Date code is correct thus my confusion I thought maybe the strange colors would help. Bike seems at least 82 vintage but I haven't heard anyone talk of the Weinamann parts and it seems very light.

well biked

Here are Schwinn catalogs from 1980-1990, maybe you can find a match:
https://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1980_1990/

CardiacKid

ABH makes a valid point. What you have to figure out is whether there is actually anything that needs to be repaired or replaced. Almost every used bike I ever bought needed new cables and tires. I generally have to replace the chain and freewheel. There is almost $150 extra, right there.
I bought a Centuian Ironman a few months ago on Ebay. The winning bid was $120. With shipping, tires, a new chain and saddle, by the time I rode it, it cost over $300. The saddle and chain came from my parts box, so they don't really count, right? I have since put a Thompson seatpost and an FSA compact crank on it. If I had bought all this stuff and couldn't take it off, I would have around $450 into this $120 bike. However, I doubt I could sell it for more than $250.
One thing to keep in mind is that if a bike goes for $100 on Ebay,it costs at least $175. When you are using Craigslist, you have to take that into consideration.

Kommisar89

I've been debating this for a while - as alanbikehouston and CardiacKid point out, the initial purchase price is just the beginning. I doubt I could get any bike set up the way I want to ride it for less than what it could be sold for. Probably why I don't bother flipping bikes. Too much trouble for me. I'm kind of passively looking for an old Bottecchia Special. I think $100 would be fair if it's in good shape. But unless I find one locally you'd probably have to add $75 for shipping it. And I have a set of aluminum rims put aside for for it but since I don't build wheels that's $150 or so right there for spokes and labor. It all adds up. I take availability into account too. Some bikes show up on eBay or CL all the time so if you don't like the price, just wait for the next one. Others don't show too often and if you are looking for that particular model you better grab it. So I just look at it as "do I want one of these and I am willing to pay for it" and I don't worry whether I could ever get my money back when I sell it or save $50 if I search eBay or CL for another 6 months.