Titian titanium valuation…

PB Forum :: Vintage and Fixed Gear Bikes

Author	Message

Bightpatrol

Posted: Jun 4, 2023 at 11:07

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I have a Titan as described below in very good condition, no sign of stress cracks in frame and very little rust on the hardware.

I’m too big for this beautiful relic from the past and would like to sell it for a fair price. My internet searches have not produced much current info on fair market pricing. I would love to hear from posters here what you think. Thank you in advance to looking and/or providing feedback.

Barn find - Teledyne Titan s/n 001779 Mod A3 UIR

Beautiful original condition, lightly ridden, never raced.

Campgnolo hardware , Ambrosio 19 Durex super elite extra rims.

Needs new tires and rubber brake handle covers.

anoplura

Posted: Jun 18, 2023 at 20:29

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Teledyne Titans are very hard to estimate the value of. They are essentially collector's items - rather than performance bicycles - so it's really up to what the buyer is willing to pay.

Allegedly, only ~2,000 or so (some sources say fewer) frames were made. The first few batches used a titanium fork which was prone to flexing and failure. Later models came with a steel fork. The former are worth more to the collector. The latter would theoretically be more rideable, but the frames were also built primarily for light weight, and didn't tend to survive long when ridden frequently. Estimates of ~500 or so frames surviving today seem pretty accurate based on my experience.

There is a reason they are still collected today, and valued by nostalgic lunatics such as myself. Titanium really is a "magical" metal that is very well suited to bicycle frame construction. Teledyne was just a little too ambitious, too soon.

Back to your question: ~2018 I sold two Teledyne Titan bikes for a used bike outlet I was working for. If I remember correctly, we didn't have much luck with the complete bikes, but ended up parting out the period-correct Campagnolo Record parts and selling the framesets (both with Ti forks if I remember right) for ~$750 each.

I was disappointed with what the framesets sold for, but that just shows how the value is really up to the collector and how bad they want it. If you find the right person at the right time, you could sell the whole bike (refurbished, with new tires, cables and brake hoods) for $3,000. Or, if no one is interested, you might get $1,000 or so on eBay by carefully parting everything out, cleaning and photographing it, etc. - putting in 8-12 hours of work.

dirttorpedo

Posted: Jun 26, 2023 at 16:13

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Agree its really difficult to put a value on vintage titanium frames. I've seen many examples languish on CraigsList for months - heck I'm looking at some new Ti bikes get no love on the used market. I feel the best approach is to set what you think is a reasonable reserve and put the frame on eBay and see what the market says. You may need to do this a couple of times to maximize the ROI on the bike.

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