Originally Posted by
FZ1Tom
While I'm happy with my Trek 7200 for now, I grew up riding a Schwinn Varsity in high school and first part of college, and I'm still pretty convinced that I'll enjoy a road bike again...whenever.
The problem is that a) I'm still way too heavy (300 or so right now) and b) they ALL cost WAY too damn much! Sorry, I'm not a bike snob (nothing personal) but I've never made more than 20 grand a year in my life (and that's before taxes). So yeah I know - get a real job, etc. But back to the original issue at hand.
Question: In YOUR opinion, at what cost point does a bike become worth buying with upgrading components in mind?
For example, a Specialized Allez Compact or Double retails at about $880....okay, even at my pay grade I can save up for that in 90 days.
A Cannondale Cyclocross 7 is $1350, if one can be found anymore. That's stretching it for me.
Much beyond $1500 MSRP and everything just seems awfully rich for my blood no matter how nice.
These are just the 2 bikes that merely happened to come to mind first, but I'm sure there are many many other good options. I've heard the Cannondale CAAD frames are very popular choices for Clydes as a base to build up on...true?
Is it even possible to get the framesets anymore? I'm 5'10" and very short of inseam, probably about a 51 or 52 cm frame would be my size. But regardless, I'd rather ride it with cheap components than spend a year saving up for a groupset and not be able to ride it.
I'm just trying to figure out how to make it all worthwhile and get a good bike that can be upgraded as time goes on without spending money merely for the sake of it, something I suspect people do a lot (espescially people with too much money
).
Any thoughts and advice is appreciated.
Tom
You know it's just like buying a car, if you can't afford a new one, or a new one sufficient for your needs, then consider an experienced one. Most steel frames can last quite a while, so even a bike that is 20 or 30 years old, can give trouble free riding, for a long time.
Some things to look for in a used bike, rust, a little surface rust is fine, this can be sanded off and repainted. Look for paint bubbles, this is an indication of rust working from the inside out, and that usually means a frame failure is not too far off.
Check for creased, bent or otherwise damaged frame tubes and cracks at the joints, while these can be repaired, especially with brazed frames (ones that have lugs, look like endcaps at tube joints), it can be very expensive to repair. Look for either cottered or cotterless cranks, Ashtabula cranks ( the old one piece style, common on kids bikes), can be expensive to upgrade to modern parts.
-- disclaimer --
Some people will debate the following, it's my personal opinion and I give logical reasons as to why it's my opinion. Some will disagree, that is their opinion and they have the right to it.
-- end disclaimer --
Look for a steel frame, that is one that will attract a magnet, avoid Aluminum or carbon frames on used bikes. While I would consider either on a new bicycle, I would not consider either on a used one, where you don't know the bikes history.
Let me explain why, first carbon, carbon is short for carbon fibre reinforced plastic, in a crash some of those carbon fibres can be broken, this can weaken the material enough that it will at some future point fail. Replacing the frame is the usual solution, and some companies will replace it for free, but they do not cover the cost of stripping the old frame and putting the components on another one. So some less then honest people, rather then paying to strip the frame and put the components on a new one, will fix it up to hide the damage and sell the bike, they then buy a new one, cheaper.
Aluminum when it flexes repeatedly, can suffer from a fatigue failure, you never know with a used bike whether it's been ridden 5 miles or 50,000 miles, so that frame could be 20 years from failure or 20 days from failure. Some people will upgrade components and keep the old ones, when they sell the bike, they put the relatively low mileage original components back on.
I don't know of a good way to tell a Titanium (Ti) frame, unless parts of it are unfinished, Aluminum must be finished or it will turn dark, eventually black. Sometimes they will clearcoat Ti though, even though it doesn't really need it, it's not magnetic, and it's a darker and duller grey then fresh Aluminum treated the same way. Sometimes though they will clearcoat Ti, but Aluminum may be painted so it looks the same. Sometimes with Ti, they will use the smaller diameter tubing like steel, but they may also use the larger diameters like Aluminum to make the frame stiffer, as Ti can be flexy.
It used to be that looking at the frame sticker was an indicator of the material used, however the decal sets for some bikes are now available on fleabay, so for $5 you can turn a mild steel frame into a Chromo frame worth much more. The best indicator is weight, a bike that is 20-25lbs with a magnetic frame is likely Chromo steel, a bike that is
25-30 lbs probably has something better then mild steel but less then Chromo in it, can also have Chromo in the main tubes, and mild steel in the stays, more then 30lbs for a road bike, is probably mild steel. Note, touring bikes with racks and fenders are heavier, and can exceed 30lbs even though they are Chromo steel, they are also built heavier duty, then race purpose bikes.
Other then the frame, check that the wheels are reasonable true with no spokes missing, that it can shift into all gears, the brakes can stop a lifted wheel and if you turn the bars, that it turns smoothly. If things seem rough, it usually just needs a tuneup, and your dealer can do that for you, for a small fee. If the bike has totally flat tires, then it hasn't been ridden in a while, replace the tires, tubes and brake pads. These can be damaged from sitting too long, replacing them means that there will be no issues. If the bicycle looks like it's been ridden recently, look at the chain, a rusty chain means poor maintenance, I would pass on that one. A rusty chain on a bicycle that has sat for a while, is not, but should be replaced.