G'day Ryan!!
How's things in NYC, my friend?! Good weather, I'm guessing? My mother just departed for your shores for the next 7 weeks, actually. She & my father owned a beautiful Austin-Healey BT7 (the 6-cylinder, & I wouldn't normally mention this to a guy upon a cycling site but you're also into cars!!) until my father suddenly died 5 years ago & made MANY friends throughout the world via the A-H club, even freighting the car to Sweden & to the States on different occasions (& then enduring the 'fun' of driving a RHD vehicle upon roads that run opposite to ours, haha!!). So anyway, she's there for this year's A-H rally in the States & to catch up with a heap of friends throughout your country, as well as my cousin in Burbank, CA.
Anyway, onto the topic at hand! Man, I simply CANNOT BELIEVE how kind of a gesture this is from you, seriously mate!! I'm honoured that you simply remembered me, let alone to approach me with such a kind & generous offer! Well, first off, seeing as though I am building up two ADR-Agrigel replicas (the neon yellow TVT92 frame that Lemond used in the mountains & the red/white SLX frame that he rode upon the standard {non-TT}, flatter stages), I still require a 305 headset, 631 'starfish' crankset, 821 shifters, 860 (clamp-on) FD, 851 RD & 440 brake levers/calipers. And I've recently become keen upon locating a nice pair of 571/2 hubs, if I can find them at the right price.
So, from what I can see from the tiny (not your fault!!) photos (it may also have a Mavic stem, 'bars, seatpost, BB & hubs but if that's not a Mavic 305 headset, then perhaps they're not Mavic 'bars/stem?), it definitely has the 631 'starfish' crankset, 821 shift levers, an 860 or 862 FD (can't see whether it's clamp-on or not?) & 440 brake levers, all of which appear to be in good condition, taking into account the size of the photos. The headset doesn't appear to be a 305, judging by the blue band upon it, when the 305 bears 2 black bands at the middle & bottom. I can only assume that the brake calipers would be 440's, which would be great. And I would assume that the RD is an 840 (because the right shifter is indexed, as was the 840 RD) & although I already have a nice one (I'm after a non-indexed 851 RD to pair with my retrofriction Simplex shifters - as Lemond used upon each of his bikes in the '89 TDF), I would grab that too, at the right price.
I've just noticed the final 4 words of my previous two paragraphs - "at the right price", haha!! Entirely coincidental, btw! And I've just been thinking that I could save a heap on shipping if this did come through OK within the next 6 weeks, as I could pay you & have you ship the parts to my Mum's friend's house in San' Fran', & my 'old chook' could bring them home in her luggage - whether she likes it or not!!
Anyway, back to price. I'll write what is a 'reasonable' price (in $US, based upon the current conversion rate from AUD to USD) for each of the items in good, used condition (the 440 brake levers, in particular, vary greatly in price because, as you would already know, they're all too often the most easily damaged parts upon a bike & these levers were either painted or anodised grey, much like the 600 Ultegra 'tricolour' series brake levers - hence easily chipped paint). Of course, eBay will tell you otherwise at times but that's also why those some items have been sitting there for many, many months, if not longer. And their items also include seller few & shipping costs, so please forgive me if I'm a bit out on one or two of them, as I always have to take shipping into account with everything, as EVERYTHING that I'm looking for is either in Europe or the States, dammit!!). But seeing as though I already have nice examples of the 305 headset, 631 crankset, 821 shifters, 862 FD, 840 RD & 440 brake calipers, so I'll simply slightly overstate the prices that I paid for each of them, as well as what I'm aiming to pay for the other 2 items (860 FD & 440 brake levers). Also, I have no idea whatsoever what this guy is asking for his bike at this stage?! So, here goes...
305 headset ($50 - $55)
631 crankset ($60 - $65)
860 front derailleur - clamp-on ($50)
851 rear derailleur - non-indexed ($55)
840 rear derailleur - indexed ($55 - $60)
821 shifters ($75 - $100)
440 brake levers ($65 - $75)
440 brake calipers ($70 - $75)
Hope to hear from you soon, Ryan. And I cannot possibly overstate my appreciation for your email & offer to do this for me, just phenomenal! And re: payment, I could easily pay you via either PayPal or Transferwise (heard of the latter before? The guy in Hungary from whom I purchased the Bottecchia SLX frame introduced me to it & it's awesome!) if this all pulls through. But the seller of the bike will most certainly need to a) tell you whether the bike has a 305 headset & which models the FD & RD are, as well as the brands/model of stem/'bars, seatpost, saddle, rims/hubs & b) supply you with better resolution photos of all of the Mavic parts, so that we can ascertain the condition of them.
Well, I've certainly been verbose enough here, & my apologies for not replying sooner, mate but I crashed at my mate's place the previous two nights & he's a massive stoner who had neglected to sort out his internet problems -so I was back in the previous century for two days!!
Cheers & my very best wishes from "Down Under"...have a great weekend, bud...Matt.
