# 1880s Victor



## Flat Tire (Sep 15, 2015)

Looked at this Victor today and appears to be all original, earliest date on the headbadge is 1880. No front brake but has a rear brake, can anyone put a realistic value on it? I dont have a clue, thinking about making an offer!  .....Thanks - Don


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## walter branche (Sep 16, 2015)

it would sell for 4,000 to 5500 on a good day . The thing that makes it good , it has a nice set of very rare cushion tires . the thing that makes it bad , it has cushion tires , ...You could never ride it. the tiring would be ruined, as of now ,there is no way to replace this type of tire. free rare advice , from a know it all about victors  ..It would be a money maker if you could get it for a nice price , walter branche


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## vuniw (Sep 16, 2015)

Great looking bike! Good luck with the purchase


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## Freqman1 (Sep 16, 2015)

That bike is wicked! Go for it Don. V/r Shawn


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## bikewhorder (Sep 16, 2015)

These Victors are way up there on my wish list.  They are so cool.  I was going to say 4K-5K as well but that's just a guess. This one is not quite the same http://copakeauction.hibid.com/lot/...or&dateStart=5/1/2005&dateEnd=9/16/2015&tab=2


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## Flat Tire (Sep 16, 2015)

walter branche said:


> it would sell for 4,000 to 5500 on a good day . The thing that makes it good , it has a nice set of very rare cushion tires . the thing that makes it bad , it has cushion tires , ...You could never ride it. the tiring would be ruined, as of now ,there is no way to replace this type of tire. free rare advice , from a know it all about victors  ..It would be a money maker if you could get it for a nice price , walter branche




Thanks Walter! Unfortunately he wants more than that, said he'd deal but I doubt he'd come down to what I wanna pay, i'll see how long he keeps it then maybe he'll come down to a reasonable price.....I could buy a lot of Huffys for that kind of money....haha!...Sure is a nice bike tho!


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## walter branche (Sep 16, 2015)

if it had the open diamond frame and the spring fork , the price would jump , this is like a 92 or 93 last year before the pneumatic invasion ,the copake bike shown ,also had a rear cushion that kept the price down , usually a nice solid tired safety , victor springfork- is gonna get in the 8,500 to 12,500 range , I have sold 3 ladies for over 10,000 and more than 5 mens versions for plus ,plus , . most people here that name victor ,and go a little crazy on there desire for the money , ..  that bike you have found is nice , just not so special to spend ,the big bucks , especially when it will just sit ,  because the tiring ..  good luck ,,  I have a few flats to fix , . i will check back on here to read what the experts think ,.   walter branche ,


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## bikejunk (Sep 16, 2015)

check the rims these tin built up rims rust from the inside out and can be fragile even on a bike this good - I had the spring fork version of this cush tire bike a few years ago new tires made it a heavy ride cause the replacements were just supper heavy solid rubber . I sold it for about 5000  at copake flea .It was quite a  few notches below this bike in condition - nice to see a great old un molested bike like this out their !!


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## GiovanniLiCalsi (Sep 16, 2015)

Possibly new 30" rims can be made and 28" x 1-3/4" Robert Deans tires stretched over them.


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## pelletman (Sep 18, 2015)

It is 1891-2 ish and very nice.  Model B or C I think. I'm not looking at a catalog scan right now.  Cushion tires can be replaced, but with formed solid rubber, and that will make it even heavier and worse to ride.  I WOULD NOT change the tires, that bike should be left alone.  It is beautiful.  I think on the open market (ebay) it would bring more than has been mentioned here.  They are all pretty terrible to ride compared to the wonderful ordinaries..


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## pelletman (Sep 18, 2015)

Upon second look, I think it has been overpainted, probably pretty good original paint underneath.  Still very nice


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## bricycle (Sep 18, 2015)

I think Walter is spot on... I was gonna say $4K-$5K in that condition. I was gonna buy a rougher one for $1300-$1500...I passed on it.(stupid me..this was when I was first getting into the old stuff) It sold for $3200 ish with wrong rear wheel.


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## Andrew Gorman (Sep 18, 2015)

Don't despair on the cushion tires- see Cary Williams' posts on modding Greentyres from the UK at the Wheelmen.  Also, Bell no-mor flats  solid inner tubes can be stretched over 30" rims.  These make for a soft, slow ride but that is part of the cushion tire experience.


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## willswares1220 (Sep 19, 2015)

I Just Love That Early Stuff!!!!!


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## walter branche (Sep 19, 2015)

my whole point is why destroy a bike with rare tiring just so you can be selfish and ride it ,leave original stuff alone , for historical reasons , .. who cares if you can rig up some tiring that is no where near accurate ,just so you can ride the bike , ..   buy a machine that is already screwed up and put your bogus tires on them


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## willswares1220 (Sep 19, 2015)

I agree, but if a person decides to make it ride-able at one point, save those original tires to be put back at a later date as well as anything else that might have been altered for future Historical significance. Of course, bicycles that have already been altered are usually the prime candidates for that rider anyway!


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## walter branche (Sep 19, 2015)

no way you could remove that victor cushion tire and ever get it back on , correct....... , that bike is not unusual or rare , for what you would pay to purchase , then to retire it , you could buy a bike very similar , or something just like it ,and have Larry Lunz , Make some rims in 1 inch , and it would be a not so heavy , rider .. I have sold those style victor safetys for 2500 ,to 4000 depends on who is buying it and the passion of purchase 
,


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## Andrew Gorman (Sep 19, 2015)

I have thought of that with my (stagnant) cushion tire project.  




Hard tire rims would definitely be more sprightly, and at the time most bikes could be had with hard, cushion or pneumatic tires.  But I keep thinking the bike has (one) cushion tire so it should stay a cusion tire. Tat's why I've looked into modern alternatives.


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## pelletman (Sep 21, 2015)

willswares1220 said:


> I agree, but if a person decides to make it ride-able at one point, save those original tires to be put back at a later date as well as anything else that might have been altered for future Historical significance. Of course, bicycles that have already been altered are usually the prime candidates for that rider anyway!




You couldn't take those tires off and save them, they shouldn't be touched


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## walter branche (Sep 21, 2015)

pelletman said:


> You couldn't take those tires off and save them, they shouldn't be touched



that is what i wrote also . leave the bikes tires  alone .
y


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## willswares1220 (Sep 21, 2015)

Walter, 
I'm not familiar with the actual cushion tire itself. Are they solid rubber and are they normally glued on, wired on, clinchers or what??
Would they break apart if they were touched or taken off?
The bicycles people pick up are usually missing the tires anyway, so a person has nothing to lose most of the time and wouldn't destroy that originality.
I guess museum quality bicycles should be left alone if at all possible, if you can afford to, unless a person really loves the bicycle and would enjoy the thrill of actually riding it in parades, at meets, demonstrations, along bike paths, country roads, etc. for years to come.
To each his own, I guess.


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## Duchess (Sep 21, 2015)

Why not have replica wheels made with tires that can be made to work? I did that with my Iver and the original wood wheels are sitting safely in a box in the closet. To me, a machine is meant to be used—gently, infrequently, and with respect to their age in these cases, sure—but sitting in a museum or a livingroom doesn't interest anybody except the relatively few who are already interested. I like to share my interests with people and that requires more people to be interested than I usually encounter unless I want to only interact with a small, fairly closed community. That's fine if that's your thing, but I'd rather not have peoples' eyes glaze over as they plan their route of escape when I try to share my enthusiasm for something. I don't know of any statistics on how many kids became interested in aircraft by seeing them in a museum, but I'd bet anything that it's far less than the number who became interested after seeing them flying at a show or, even better, gone up in one. And, yes, terribly, this results in inevitable loss (though, bicycle riding is hardly piloting an old warbird). The more people that are interested, the more enjoyment we can get out of our interest and the more these things appreciate in value as well. But, my POV isn't that of a collector or curator, either—I love things that move people (the potential psychological reasons behind that are beyond the scope of this comment).


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## pelletman (Sep 21, 2015)

This is not an 1890's pneumatic safety that can easily have its wheels changed.  These wheels would cost quite a bit to build


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## bikejunk (Sep 22, 2015)

I had a new set of rims and spokes built about 8 years a ago for a bike just like this 1,100$ and I had the hubs . to answer a question above these tires are soft rubber (sponge in the middle) and solid rubber on the outer casing -only offered for a short time just before pneumatic tires I cant imagine they lasted long at all ...


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