General Cycling Discussion - Saw an Old Schwinn today...

Pretty interesting. It was parked near Carl Jr's fast food restaurant.
Dark green, very old, probably earlier than 70s... Very sporty looking, with drop down bars, very narrow tires... big frame with parallel to the ground bar.

I even found the owner, it was a guy who worked on the kitchen. He was willing to sell the bike for $50.

But when I looked at it close, I saw that all cables were rotten, rear wheel was a little bent, both tires were in need of replacement and even more scary, the front wheel would touch the pedal when turned.
I don't know if it suppose to be like that because it's a racing bike or some wrong accessories were used.
I thought it didnt worth buying as parts will cost more than a decent one to start with.

What do you all think?

THat does not sound like it was in good condition at all.. as a vintage fixer up might be fun. Not sure of the value, but doubt it was worth $50. Front wheel touches the pedal does not sound good at all.

If you want a cheap fixer upper..check pawn shops and thriftshops..

I used to ride a bike where you foot would touch the wheel. But then again my feet were huge and I was on a bike that was too small. 10 spds don't last very long when you try to bunny hop them :D...

For 50$ it could be fun but then again I don't know value for vintage anything ;)

It depends. If it is an old Paramount and not rusted badly, it is worth $50 just for the frame. If the tire is hitting the pedals it may have very long crankset and big pedals or it may have a bent steerer tube or fork. Both of which can be fixed, depending how bad. A '61 Paramount frame in reasonable condition generally sells on eBay for well over $200. So check it out. If it is a Paramount you can check details on it it by going to www.waterfordbikes.com and clicking on "Velorotica", which is the history of the Paramount from 1938 to 1992. Serial numbers are listed so you can verify any info. Good luck.

I might be wrong on this as I'm more into mountain biking, but I thought that the compact design of road bike frames could cause the front tire to touch the leading pedal/foot when the wheel was turned far to one side at a very slow speed/stopped with the pedals held horizontal. When shopping for a road bike, a mech. at an LBS explained that this was not a problem - the wheel is never turned that much while riding the bike anyways because there is more leaning involved than actually turning the wheel far to one side. Was he wrong in this explanation, or is this just a specific case because it's an older model bike? Thanks in advance for the explanation.


-Moab

Pretty interesting. It was parked near Carl Jr's fast food restaurant.
Dark green, very old, probably earlier than 70s... Very sporty looking, with drop down bars, very narrow tires... big frame with parallel to the ground bar.

I even found the owner, it was a guy who worked on the kitchen. He was willing to sell the bike for $50.

But when I looked at it close, I saw that all cables were rotten, rear wheel was a little bent, both tires were in need of replacement and even more scary, the front wheel would touch the pedal when turned.
I don't know if it suppose to be like that because it's a racing bike or some wrong accessories were used.
I thought it didnt worth buying as parts will cost more than a decent one to start with.

What do you all think?



I think you are a fool (if not a troll). A junk Schwinn (I'm assuming it's an old Varsity or something similar) ain't worth more than $5 in that condition. You can find better bikes than that in trash piles during spring cleanup around here. Hell, you can find better at the Salvation Army store for $10-15!!

You seem to have no clue as to what constitutes value.

Alex,
Easy does it. He didn't say it was worth $50; he asked us what we thought. This isn't something buried in our DNA; it has to be learned. Unless, of course, you were born already knowing the Theory of Relativity, and the theory that will eventually replace it?
I had a Schwinn back then, and I'm a little foggy as to what current value would be. One of these days it would be fun to get a classic bike, but I don't find it easy deciding if it's worth bothering with; when actually faced with one.

That guy tried to rip you off.

Everybody, THANK YOU very much for all your replies and ideas!

I bought a bike today, the message will be posted in general discussion forum.

All the best!