What to do with old sew-up rims?
 

In the early '80s I had several bikes with sew-up wheels, and I converted all of them over to 700-C. I still have all the old sew-up rims. Are they of any value at all; and if so, how would you go about selling them? Thanks!

What to do with old sew-up rims?
 

On Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 8:19:09 AM UTC-7, William Crowell wrote:
In the early '80s I had several bikes with sew-up wheels, and I converted all of them over to 700-C. I still have all the old sew-up rims. Are they of any value at all; and if so, how would you go about selling them? Thanks!
You could cut them up and sell them for scrap aluminum value. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aero-25mm-W...AOSw~hZd8GA 7

What to do with old sew-up rims?
 

On Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 8:19:09 AM UTC-7, William Crowell wrote:
In the early '80s I had several bikes with sew-up wheels, and I converted all of them over to 700-C. I still have all the old sew-up rims. Are they of any value at all; and if so, how would you go about selling them? Thanks!

It depends on the rims. I gave away some GP4s to a friend who rides tubulars on his CX bike. They are still popular with the CX set had some value. If you're talking a Monthlery rim, probably not. You might stumble across the guy looking to build an Eroica bike or resurrect a period appropriate racing bike who might be interested, depending on the rim. People who race on tubulars are not racing on historical rims. Craigslist is the easiest platform for selling. Shipping would be twice any reasonable sale price, so eBay is probably no good -- plus the fee would reduce your cut to $.10.

-- Jay Beattie.

What to do with old sew-up rims?
 

On 9/17/2020 3:47 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 8:19:09 AM UTC-7, William Crowell wrote:
In the early '80s I had several bikes with sew-up wheels, and I converted all of them over to 700-C. I still have all the old sew-up rims. Are they of any value at all; and if so, how would you go about selling them? Thanks!

It depends on the rims. I gave away some GP4s to a friend who rides tubulars on his CX bike. They are still popular with the CX set had some value. If you're talking a Monthlery rim, probably not. You might stumble across the guy looking to build an Eroica bike or resurrect a period appropriate racing bike who might be interested, depending on the rim. People who race on tubulars are not racing on historical rims. Craigslist is the easiest platform for selling. Shipping would be twice any reasonable sale price, so eBay is probably no good -- plus the fee would reduce your cut to $.10.

Since I don't ride them, what are the differences between historical
tubular rims and modern ones? Anything besides spoke count?


--
- Frank Krygowski

What to do with old sew-up rims?
 

On 9/17/2020 10:19 AM, William Crowell wrote:
In the early '80s I had several bikes with sew-up wheels, and I converted all of them over to 700-C. I still have all the old sew-up rims. Are they of any value at all; and if so, how would you go about selling them? Thanks!


New vintage of some models have serious value. Your average
40 year old technology was unremarkable and hasn't improved
in popularity over time.

Anything used will be hard to give away (unless it's built
on some desirable hub).

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

What to do with old sew-up rims?
 

On 9/17/2020 3:13 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/17/2020 3:47 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 8:19:09 AM UTC-7,
William Crowell wrote:
In the early '80s I had several bikes with sew-up wheels,
and I converted all of them over to 700-C. I still have
all the old sew-up rims. Are they of any value at all;
and if so, how would you go about selling them? Thanks!

It depends on the rims. I gave away some GP4s to a friend
who rides tubulars on his CX bike. They are still popular
with the CX set had some value. If you're talking a
Monthlery rim, probably not. You might stumble across the
guy looking to build an Eroica bike or resurrect a period
appropriate racing bike who might be interested, depending
on the rim. People who race on tubulars are not racing on
historical rims. Craigslist is the easiest platform for
selling. Shipping would be twice any reasonable sale
price, so eBay is probably no good -- plus the fee would
reduce your cut to $.10.

Since I don't ride them, what are the differences between
historical tubular rims and modern ones? Anything besides
spoke count?



Modern rims in modern materials are dramatically stiffer and
rounder. Plus, they have finished brake tracks so they don't
go thunk thunk when the brake shoe crosses the seam.

https://www.velocityusa.com/product/rims/major-tom-622

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

What to do with old sew-up rims?
 

On Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 12:47:12 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 8:19:09 AM UTC-7, William Crowell wrote:
In the early '80s I had several bikes with sew-up wheels, and I converted all of them over to 700-C. I still have all the old sew-up rims. Are they of any value at all; and if so, how would you go about selling them? Thanks!
It depends on the rims. I gave away some GP4s to a friend who rides tubulars on his CX bike. They are still popular with the CX set had some value. If you're talking a Monthlery rim, probably not. You might stumble across the guy looking to build an Eroica bike or resurrect a period appropriate racing bike who might be interested, depending on the rim. People who race on tubulars are not racing on historical rims. Craigslist is the easiest platform for selling. Shipping would be twice any reasonable sale price, so eBay is probably no good -- plus the fee would reduce your cut to $.10.

-- Jay Beattie.
That's probably a much better answer. Most of the old sewup rims I see though are Record Strata or Ergal rims that are pure trash. But it is true that a lot of people are now getting old enough that they are building period bikes.

What to do with old sew-up rims?
 

On Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 1:58:53 PM UTC-7, AMuzi wrote:
On 9/17/2020 10:19 AM, William Crowell wrote:
In the early '80s I had several bikes with sew-up wheels, and I converted all of them over to 700-C. I still have all the old sew-up rims. Are they of any value at all; and if so, how would you go about selling them? Thanks!

New vintage of some models have serious value. Your average
40 year old technology was unremarkable and hasn't improved
in popularity over time.

Anything used will be hard to give away (unless it's built
on some desirable hub).

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/bop...193350377.html As Andrew mentions below, these wheels weren't really made with a brake track - it was just the sides of the rims. I've even seen some of them on which the anodizing went all the way around and the brake shoes had to wear it off to get decent braking.

What to do with old sew-up rims?
 

On Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 10:19:09 AM UTC-5, William Crowell wrote:
In the early '80s I had several bikes with sew-up wheels, and I converted all of them over to 700-C. I still have all the old sew-up rims. Are they of any value at all; and if so, how would you go about selling them? Thanks!


I don't have an answer for you. But I sort of have the same question. I have a couple Mavic GEL280 and GL330 rims. Brand spanking new. 32 hole. Several years ago in a thread my Mavic rims were brought into it and Andy replied that they were sort of worthless unless they were 36 hole. Apparently the vintage people want vintage 36 hole rims, not 32. I'm guessing if Andy's shop owned them they might be able to sell them for something, maybe. But not an individual using want ads. So old tubulars aren't worth much at all unless they are a very specific model and holes and year. And then you would have to somehow find that one in a 100 million person to buy them. That's all of three people in the whole USA.