Training & Nutrition - old mclain rollers

Hi all.

New to the forums, this is my first post.

A friend of mine from work is offering me his old set of mclain rollers. (Anyone had any experience with these rollers?) They're probably 12-15 years old, and have been in storage the past few years, and they are a little rusted. But i've been test riding them and they seem like they're in good condition. The trouble is he wants me to make an offer..how much should I give him? I don't want to overpay for junk, but I don't want to stiff him either, he is a friend of mine like I said. They include the resistance fan, and I see online a new set is between $2-300.

I plan on riding them for this summer/winter, while I save up money to get either a new set of rollers or a nice trainer.

So what does everyone think?

Rollers are fun. Offer him $50 and then let him talk you up to $80. Have the cash in your hand. If they're old and rusty, he probably just wants to get rid of them, and you'll be doing him a favor by making room in his garage.

If they've been sitting around long enough, the belt is probably getting ready to break. You can get new ones from Riverfront Cycle in Lansing, MI (they still make McLain stuff) for around $15.

Thanks for the advice. I did just that, and he seemed to think the 50 dollars was fair. I will check the belts over. He did store the bike with the belts off the rollers so they didn't stretch out. Also, I had to move the front roller forward one notch, since my bike has a little longer wheelbase, so even if the belts stretched out a little this should help. Like I said, just buying time till I can get something nicer.

thanks again for the advice :)