Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - Mystery Bike? Help Out A Beginner, Please?

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deeveeance
08-27-10, 09:45 PM
Hey Y'all...
First time posting on this forum, and hopefully more to come.
So here's my dilema:

I'm 19, attending college, and in need a bike as to not spend money on gas and get in a better shape, so I decided to go on the hunt.
I know NOTHING about road/track bikes, and this whole "fixie," "drop-bars" talk was all alien to me...
The last bike I owned was a GT (bmx... hey, I was young!) that had the 'gyro' bars, 3 piece crank and weighed a ton. That bike is now my younger brothers since I got my license... SO (back to the story)-
I found an old-looking road bike from a neighbor down the street who had a yard sale... Pretty tall, orange and had nothing really "broken" in terms of parts- just rust and flats. I bought it for 15 bucks (Steal, no?).

Now Here's the kick-
All I want to know is how much is this bike worth, and is it worth the money to restore it (new brakes and tires for safety, nothing fancy)..?

It is an orange Huffy Super 10 (from the logos seen in the PICTURES), and I youtube'd how to measure a bike frame and its 22" (from mid-crank to seat-post... right?..)... so around 55ish cm...
I don't know what size I would 'ideally' need since I am 6' 4"...

Sorry I made this long, and I'll greatly appreciate any help that anyone has to offer! Hopefully this is the start of a new biking adventure for me, who knows.

Thanks in advance!


unterhausen
08-27-10, 11:10 PM
That bike tops out at $50 I would think. I would really look for something nicer if I was going to ride it. Around here, there are a lot of fairly decent quality mountain bikes that are for sale on a given day, that's what I would get if I needed a daily ride.

wrk101
08-28-10, 05:18 AM
Its about a $25 bike. 6-4? Forget about it. That bike is for someone 5-8. Google bike sizing. Avoid Huffys and department store bikes. That is not a tall bike.

It is certainly not worth restoring a cheap bike that is the wrong size. I restore quite a few bikes, and when I find a Huffy, I take them straight to my favorite thrift store. I have one in the car right now to drop off today.

If it was the right size, it could provide basic recreational riding service, but since it is not, I would not waste any money on it. You could probably put it on C/L and get $20 to $30 for it.


Thumpic
08-28-10, 09:26 AM
ditto on the mtb...........they are cheeeaaap right now......you should find a good; quality; restorable bike for 50 - 75.......

deeveeance
08-28-10, 01:41 PM
Alrighty... Noted and off to post it on Craigslist!

Thanks guys!

LAriverRat
08-28-10, 03:50 PM
What city are you in? I am in Southern California, i could give you a bike that would fit you.

deeveeance
08-28-10, 06:00 PM
@LAriverRat
I live in San Jose, CA... Bay Area.


I actually went on the hunt again and found this beast at another yard sale for 80$... Basically all I had left to spend out of a 100$ budget.

Its a 24" (60.96 cm... basically 61cm) Trek 'True Temper' (?) with 'USA' and '400' decals on the frame.
It also has Shimano and Deore stuff on it (Can someone tell me what is what on a bike?) and pretty nice dropbars/brakes.

Good buy? I rode it and its way better than the Huffy, and the size was perfect.

bengreen79
08-28-10, 06:06 PM
A bike like that would go for $125 -$175 here so $80 seems like great deal.

wrk101
08-28-10, 06:21 PM
Great buy on the Trek. Vintage steel Treks sell well, really well. Go to the vintage Trek site to get all the information on the bike. You got yourself a nice one.

deeveeance
08-28-10, 06:27 PM
A bike like that would go for $125 -$175 here so $80 seems like great deal.


Great buy on the Trek. Vintage steel Treks sell well, really well. Go to the vintage Trek site to get all the information on the bike. You got yourself a nice one.

Thank you guys!

Its go great to hear that after buying on a strict budget!
I don't plan on selling this bike, but the pure knowledge of knowing I bought something that wasn't a hunk-a-junk is pretty awesome!

Thumpic
08-28-10, 07:16 PM
absolute home run!! especially as it fits you!! Congratulations!!!