Copake Auction 2025 - Bicycle Review

The auction house in Copake, New York has long been known for its bicycle auction, traditionally held in the spring but in recent years held each October. Let's take a look at some of the utility bike and three speed lots from this October's auction.

 

Raleigh Record Ace bicycles have always commanded a premium. This pre-war Record Ace is no exception. At $960, it went for a handsome price, but not one that is totally unreasonable. Record Aces are highly sought-after by Raleigh collectors as a premium offering, especially before WWII. 

 

 

Raleigh X-frame or cross-frame roadsters were never common in the USA. They were a staple of pre-WWII English cycling, but never made the same impact in the USA. The traditional, diamond frame was always more popular here in the USA. This pre-WWII cross-frame roadster sold for $360. It appears to have a damaged top tube and incorrect paint, but still commanded decent money because of how rare these bikes are in the USA.  

 

 

This ladies' Humber Sports sold for $120, not a bad price for a ladies bike. Unfortunately, ladies bikes are parted out, and perhaps that's what drove the value in this case. It's a nice bike for someone who likes a step-over frame.  

 

 

Older Sunbeam bicycles command a premium in the USA. Before being bought-out, Sunbeam was one of the more luxurious brands, competing with the likes of Raleigh. This Sunbeam sold for  $300, a fair price for an unusual bike in the USA, and a decent example of a luxurious three speed.

 

 

 Older BSA bikes from before the buyout also command a premium. BSA was well-known as a maker of quality bicycles in competition with Raleigh, especially prior to WWII. This BSA roadster is very tall, but despite being so tall, still sold for $240. Still.. not a bad price if it fits you. But you'd better be pretty tall.... 

 

 

Two Raleigh Twenty bikes were for sale. Both were coffee colored and both in pretty good shape. One sold for under $100 and other for just over $100. Those are excellent bargains for the buyer (not a great price for the seller). Raleigh Twenty bikes have a cult following and are excellent riders. It seems like common, post-war Raleigh bikes have not had strong values the past few years, while more unusual and earlier bikes haven't quite taken the same value hit.

 

Now let's compare the Raleigh Twenty bikes, which sold for very little money, to the Schwinn Runabout, a less-common small wheel bike in the same class with the Twenty. This Schwinn Runabout sold for $600, way more than the Raleighs. The Schwinn bike is relatively uncommon and enjoys cross-over interest from the Schwinn collector community and the muscle bike collector community. The difference is night-versus-day: the Schwinn sells for many times what the Twenty brings, even if the Twenty is the better-made and better-riding of the small wheel bikes. Condition, age, and rarity are kings as between these bikes.

 

Take-Aways

So what do I think are the take-aways?

• Condition, age, and rarity are still the three kings of pricing a vintage utility bike. Luxury brand bikes from before WWII in good shape still command considerable prices, particularly for top-of-market bikes. The Raleigh Record Ace is a great example of a classic English bike that commands a premium. 
• Mid-market and down, the market is kind of soft right now. Raleigh Twenty bikes are common in the USA, but there was a time when they commanded higher prices. At one point several years ago, I was seeing them sell for $300+ for a good example. In this auction, these examples sold for around $100. Great bargains if you're seeing them for those prices.
• Cross-over interest is important. If your bike, such as the Schwinn Runabout, has cross-over interest from buyers with money: Schwinn collectors, muscle bike collectors, etc., then you see higher prices. The Twenty is an objectively superior bike compared to the Runabout - the frame is lighter, the bike is designed to ride and handle more like a full-sized bike, the Twenty folds, etc. But the Runabout is much more valuable today because of that broader collectors interest.
• Ladies' bikes still take a value hit. Some of the ladies bikes sold for very little money in this auction. The Humber had some good parts on it, so probably sold for parts value. I don't see much increase in value for these ladies' bikes in the near future (except as to parts). 
• Lastly (but not least) - this is still just a hobby. Old utility bikes won't make you rich and you don't earn a living off them. But they are enjoyable and still mostly affordable collectibles that also ride wonderfully. "Keep Calm and Carry On", as the saying goes.