# Twin Bar Value? What is it worth?



## Wayne Adam (Aug 16, 2015)

xyz xyz xyz


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## THE STIG (Aug 16, 2015)

$1000. .............


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## OldSkipTooth (Aug 16, 2015)

I like the understated paint color, it allows for a clear view of the overall design! It is a nice Machine Age design.


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## fordmike65 (Aug 16, 2015)

$2K


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## Wayne Adam (Aug 16, 2015)

*Knowledgeable opinions please*



THE STIG said:


> $1000. .............





Yea right, I'll throw it in the garbage before I sell it for $1,000


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## THE STIG (Aug 16, 2015)

If the frame, rack, frt fender back was straight ... "maybe" $1500.


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## OldSkipTooth (Aug 16, 2015)

Where do you live...I will take your trash for free! and mow your lawn for that ride!


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## Dale Alan (Aug 16, 2015)

Wayne Adam said:


> Yea right, I'll throw it in the garbage before I sell it for $1,000




Your words,all of them...I thought you had no idea ?







> Please let me know what you think, because I have no idea.


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## Junkhunter (Aug 16, 2015)

A brown one with original paint sold here recently for somewhere around $1600 or $1650 I think.


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## THE STIG (Aug 16, 2015)

Junkhunter said:


> A brown one with original paint sold here recently for somewhere around $1600 or $1650 I think.




Eggzackly........ Straight too


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## Junkhunter (Aug 16, 2015)

Hard to compare the 2 though. Yours has had a lot of nice work done on it. I think Fordmike is probably right at about 2K. Really heavy bikes to ride though. Good job on the paint, whoever it was that did it. Gorgeous bike for sure.


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## Freqman1 (Aug 16, 2015)

The market for Twins has cooled in the last few years. Is that a factory color? If not could hurt resale because someone would have to repaint to truly restore. I seen a couple decent originals go begging at the $2k mark so I would say that's pretty much tops in today's market. Realistically I'm more in the $1600-1800 range though. Of course these are just my observations. V/r Shawn


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## bikeyard (Aug 16, 2015)

Junkhunter said:


> A brown one with original paint sold here recently for somewhere around $1600 or $1650 I think.




It sold for $1250 and there was a line for it, if the first person dropped out.  I was offered more for it but Chris was first and after his clean up I would say it is worth double.


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## StevieZ (Aug 16, 2015)

Well I guess it's time to come along and burst everyone bubble. The Elgin twin bar is worth nothing now. I have had mine for sale for 2 years. Completely restored. Even with the correct tires and brass nipples in the wheels. I also understand that mine does not have the chrome parts it should. I was asking 2k for mine. Not a single offer in 2 years. I even offered to parts this bike out to help out some fellow cabers and Facebook friends. Still not a soul made an offer on parts. I don't want to sound negative. But after all the flack that has been taken about the Elgin twin and all the hype. I will walk by and not even look at them any more. 




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## Junkhunter (Aug 16, 2015)

Really? No offers? Don't even get me started....


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## kccomet (Aug 17, 2015)

Wayne Adam said:


> Hi Guys,
> I was thinking of possibly selling my '38 Elgin Twin 40. What is this bike worth, what is the top dollar you think I could get?
> I worked for some time on the restoration. The paint & body work are as good as it gets. All of the parts are original except for the reproduction battery pod & lens, and of course the tires are new and the spokes are upgraded to stainless. The seat is period correct, but it is from a '38 Columbia.
> Please let me know what you think, because I have no idea.
> Thanks, Wayne




i see you must have an idea now on price, its on ebay...... it is a very pretty bike


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## fordmike65 (Aug 17, 2015)

StevieZ said:


> Well I guess it's time to come along and burst everyone bubble. The Elgin twin bar is worth nothing now. I have had mine for sale for 2 years. Completely restored. Even with the correct tires and brass nipples in the wheels. I also understand that mine does not have the chrome parts it should. I was asking 2k for mine. Not a single offer in 2 years. I even offered to parts this bike out to help out some fellow cabers and Facebook friends. Still not a soul made an offer on parts. I don't want to sound negative. But after all the flack that has been taken about the Elgin twin and all the hype. I will walk by and not even look at them any more.
> 
> View attachment 231974[
> 
> ...




Cool custom Twin, but in no way restored. No parts chromed or plated, incorrect seat & possibly guard. Don't get me wrong, it's a really cool bike, but I wouldn't gauge Elgin Twin Bar interest & sales by this one bike.


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## scrubbinrims (Aug 17, 2015)

IMO Twinbar interest hasn't cooled... restored bikes have cooled, customized bikes have cooled as the originality trend continues to grow.
The last original twin 40 sold at Copake just this past Spring for 2,500 plus juice, so more like 3K in reality, and that was a soft auction for ballooners.

When you paint a bike in a palette that pleases you versus what the factory did, you have personalized it and when you use non-correct components and repops, you have further narrowed a buying audience that is typically more savvy at higher price points where details matter.
It would be rude of me to dissect those detail publicly here and also unfair to offer a value since I am not a buyer.

You are an artist Wayne and the bike still presents well when viewed in out of the collector context, but you are probably going to have to be patient in getting enough money to compensate for all of your time invested.

Chris


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## Robertriley (Aug 17, 2015)

scrubbinrims said:


> IMO Twinbar interest hasn't cooled... restored bikes have cooled, customized bikes have cooled as the originality trend continues to grow.
> The last original twin 40 sold at Copake just this past Spring for 2,500 plus juice, so more like 3K in reality, and that was a soft auction for ballooners.
> 
> 
> Chris





Chris is right on.  We both have great looking restored Blackhawks and can't give them away but I think if they were original paint, they'd be long gone.


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## Freqman1 (Aug 17, 2015)

Chris, there was a time a few years ago when I saw clapped out Twin frames bringing $600 or better and it seemed for a short time a feeding frenzy on anything Twin. I agree with the restored unless its really rare and well done. I also agree that custom colors and repo parts will stymie a potential sale as well. V/r Shawn


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## Sped Man (Aug 17, 2015)

scrubbinrims said:


> IMO Twinbar interest hasn't cooled... restored bikes have cooled, customized bikes have cooled as the originality trend continues to grow.
> The last original twin 40 sold at Copake just this past Spring for 2,500 plus juice, so more like 3K in reality, and that was a soft auction for ballooners.
> 
> When you paint a bike in a palette that pleases you versus what the factory did, you have personalized it and when you use non-correct components and repops, you have further narrowed a buying audience that is typically more savvy at higher price points where details matter.
> ...




I have to agree with Scubbinrims. Restored bicycles have definitely cooled down. There are several reasons. One being that some of these so called expert restorers have done half as# jobs restoring these gems. By using Epoxy, bondo, & fiber glass here and there covering up holes or cracks in the frame, rims, and even those expensive hard to find tanks. Bikes which should have been used for parts instead where turned into head turners and sold for ridiculous prices being held together by epoxy, fiberglass or glue.


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## Freqman1 (Aug 17, 2015)

Restore-to bring back to or put back into a former or original state-Merriam Webster  "Original state" means factory paint scheme, colors, finishes (chrome, nickel, cad) and parts. The expert restorers I know--Bob Ujszaszi, Tim Brandt, Bob Strucel, and Dave Stromberger do quality work and are truly masters of their craft. Yep I've seen a bunch of hack jobs too but if you can't tell the difference between a hack job and something by one of these guys then you might want to choose another hobby. Most so-called restorations aren't even close. I believe there is still a strong market for high end, correctly restored bikes. The fact is most bicycles aren't worth restoring from an economic standpoint. I do believe nice, original, correct bikes will always command strong $$. Now before I get jumped on for insinuating Wayne's bike is a hack job that is not what I said. His bike has been refurbished nicely in my opinion. Ebay is a good venue to get something out there to people who may appreciate the bike for what it is. He also describes the bike correctly--which is commendable. V/r Shawn


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## Nickinator (Aug 17, 2015)

Two years ago we had this very nicely restored Twin 4 Star for sale for $2500, sat for quite some time, ended up selling it for 2k. Was a nice complete bike to begin with (we bought it post-resto). No repop parts that I remember except grips, including original twin lights, very nice new chrome all around, nice vintage tires, seat resto was super nice, etc...seems that was the beginning of the slide on most Twin Bars, except of course the T60's or og ones. 

Darcie


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## sleepy (Aug 17, 2015)

Wayne Adam said:


> Hi Guys,
> I was thinking of possibly selling my '38 Elgin Twin 40. What is this bike worth, what is the top dollar you think I could get?
> I worked for some time on the restoration. The paint & body work are as good as it gets. All of the parts are original except for the reproduction battery pod & lens, and of course the tires are new and the spokes are upgraded to stainless. The seat is period correct, but it is from a '38 Columbia.
> Please let me know what you think, because I have no idea.
> Thanks, Wayne




Loved this bike when you first posted the restored pics a little while back.

Wish I had the $$$$ right now.


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## walter branche (Aug 18, 2015)

when showing a bike for sale , detail will help , if the bike has counterbalanced pedals like this elgin , put them facing the correct way , and horizontal , when a bike bozo like me looks at these photos , it makes me wonder what other hokey stuff is there waiting to see ,and discover !!!???? ..  why not put a switch in the empty spot , there are all kinds of switches at stereo or electrical stores- I could go on and on , they just rang the medication bell- so I am outa here , thanks ,


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## walter branche (Aug 18, 2015)

walter branche said:


> when showing a bike for sale , detail will help , if the bike has counterbalanced pedals like this elgin , put them facing the correct way , and horizontal , when a bike bozo like me looks at these photos , it makes me wonder what other hokey stuff is there waiting to see ,and discover !!!???? ..  why not put a switch in the empty spot , there are all kinds of switches at stereo or electrical stores- I could go on and on , they just rang the medication bell- so I am outa here , thanks ,



Hi , wayne got offended by my suggestions on this bike ,so sorry for causing any problems with my posting ,   it is how I operate ..TELL IT LIKE IT IS , cuss me out , flick boogers at me , shoot birds , i do not care at all , i have been there ,done it and seen it , for many years , more than most of you have been alive ,   so   wayne ,,   correct your photos ,and lets get to more important ideas


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## sleepy (Aug 18, 2015)

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I think that Wayne's bike is one of the nicest I've seen on this forum. And I didn't particularly like the Elgin Twin Bar until I saw this one. I think that the color he chose for it really accentuates the lines of this Art Deco beauty.


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