1990 Paul Donohue 531 Custom Fillet Brazed & Custom Paint

[Heavy]

Hi,

My wife doesn't seem too impressed with the idea of swapping her modern bike for this gorgeous handmade, fillet brazed custom, Reynolds 531, 1990 Paul Donohue mountain bike, so I need to see what it might be worth to decide if I tidy it up myself and have pretty garage ornament, or let it go to a new, appreciative owner.

I have no idea at all on how to value a bike like this, and the usual research tools have not helped, so I hope you lot might be able to assist. I've gone into more detail than might be expected because it's not an off-the-peg bike.

I'm not an expert on Paul Donahue bikes so forgive & correct me if I'm wrong on anything. One of the few things I know is that Paul made some of the early Orange Formula frames.

From what I can see the bike looks like this:

A one-off custom made and custom painted frame, forks and stem
16" Centre to top of top tube
18" Centre to top of seat tube
Serial number shows it dating to 1990
Reynolds 531 frame including stays, with Oria seat tube
Fillet brazed
PD logo cut out detail at the top of seat tube
Reynolds 531 forks
Reynolds 531 stem (apparently quite rare)
Custom painted by Paul Donohue himself - pink / blue / pink fade on each side with white in the middle. This is in very good shape with some chain-suck being the main area to be addressed. The pink looks baby-pink on the pictures but is much more vibrant than that - closer to dayglo-pink.
Components are mostly Exage Trail with XT headset. It has Campag crank caps - not sure if its a Campag BB.
Rims are Mavic Oxygen M6
Tyres are Specialized Ground Control in very good condition.

The bike seems to have been stored in a very dry place and there are no signs of significant rust. The non-driveside chain-stay has some signs of being flattened by shoes, but it's not particularly obvious. I've done nothing at all to the bike - its as found, complete with dust.

I'd be willing to post the bike as I know that effects valuations. TIA.

Thanks also to beenatitforyears for the insight he's given me into what a special little bike this is.

 

[Heavy]

Re:

A couple more pics

 

[retrobikeguy]

Re:

If it was bigger I would say it would be more attractive to folk, larger frames have been advertised around £200-£300 but i'm not sure what they sold for plus they were higher end tube sets so its a toughie. personally I look and see a low end groupset on a reasonable frame that on the photos 'looks' faded.

as an idea I got my 531 frontiera frameset for about a ton.

hope this helps

 

[Captain Stupido]

Just signing in to say I’d be interested to hear what the asking price is. TBH I have no idea of value...

 

[Heavy]

Re:

Thanks for the comments.

The build is what it is - it certainly warrants some higher end parts, though I do like the matching hand-made stem and the Mavic Oxygen wheels.

The paint isn't faded - you can see on some pics the paint shows as the vibrant pink - check the side of the headtube in the different photos (obviously becomes lighter as it fades to white in the centre).

And I think size is just about it being the right size for the buyer - it may take longer to find the buyer for a smaller bike, but a good fit is a good fit, and the right buyer isn't likely to pass it up to wait for another.

The only value I've been given was by PM from someone who knows the work of the maker well, and he said £200-£250 which seems realistic to the right person.

Anyway, for now it's hanging in my garage with my other too-small bikes I own

 

[mk one]

I would say, based on the pictures, about £100-£150. That is for the frameset, personally i dont think the components really add much to the price, they bring it down if anything. If it were mine i would strip the parts off and give the frameset a clean/polish and just try to sell that.

If you feel that the price you were told above is fair then you should put it up for that in the for sale section, see how it goes, nothing to lose. There is potential in the frame and it could be just what someone is looking for.

 

[jimo746]

Re:

I'd do what he says ^^^°
The valuations you've had so far seem in the right ballpark imo.
The tyres sold separately might fetch half of what the frameset would.

 

[Heavy]

Re:

That all makes sense - cheers.