1979 Schwinn Traveller Destroyed by Car - Value for Claim?

GT29

Long time lurker, now a poster looking for a little advice.

In late summer 2014 I was hit by a car, no details left by the driver. After a long process their insurance has admitted complete liability, so solicitor negotiating to cover my injuries and the bike etc.

The bike was a 79/80 Schwinn Traveller. Given to me as a gift by someone who had never used it (even had original tyres when I first got it!) and was in perfect condition, at least it was until a few months of commuting later and it was mangled in said accident.

Just wondering if anyone knew how I can value the bike? Is (was) it a classic and has a value because of that?

If not and you were to replace for say £100, you wouldnt even get a BSO from argos... yet it was a reliable, high quality steel commuter bike. A Suntour groupset etc. but thats certainly better than anything you would get on a BSO, and nice metal downtube shifters are beautiful compared to plastic gripshift....If you wanted a reliable, high quality steel commuter bike wouldn't you be paying £500+ allin?

Any ideas? I would love to equate it to a Genesis with Di2 but Im not that cheeky!

tgotb

I'm afraid I can't offer an answer to your actual question, but if I recall correctly Suntour was the mutt's nuts back in 1980. They had the patent on some specific rear mech feature (might have been the parallelogram bit), and as a result theirs were better than anyone else's.

Sounds like a lovely bike. Commiserations for your loss, and hope it gets sorted to your satisfaction.

UndercoverElephant

I suspect all you can do is go to a good LBS and ask for a quote for a suitable replacement. Choose your LBS wisely, of course, and they may be more helpful.

dhope

Get in touch with a restorer maybe?
Bit of googling
http://johns-recycled-bicycle.blogspot. ... r-iii.html

And why not be a bit cheeky. Hand over a quote for a new Genesis with Ultegra or similar. Nothing completely OTT but let them do the legwork if they want to say the replacement isn't comparable. Or find a restored classic and give them the quote for the fully restored version.

surrey_commuter

I bought a mountain off a mate for £40 and when it was nicked Direct Line replaced it with an equivalent bike. It was a few years ago but they went by type of bike and number of gears. It would seem to be fair for you list the spec that you had and ask for as direct a replacement as possible.

dhope

Ta for unlocking mods

arthur_scrimshaw

Surrey Commuter wrote:

I bought a mountain off a mate for £40 and when it was nicked Direct Line replaced it with an equivalent bike. It was a few years ago but they went by type of bike and number of gears. It would seem to be fair for you list the spec that you had and ask for as direct a replacement as possible.

Ben Nevis? The Eiger? Bit of a bargain if you ask me, that one in the Lake District went for £1.75m? Shame it was nicked though. Did they use a JCB?

Kieran_Burns

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

I bought a mountain off a mate for £40 and when it was nicked Direct Line replaced it with an equivalent bike. It was a few years ago but they went by type of bike and number of gears. It would seem to be fair for you list the spec that you had and ask for as direct a replacement as possible.

Ben Nevis? The Eiger? Bit of a bargain if you ask me, that one in the Lake District went for £1.75m? Shame it was nicked though. Did they use a JCB?

At least we know the thief was called Mohammed.

Actually - may have been Faith... she's a big girl.

surrey_commuter

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

I bought a mountain off a mate for £40 and when it was nicked Direct Line replaced it with an equivalent bike. It was a few years ago but they went by type of bike and number of gears. It would seem to be fair for you list the spec that you had and ask for as direct a replacement as possible.

Ben Nevis? The Eiger? Bit of a bargain if you ask me, that one in the Lake District went for £1.75m? Shame it was nicked though. Did they use a JCB?

:oops:

imagine my surprise that they paid out with no proof of purchase

arthur_scrimshaw

Surrey Commuter wrote:

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

I bought a mountain off a mate for £40 and when it was nicked Direct Line replaced it with an equivalent bike. It was a few years ago but they went by type of bike and number of gears. It would seem to be fair for you list the spec that you had and ask for as direct a replacement as possible.

Ben Nevis? The Eiger? Bit of a bargain if you ask me, that one in the Lake District went for £1.75m? Shame it was nicked though. Did they use a JCB?

:oops:

imagine my surprise that they paid out with no proof of purchase

I think you should complain, you lost a perfectly good mountain and Direct Line tried to fob you off with a lousy bike!

surrey_commuter

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

I bought a mountain off a mate for £40 and when it was nicked Direct Line replaced it with an equivalent bike. It was a few years ago but they went by type of bike and number of gears. It would seem to be fair for you list the spec that you had and ask for as direct a replacement as possible.

Ben Nevis? The Eiger? Bit of a bargain if you ask me, that one in the Lake District went for £1.75m? Shame it was nicked though. Did they use a JCB?

:oops:

imagine my surprise that they paid out with no proof of purchase

I think you should complain, you lost a perfectly good mountain and Direct Line tried to fob you off with a lousy bike!

with hindsight I am not sure it was his mountain to sell so i think getting a new mtb (see what I did that time) for £40 was a result.

UndercoverElephant

dhope wrote:

Ta for unlocking mods

Too true. I thought Rick quoting Rule #16 was odd, unless the OP was riding his Schwinn wearing a yellow jersey.

GT29

Thanks for the tips, at least before it went a bit OT!

GT29

Thanks for the tips, at least before it went a bit OT!

rjsterry

You could have a look at Pedal Pedlar's website to get an idea of vintage prices.

rolf_f

TGOTB wrote:

I'm afraid I can't offer an answer to your actual question, but if I recall correctly Suntour was the mutt's nuts back in 1980. They had the patent on some specific rear mech feature (might have been the parallelogram bit), and as a result theirs were better than anyone else's.

They invented the slant parallelogram - so the upper jockey wheel follows the cassette as you move the mech to the smaller sprockets rather than the gap increasing - hence nicer shift. The rear mechs were also designed so you could remove the rear mech from the bike without splitting the chain and were also very light - even the latest Dura Ace is only just lighter than a 40 year old Suntour Cyclone rear mech. Really very good and way ahead of their time.

OP needs to salvage this kit. Sadly it is worth less than the inferior Campag/Shimano equivalents but it still has value and would be useful to someone. Personally, I'd source a replacement frame and use the old parts to built it up.