# 84 Olympics Murray bike on eBay



## Raymo853 (Feb 15, 2005)

Wow. An 1984 Olympics Murray bike currently only going for 100. Not sure if this is an actual Olympic bike or a homage one. Not sure if this is a Serotta made one or not. Would not be posting but bidding if I were not moving soon.

Look at this on eBay racing bike trainer used in 1984 olympics










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## hfc (Jan 24, 2003)

Interesting! Thanks for posting.


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## racerx (Jan 29, 2004)

*Oh my...*



hfc said:


> Interesting! Thanks for posting.


Looks right, size is may be 56+ so I am out...but man...


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## No Time Toulouse (Sep 7, 2016)

Since it obviously has schrader valves, no, it's not an actual 'olympics bike'. Probably a cheapo with stickers-worth $100 only if it's in really good shape. Probably weighs a ton....


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## harryman (Nov 14, 2014)

Huh. Where do you see a size? Odd mix of parts.

It does say only the frame is legit.


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## hfc (Jan 24, 2003)

The parts are spot on - Campy Super Record which is what the US Olympic team rode. The FD has been replaced but every thing else (except the saddle) is what I would expect to see on a high end bike from '84. The wheels were probably replaced by someone who didn't want to deal with the tubulars I'm sure were originally on it. 

It looks to be in the neighborhood of a 56. You can tell by the head tube size.


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## Migen21 (Oct 28, 2014)

Wow, interesting.

So this is a Serotta bike frame with Murray logos on it? It's almost some kind of parallel universe thing. If it were a Murray frame with Serotta stickers on it, we'd all be calling for his/her head!


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## blackfrancois (Jul 6, 2016)

watching


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## spdntrxi (Jul 25, 2013)

it look 58ish to me... too mucho


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

No Time Toulouse said:


> Since it obviously has schrader valves, no, it's not an actual 'olympics bike'. Probably a cheapo with stickers-worth $100 only if it's in really good shape. Probably weighs a ton....


That bike's for real. Look at the fork crown, lugs, seat stay bridge and seat stay ends and compare them to any Murray you've ever seen. And as been said, all the Campagnolo with the matching "patina".

If it was my size I'd be all over it.

Another thing is the number mount on the top tube.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

spdntrxi said:


> it look 58ish to me... too mucho


Smaller than 58. I've got a couple of 58's and they've got more head tube. It may even be a 54 or 55.


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## blackfrancois (Jul 6, 2016)

No Time Toulouse said:


> worth $100 only if it's in really good shape...


looks like it has a campy nr crankset and brakeset with other mid level suntour and cinelli.

so if you're looking for that stuff to put on a new build, this would make a nice donor.


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## racerx (Jan 29, 2004)

*starting to get some action on bidding now...*



racerx said:


> Looks right, size is may be 56+ so I am out...but man...


if the seller dropped a few names on this add it would have gotten more attention. As it is, someone going to walk away with a decent deal.

Then again, the classic road market is not what it was a few years ago, but this one is a piece of cycling history....I'd love to own this one in a 54/55 and ride it for another 20 years.

Young riders may not be as familiar with Murray and Huffy. Most mid-agers don't know about their attempt to grab a piece of the high end market by throwing $$ at the US Cycling team in exchange for having their badge on their frames.


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## Migen21 (Oct 28, 2014)

The seller confirmed it's a 56. Also said it needs new tubes and tires.

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## racerx (Jan 29, 2004)

*Needs tubes and tires...well forget it then...*



Migen21 said:


> The seller confirmed it's a 56. Also said it needs new tubes and tires.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk


Na just kidding. This bike is akin to finding a Merckx (Armstrong ridden)
Maybe even better (Alexi Grewal, Steve Bauer, Dag Otto Lauritzen? and possibly Davis Phinney?)

I guess the retro thing is over or something. This is a custom built (for someone on the team) racing machine. Not an off the shelf top end bike but fully custom.

I don't know if the listing is just so poorly done, or if the possible hundreds of dollars to ship is the reason, but this frame should sell for >$800 or it would have a few years ago. 

The seller prefers local pick up and the listed shipping cost is not what he wants...figure $150+ for US shipping.

If I was 3 hours closer, I would buy this thing.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

racerx said:


> Na just kidding. This bike is akin to finding a Merckx (Armstrong ridden)
> Maybe even better (Alexi Grewal, Steve Bauer, Dag Otto Lauritzen? holly cow! and others like Davis Phinney?)
> 
> I guess the retro thing is over or something. This is a custom built (for someone on the team) racing machine. Not an off the shelf top end bike but fully custom.
> ...


The price could very easily go up. There have been 7 bids and there are almost 3 days left, so anything is possible.

And as far as the poorly done listing, for Petes sake the owner switched out the wheels, or drilled out the valve holes for schraeder valves and let the bike go to seed. I don't think this person is really aware of what the bike is. Didn't even take the time to clean it up for the sale. We're probably lucky that it just didn't end up in the trash.

If it was my size I'd sure put in a bid, but as it is I hope that someone gets a screaming deal because I'd hate to see the present owner make a killing on it, after the way it's been treated.


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## blackfrancois (Jul 6, 2016)

columbus sl?


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## Migen21 (Oct 28, 2014)

The reason the auction is light on details is because the seller doesn't really know anything about bikes. 

I asked a couple of basic questions about size and condition, etc.. The answer I got was basically "I'll have to take to to my shop". Then the email I got later said 'They said "56 and it needs to new tubes and tires"'. 

I'm guessing it's probably an estate/inheritance/hand me down bike.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

blackfrancois said:


> columbus sl?


What's the question?


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## fast ferd (Jan 30, 2009)

I always thought the USA teams rode Huffy-branded bikes.


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## blackfrancois (Jul 6, 2016)

velodog said:


> What's the question?


is the bike in the op (with the columbus decal) full columbus sl?


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

fast ferd said:


> I always thought the USA teams rode Huffy-branded bikes.


There were both Huffy and Murray branded bikes during that era. Andy Hampsten was riding a Huffy(Landshark) when he won the Giro, and I think both brand names were being seen at the Olympics, but don't know what the distribution was between road and track.

From Wikipedia

In the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics, United States athletes riding Serotta-built bicycles racing under the Huffy name won two gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal. A technical development center housed in the Huffy Corporate Offices in Dayton, Ohio was formed to research and create next-generation carbon fiber road and time trial bicycles. It was led by Mike Melton and Steve Bishop, two legendary custom bicycle builders. Sponsorship of world class and professional cyclists was only partially effective, as famous teams and riders, such as Greg LeMond and the 7-Eleven team used the Huffy sponsorship for financial support while openly maligning the company and even using different bicycles for competition while sponsored by Huffy. The subsequent fallout in the cycling community was devastating to Huffy, but not surprising considering the nature of the athletes involved. Huffy spent $500,000 to be named the Official Bicycle of the 1996 World Cycling Championships, held in Colorado Springs, the first time the World Championships has been held in the United States.[11]


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

blackfrancois said:


> is the bike in the op (with the columbus decal) full columbus sl?


It's a top shelf bike, so I'm sure that it is.


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## racerx (Jan 29, 2004)

*The bikes I raced back then...*



blackfrancois said:


> columbus sl?


Were usually a combo tubed, SL or SLX main triangle with SP rear for added stiffness.

Since this was most likely a custom built rig, I'd anticipate SLX or SL main triangle but with custom butting based on the rider, sprinter vs distance, mountains vs. flats and etc.

I would also bet the angles and tube lengths are not standard, again, made for someone on the team. 


I hope someone on this forum wins so we can get the low down. If I had it, I would clean it up, remove any rust and ride it as it is (new tape, wheels and etc). Most riders are too young to know the significance of a rebadged racer.


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## hfc (Jan 24, 2003)

I might put a bid in as it's my size but not much more than where it's at now. Value to me is in the Campy parts and a quality frame in my size. I collect vintage bikes but this one doesn't have much interest to me from the historical standpoint unless someone can prove it was an actual Olympic bike. I could see where it would be worth more to someone else though. 

The vintage bike market is kind of slow right now and only real high end bikes like De Rosa Professional, etc seem to still command a premium. I agree this was likely an estate sale pickup with bad pictures and sparse info.


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## fast ferd (Jan 30, 2009)

Not my size, but the rust the seller refers to would concern me. This rig saw plenty of the elements, so don't let the "stored indoors" thing fool ya. It makes me picture rust inside that seat tube all the way to the bottom bracket shell. Some pics around the shell would've helped. Hopefully it works out favorably for the buyer, because it looks like an awesome score.


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

looks like a custom racing frame - the pics are not great for judging height -to - length, but it looks short, with little rake to the fork, all of which makes the ride very responsive versus very comfortable, and the stem is kind of long, accommodating upper body length while keeping the short-frame/little rake responsiveness.

The seat, however, has "beach cruiser" written all over it.


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## blackfrancois (Jul 6, 2016)

someone sniped it for $710.


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## racerx (Jan 29, 2004)

*well bought I'd say*



blackfrancois said:


> someone sniped it for $710.


this bike had a pretty small audience but as someone mentioned, the iconic itlalian names seem to be pulling the highest prices today.

This bike is one of a dozen or so made so it has some bragging rights, not to mention the historical significance. This was the beginning of the US cycling rage and set the stage for things/riders to come.

We (the US) could use another cycling team that had the right chemistry of riders and sponsors. My area has cyclists, but they are all over 40 years old.

Time for a remake of Breaking Away?


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## Raymo853 (Feb 15, 2005)

Migen21 said:


> Wow, interesting.
> 
> So this is a Serotta bike frame with Murray logos on it? It's almost some kind of parallel universe thing. If it were a Murray frame with Serotta stickers on it, we'd all be calling for his/her head!


Wow, you know little about the history of racing bikes of the 70's - 90's. This was done all the time, there are a bunch of things like Litespeeds with Huffy logos, Ritcheys with Specialized logos, Litespeeds with Trek logos, ..... out there.


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## Raymo853 (Feb 15, 2005)

Glad it sold for a good price. Why? Better chance that if it is real it will be preserved by someone who appreciates this history of US Cycling.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Raymo853 said:


> Glad it sold for a good price. Why? Better chance that if it is real it will be preserved by someone who appreciates this history of US Cycling.


Yep, whoever had it up to the point of this sale was treating it like it was a dept. store bike. I'm glad that the owner didn't make as much money as that bike was capable of generating.


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## Bee-an-key (May 5, 2007)

A couple points to consider. The Murray's had a USA Olympic Committee head tube badge with the Murray logo since they paid to be the official sponsor. 7-11 was sponsored by them and they rode these bikes that year. Alexi won the race on his trade team Pinarello. The rest of the team, Davis and Kiefel were 7-11 riders, Thurlow Rodgers may have been riding for Raleigh (or even Centurian)then. If you look at the video of the race you should look for how high the chrome was, did it go past the brake bridge or below it and compare to the posted picture. Could it be a 7-11 team bike from that year and was not even at the Olympics it would look the same. Murray advertised the bike but they would have been hard to find since they were a mass market brand vs. bike shop brand. Not sure who would have made them. The other option is one of the 7-11 team track riders would have had a road bike at the games for training. The women's race came down to Connie on a Raleigh and Twiggy on a Trek (I think they sponsored 7-11 Women's team then). All of this would be easy to google and find out what size Phinney and Wookies frames were (both were taller, 56? at least). My gut is that this is a replica with the Olympic decal and the seller made the leap thinking it was official equipment. Check out the broadcast video with Heiden and LeMonster doing commentary and look at the bikes of those two 7-11 riders in the race and if there is a shot of the team car with the spares on the roof. Canadians were on 7-11 and could have been on the Murrays in the race although Baur took the silver on a Colnago. My .02 cents.


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## burgrat (Nov 18, 2005)

Bee-an-key said:


> A couple points to consider. The Murray's had a USA Olympic Committee head tube badge with the Murray logo since they paid to be the official sponsor. 7-11 was sponsored by them and they rode these bikes that year. Alexi won the race on his trade team Pinarello. The rest of the team, Davis and Kiefel were 7-11 riders, Thurlow Rodgers may have been riding for Raleigh (or even Centurian)then. If you look at the video of the race you should look for how high the chrome was, did it go past the brake bridge or below it and compare to the posted picture. Could it be a 7-11 team bike from that year and was not even at the Olympics it would look the same. Murray advertised the bike but they would have been hard to find since they were a mass market brand vs. bike shop brand. Not sure who would have made them. The other option is one of the 7-11 team track riders would have had a road bike at the games for training. The women's race came down to Connie on a Raleigh and Twiggy on a Trek (I think they sponsored 7-11 Women's team then). All of this would be easy to google and find out what size Phinney and Wookies frames were (both were taller, 56? at least). My gut is that this is a replica with the Olympic decal and the seller made the leap thinking it was official equipment. Check out the broadcast video with Heiden and LeMonster doing commentary and look at the bikes of those two 7-11 riders in the race and if there is a shot of the team car with the spares on the roof. Canadians were on 7-11 and could have been on the Murrays in the race although Baur took the silver on a Colnago. My .02 cents.


I'm picturing you on Antiques Roadshow explaining this to the owner. Great info!


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