Classic & Vintage - Looking for a Vintage Commuter, these worth it?

Hello,

I am in need of a relatively inexpensive vintage bike that is going to get me to and from work (about 15 miles). This wont be, necessarily, my primary commuter as I'm building up a touring bike at the moment as well, but it will be my around town bike for the next few years. After canvasing craiglist and ebay for the past month or so, I've come up with these:

Schwinn World Sport 12 spd -- $150
http://seattle.craigslist.org/bik/164550906.html

Schiwnn World 10spd -- Ebay listing
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7244170014&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

Trek 400 -- $250
http://seattle.craigslist.org/bik/162738406.html

I have a spending limit for the bike itself, not counting the new seat and tires I'll probably put on it, of about 100-150$. I would ask the Trek guy to lower the price, I think it's a bit hefty. Are these decent bikes at decent prices or should I look elsewhere, at different brands, etc. Thank you!

I actually check out Seattle's craigslist pretty often, hoping I'll catch my old bike on there, and I see better stuff for much cheaper all the time. Prices in Seattle actually tend to be pretty reasonable, it seems. That schwinn is overpriced. I don't know about the trek.

you have a range of sizes there. The trek is probably more like a 63-64cm judging from the headtube.

Hmm, well I'd be taking a look at it before I bought it. Ideally it would be around a 58 but I've ridden 60s before.

Heh Heh. In this town you can pick up a schwinn cruiser for like $65-80.

I wouldn't go for any of them though because I'm not into bike-boom and later road bikes. Those look horribly painful.

They don't have any 3-speeds?

The owner of the first schwinn world sport emailed me back and told me it is a 1987 and recently had tires and cables replaced and all the bearings repacked. Tempting. Think I might go take a look at it and see if he wont knock the price down a bit.

Cheap sidepulls

I have always hated cheap sidepulls and suicide levers. Get some decent brakes and levers and the Schwinn at the top seems a good choice. The Trek is IMHO a much nicer bike but it seems too big (and more expensive than you had planned for)

Cheap sidepulls

I have always hated cheap sidepulls and suicide levers. Get some decent brakes and levers and the Schwinn at the top seems a good choice. The Trek is IMHO a much nicer bike but it seems too big (and more expensive than you had planned for)

Agreed - Go look at the red 58c. Confirm that it's been rebuilt by looking at the hubs in detail - see that the cones and locknuts are clean, and the bottom brecket should also be spotless where it's exposed behind the crank arms. Call him on anything you find, it'll help the price come down, but don't forget that if he's honest, he has time and parts into it and he deserves to be paid for his skill. $150 seems reasonable if it's really clean and solid.

Ride it as-is and upgrade the brake levers to Cane SCR-5's ($25) and the arches to whatever you can find on the bay, like older Shimano's. Just confirm the reach requirements.

Agreed - Go look at the red 58c. Confirm that it's been rebuilt by looking at the hubs in detail - see that the cones and locknuts are clean, and the bottom brecket should also be spotless where it's exposed behind the crank arms. Call him on anything you find, it'll help the price come down, but don't forget that if he's honest, he has time and parts into it and he deserves to be paid for his skill. $150 seems reasonable if it's really clean and solid.

Ride it as-is and upgrade the brake levers to Cane SCR-5's ($25) and the arches to whatever you can find on the bay, like older Shimano's. Just confirm the reach requirements.

The SCR-5's are my favorite lever - also sold as Tektro R200A's in some shops. I have them on both of my vintage rodies and they just feel good.

On another note, I too am looking for a commuter (see a thread I started in this forum a few weeks back, probably on page 3 or so by now) and have been scouring ebay and local sources for the right bike. I keep switching between a sport frame with decent clearances and caliper brakes for a cheaper price, or going to a touring frame for more $$. As you already have a touring frame being built up I'm guessing it's a nicer frame that you don't want stratched up or sitting out for the daily commute. Good luck in your search, the first one you have linked should be a solid ride for you.

plodderslusk, Colinm, and Cuda Thank you. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks for giving me an idea on what to look for, would not have known otherwise.

I joined this forum much in the same situation you are in, actually, probably worse off as I knew virtually nothing about bicycles at all, let alone vintage steel. I just jumped in with two feet and $10 on a Schwinn Traveler and never looked back. The wealth of knowledge posted on BF's in general and especially this section is endless. And on the off chance my question hadn't already been answered, I've yet to come up against an occasion that at least one person didn't have a valid and valuable answer for me. Keep us updated. :)

I'd suggest a '60s-'70s Schwinn 3-speed. Readily available, low price, solid. I rode one for 10+ years as 7 day/wk commuter, work/high school, work/college, day and night, sun or rain, warm or cold. Interiors gears really take bad weather better than exterior gears. Could use better brakes, drums/disk/better calipers all available.
I'm presently restoring my second that I purchased in 1970. Still rides great. Not a speed demon, but, I'm not after a racer. Besides I run 30-35 mph as it stands. Les

I have been happily commuting on Peugeot UO-8s for the last several years.

I picked up a 12spd World Sport that's very much like the ebay one for $10 with a cyclometer. It needed new tires but was low milage. It's about 32 lbs but rides decently. I use it as my beater, when I have to lock up outside.
It will probably give you a decent workout for a 15 mile trip.