Rebuilt and Worth Something.
The other day I finished putting together Pete's old bike.
I threw on some new parts to replace some of the worn or otherwise unserviceable components, but essentially it's pretty much the bike he bought at the Elmendorf Base Exchange back in '07. It was the only road bike I had ever seen sold there. Even new, it definitely skewed towards entry level, although most of the drivetrain parts were fairly respectable. The basic configuration was solid, if heavy. Over the years, we modified stuff as wear or mood dictated, and Pete rode the piss out of it. While I changed bikes as frequently as some people change their socks, Pete kept riding the DBR. Bang for the buck, I think he got his money's worth.
When I was done, I looked it up on Bicycle Blue Book, which may not be the most accurate resource when trying to set a price. Bike values are still dictated by regional demand, and what may be a priceless classic in one place is worthless in another. However, I needed a starting place, since the goal of this was to sell the bike to fund my planned genetic enhancements to rebuild myself into a bike racing Übermensch. Imagine my surprise when the value of the bike wouldn't have funded a trip to the doctor's waiting room to read the old magazines. So much for that plan.
Still, I think BBB is a tad off on this one. I think well-maintained bikes bottom out in value at a certain point. While this bike is in no danger of ever being considered a classic, it does have a solid 9-speed STI drivetrain and all of the common consumable parts have been replaced with new components. If maintained, it can serve as a reliable daily ride for many, many years. As far as I'm concerned, it's far from economical repair.
So, I'm going to sell it for what I think it's worth. It won't be expensive, and my hope is that someone will get a lot of use out of it and maybe even try racing one day. My hope is that that person will take care of it as well as Pete did, instead of chaining it to a tree under a tarp to silently rust. Bikes, even solidly entry-level ones like this, deserve to be ridden.
Pete will leave the state later this month with the Cannondale System Six, built with the upgraded parts we slapped on the DBR over the years. He'll likely put a lot of miles on this bike too, finding new loops around the Grand Canyon to explore. He'll likely find new riding buddies and prop up their fragile egos like he has mine for the last few years, but he'll be doing it on a classier ride.
I owe him at least that much.
I threw on some new parts to replace some of the worn or otherwise unserviceable components, but essentially it's pretty much the bike he bought at the Elmendorf Base Exchange back in '07. It was the only road bike I had ever seen sold there. Even new, it definitely skewed towards entry level, although most of the drivetrain parts were fairly respectable. The basic configuration was solid, if heavy. Over the years, we modified stuff as wear or mood dictated, and Pete rode the piss out of it. While I changed bikes as frequently as some people change their socks, Pete kept riding the DBR. Bang for the buck, I think he got his money's worth.
When I was done, I looked it up on Bicycle Blue Book, which may not be the most accurate resource when trying to set a price. Bike values are still dictated by regional demand, and what may be a priceless classic in one place is worthless in another. However, I needed a starting place, since the goal of this was to sell the bike to fund my planned genetic enhancements to rebuild myself into a bike racing Übermensch. Imagine my surprise when the value of the bike wouldn't have funded a trip to the doctor's waiting room to read the old magazines. So much for that plan.
Still, I think BBB is a tad off on this one. I think well-maintained bikes bottom out in value at a certain point. While this bike is in no danger of ever being considered a classic, it does have a solid 9-speed STI drivetrain and all of the common consumable parts have been replaced with new components. If maintained, it can serve as a reliable daily ride for many, many years. As far as I'm concerned, it's far from economical repair.
So, I'm going to sell it for what I think it's worth. It won't be expensive, and my hope is that someone will get a lot of use out of it and maybe even try racing one day. My hope is that that person will take care of it as well as Pete did, instead of chaining it to a tree under a tarp to silently rust. Bikes, even solidly entry-level ones like this, deserve to be ridden.
Pete will leave the state later this month with the Cannondale System Six, built with the upgraded parts we slapped on the DBR over the years. He'll likely put a lot of miles on this bike too, finding new loops around the Grand Canyon to explore. He'll likely find new riding buddies and prop up their fragile egos like he has mine for the last few years, but he'll be doing it on a classier ride.
I owe him at least that much.
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