Vintage Francois Du Toit help with value.

[Peddle pusher]

Hi need some input as to the value of this FdT bike. Bought in 1982 by my brother Jason, rode Argus on it in 1983, 84 and 85. He then decided to upgrade to an identical 531 from Francois and I sold this bike in 1986 to a friend on behalf of my brother, I purchased it back earlier in the year and did a good clean up of parts and frame. What would the value be of this here bicycle. Its an 025 frame "hand made " , maillard 700 pedals , original zefal afa 3 pump, Adamas DX groupset, original cloth bar tape ( great condition ) , cherry brakes with upgraded weimann brake blocks and for a bicycle that is 37 years old cleaned up damn well. If anyone has a black FdT in 531 of about 1985 vintage please message me.

[Slowbee]

ask the guys on the retro group...they might be able to help

 

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/46935-retro-bicycle-thread/?hl=retro

[BuffsVintageBikes]

Unfortunately not as much as one would expect for a bike of that age. It has some collectors value for sure, for someone who enjoys SA built frames (like myself) but the 025 tubing and old steel rims etc lets the value down a bit. It wasn't a top end bike at the time.

I'd guess the value between R2500-R5000 depending if you find the right buyer.

[Peddle pusher]

Thanks for your input Buff, I pegged at about R 3500. Provenance of this nature is priceless, especially after selling and then .............

[DJR]

By the way, and apologies for hijacking a little bit, P Pusher, I would be interested in a 1980s size 58/59 Du Toit, frame and fork or whole bike, if someone somewhere wants to part with one for a decent price. The idea would be to build a truly SA bike to take to an Eroica in Italy. Crazy dream perhaps? Might as well "build it and they will come" to see if the idea comes together.

[DJR]

As for value, I would also put it somewhere between R3000 and R5000 depending on what parts it is built with and the quality of the original paint work and logos..

[Peddle pusher]

Good luck with your SA concept bike DJR. Logo's 100%, paint is good with some surface rust and parts are actually excellent. Will maybe do a write up from beginning to end of the story and resto work i did, took loads of pics.

[BuffsVintageBikes]

Thanks for your input Buff, I pegged at about R 3500. Provenance of this nature is priceless, especially after selling and then .............

 

Yep, that bike is worth more to you than anyone else. If I was you I'd polish it up, but some fresh rubber on it and enjoy it on the occassional Sunday ride. Those old steelies provide a very comfortable ride and each time you swing a leg over it, the memories of a different era will come flooding back

The seatpost appears to be missing, chat to Nils at Woodstock Cycleworx if you need a replacement, he has some great old parts in his "old classics box" collection.

[DJR]

Good luck with your SA concept bike DJR. Logo's 100%, paint is good with some surface rust and parts are actually excellent. Will maybe do a write up from beginning to end of the story and resto work i did, took loads of pics.

Yes, please do that. You can start your own thread or post it in the Retro Bike thread.

[Loose cog]

IMHO the price is in the range of R1,500 to R2,000. Tip, always take pics with drive side showing, allows the view of the crank and derailleurs.

[DJR]

IMHO the price is in the range of R1,500 to R2,000. Tip, always take pics with drive side showing, allows the view of the crank and derailleurs.

Buying or selling? If you have a nice Du Toit for sale in my size, please let me know and I'll snap it up.

[Peddle pusher]

Pricing ! Thanks for the input, always interesting and an emotive issue pricing is. Those that have the item are smiling and those that are dreaming about owning it bemoan the price. Everything has a price, I dont care what the item is. The art is in finding the buyer and the offer making the owner\seller think twice. So back to the bike, I challenge you to think back to something you regret selling, gave away or had stolen, that now miraculously is being offered back to you at " A PRICE ". Listen we all have that one item that the left ball would be given to get back ( right one produces sperm, remember that ). Provenance is priceless. Yes the FdT bike is a piece of crap made out of one grade up from steam tube pipe, crappy rims and shitty components, BUT it started a cycling career that included a hand full of track records, competing  in Europe the USA and ultimately  representing RSA in Manchester (1999) as a senior, provenance indeed. So to end , Buff your input is valued and I respect your knowledge base and concur with estimate on price , Loose cog , I cannot disagree with your estimate , it is really just steam tube at best with soso parts and DJR I hope your dream FdT leaves both in the pocket. To my brother this is a priceless item that started it all over 37 years ago, I swear he had tears in his eyes when he saw it for the first time a few weeks ago, he remained very quit for a while,  just staring at it in my office. If you got this far I hope you enjoyed it.