Trek Widowmaker Project 1

This is an interesting project 1 to say the least...

If it were a newer frame and I were a bit larger it would be a lot more tempting, but it's worth just staring at the paint job for a while as it is.

As well as wondering just who would have ordered this to begin with.  One question that comes to mind...  face tattoo or no face tattoo?

Raleigh International

Spray painted Reynolds 531 frames always leave me with a funny feeling.  Do I want it, or ?  This one is a bit too large for me or I would have been really tempted.

The seller told us it had no paint on it when he pulled it out of a family members garage and he had it stripped then sprayed it himself.

The only thing that I know I would not do with it would be to leave it like it is.  Probably would have preferred the rusting patina, in fact.

For only $165 obo though, how wrong can you be?

Surly Krampus Kustom

This isn't really a worthy 'feature' but what?

Repaired Orbea?

This one raises more questions than it answers.

Presumably it was repaired prior to being repainted as such, but the listing does not mention this or clarify what was repaired.

IF you can get beyond that, and I would be inclined to trust any carbon work done here to be honest, then is it really a 27mm seatpost?  Surely that can't be right.

I also noticed the response to a question which states it would make a 'great road or cyclocross build'.  How would you build this for cyclocross?

In the end I think it makes predator look bad that this is out there and likely selling on eBay for so little.  I know they have nothing to do with this sale, but anytime a frame with a logo on it this large sells it is in some small way a referendum of public trust in the repair company.  Certainly if you look more into this listing you see "why" it's running at only $70 with about a day left on eBay.  It's too bad.

Very Broken Guru Evolo

Looks like it broke mid-gran fondo, eh?

This one is fascinating.  Not so much because it has almost the same damage as Contador's bike.  The one that was run over by the team car, not the one he was riding when he went down in yesterday's stage.  Rather, why is it on eBay for $5k.  One has to assume the buyer of this custom carbon frame is very angry with the builder and is using this listing as a pulpit.  A while back I sent him a reasonable offer, as I figured it might be worth fixing at the right price point...  but he made it clear he did not want to sell at all.  I don't have a real positive impression of "custom" carbon frames in general as it's nearly impossible to build a better frame than the ones the big boys are building when you are working without their best technology (even if you are more hands on/small batch), BUT certainly this sort of failure can only be the result of a major impact?  Perhaps with a car?  Why is the owner apparently so angry with Guru then?  See it here on eBay.

Early Trek Reynolds 531

This is a personal bucket list frameset.  Into steel and gravel?  Why buy something newer or custom when you could pick this up.  There isn't a ton of information, and the current build is not the way I would go.  That said the price is reasonable at $285 obo.

Here is the sellers info on the bike-

Well, just because I'm bored I'm gonna post this. I love this bike, but try as I might, it's not getting any bigger and I'm not getting any shorter. At 6'3" I'm just too tall for this ride. So, I'm wondering if anyone is feeling the opposite way about a similar bike: yours is too big for you.
If so, wanna trade? What I'm really looking for is a gravel bike with some gears (especially after riding this bike in this weekend's Almanzo).
Here is what I can tell you about this bike.
It's an '80s-era Trek with a U.S.-made Reynolds 531 steel frame.
The bike measures 32 inches from ground to top tube.
I've updated most of the parts on it:
- Converted it to a single speed that allows you to switch out the rear gear depending on the kind of riding. Bike comes with a full set of gears.
- Added a Specialized stem and Specialized bent bar.
- Added two Nashbar wheels that are about two years old
- Gravel tires are in good shape
- Added new seat post and Specialized saddle
The bike was recently overhauled with a new bottom bracket, brake pads, cables.
* Pedals, saddle bag not included.

The frame appears to be in very solid shape.

Can be seen here on facebook in the Twincities Bicycle Trading Post.

Legnano Olimpiade Frameset

This one looks too far gone for my tastes, but this is a model that certainly strikes a chord.  I'm a bit biased as my father raced a 1968 variant when new.  He still has it with roughly a million miles on it.  Sadly, it's a 51 and a bit small for me to put miles on.  Interestingly, his also has some of the first Phil Wood hubs and a Phil Wood square taper bottom bracket all of which was installed prior to 1970 on his 1968 bike.

Find it here on eBay.

For more information about Legnano click here and here.