Help with bicycle value

Last year at school I bought a Raleigh bike from a pawn shop for $25. It was in rough condition, and it took me about a half hour of using borrowed tools from the same pawn shop to get it moving, but it worked... It got me from point A to point B without any problems. About the last day the weather let me ride it, I didn't realize that there was a bad part of the sidewalk, and it popped my tire, popped the tube, and dented the wheel. I walked it back to the dorm, locked it up, and left it until now. After the winter, it was in rough shape, and the bike shop said it would be about $200 bucks to fix it up. Not gonna happen.

So I come to this vast field of random and useful knowledge, to ask what I might be able to get for this bike if sold on Craigslist. From what some bikers have told me, its a bottom of the line 1960's Raleigh. Nothing on it is good with the exception of the frame. The frame looks about like this; and I'll get some pictures of mine up when I find a camera to use.

Thanks everybody!

Look at the rear axle hub or a stamp under the crank for a mark that willl identify the year, that makes it easier to appraise.

Dan

Couldn't find the stamp, but I'll look tomorrow in better light. I did find that it is called the Raleigh Record.

it'd probably be worth more if you stripped it down and cleaned up the frame for someone to build into something "hip". right now you're probably going to get about $0-25. sell the old rear hub and frame separate and cleaned up and you might get $50-100 for your troubles. just my humble opinion. it's not much different from a lot of the neglected old clunkers this board loves so much. it's just going to take $$$ or some brains and elbow grease to turn it into something again.

^^Yeah, I'd build it into something hip, then sell it. Assuming it's already a single-speed, like the pic. Just add some "cooler" handlebars & stem, ('bullhorn' style bars perhaps, or flip the old ones upside down, if appropriate.) Lose the dorky mud and chain guards, replace the dented rim with a cheap second hand wheel, and replace any cables and tires if necessary. In that state, it may fetch $300 or more, if the frame is in nice condition. Otherwise it might be worth painting it in some trendy color, too.

I'd look for inspiration here if you're going to paint it, I see more & more kids on campus riding these: Urban Outfitter fixie

Wow. I guess that's how you know a trend is about to go tits up.

That's not a single-speed in the pic. It's a three-speed.

Honestly, it's an old bike that has a good frame and nothing else. Perfectly restored, it might be worth something to someone who had an old Record, but I doubt there's a lot of intrinsic value. It would probably cost more to restore than it is worth, but I could be wrong.

With a fixed wheel, I'm gonna guess it's worth about $25 at a pawn shop.

Find a vintage bike forum and ask there. In their day, Raleigh made a high-quality bike.

I had someone tell me just yesterday vintage 3-speeds have quite a following. Who knows?

By the way, I sold off a Diamond Back mountain bike for $20 over the weekend. As far as I can tell, the people who know bikes either have one (or don't like X about this particular one) and the general population doesn't understand why they should spend any money on a decent bike when they can just go get a new one at Wal-Mart for less than $100.