Originally Posted by
chiefhoser
I agree with all of your points, but the above. Stem shifters are most often an indicator of the age of the bike, but age (and how long it has sit collecting dust) is an important factor. A road bike without quick releases does not mean much. It is easy to put a nut on a quick release skewer provided the length is there. And this is often the first thing to do for theft protection.
I knowingly made a lot of generalizations so I used words like "often" instead of "always".
In my opinion, stem shifters are an indicator of both age and quality. A bike made in 1981 with downtube shifters is typically a higher end bike than a bike from the same year with stem shifters. That's not to say that any bike with stem shifters is worthless, but personally, I'd pass on them. They're not the safest thing in a crash for one thing.
You're right about quick releases. There are people who intentionally replace them for anti-theft reasons, but in general, if an old road bike has bolt on wheels vs quick releases, it's a lower end bike.