Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Should I buy this?

Schwinn Madison 2008 for sale in my area for $200.00. Looks in good condition, powder blue color, paint is reportedly in great shape except where the owner hung his lock.

Stock parts on it. Size is Large, and I'm a little over 5' 11" tall. Sounds like a match to me, what say you?

The mods around here don't think much of Madisons, but I think they're fine bikes. You should do it.

Sounds like a rad deal. do it.

except where the owner hung his lock.
does he have a big lock?

The mods around here don't think much of Madisons, but I think they're fine bikes. You should do it.

Stop being a dummy.

200 bucks for a stock Madison is a great price.

Scrodzilla, thanks for the input. I saw the pic of your Madison recently. Obviously not stock! I love the bars, what brand/size did you go with? I love the classic track look. The wheels also set your frame off nicely. The stock wheels on the one I'm looking at are silver, but maybe I can save up for an upgrade and go deep-dish white. Thanks again!

If you're talking about the track drops I had, they were just generic bars found on eBay that ended up not being comfortable/practical at all. I no longer have my Maddy but specs are here:

http://www.pedalroom.com/bike/dave-scrods-schwinn-madison-1661

:D

Hah, I just picked up a Madison for $200!...or rather traded for it... But the thing was dirty, needed a good refresh of eveything...scraped up quite a bit. But it works!

I bought the Madison today. Everything is like new practically except....the chainstays. Both chainstays have dents in them. They didn't show up in the photos the guy posted, but I'll give him credit, he tried, it just didn't show very well.

When I met him, I saw the bike in the back of his truck and said to myself, "Wow, that looks nice!" then I looked at the stays and said, "Bummer!".

He was asking $200.00 and I offered him $120.00 and he took it. Should have tried to go lower I guess.

Got it home and cleaned it thoroughly, replaced the tube in the rear wheel and it is in awesome condition except for the stays. For now I have wrapped some Hemp twine around them. Looks kind of goofy, but I did a clean job of applying the twine. I'll have to live with it for awhile.

Any ideas what else can be done to cover them up? Lizard Skins? Something else?

Chain stays are supposed to be dented to give clearance for the crank arms.

if those are the dents hes talking about and he just got that for 120, that rules.

120 for a working madison is an amazing deal, especially if those 'dents' are what vix said, which tons of bikes have

Pictures! Sounds great, let us know what you end up doing to it!

I'll post photos later today. No, the "dents" are from where he had his bike chained up and somebody tried to steal it. He rode the bike in college and had the bike chained up with the chain looping through the stays and the rear wheel. One spoke was bent in the process, no big deal, but both stays have obvious indentations in them. The chainstay on the chainring side is dented more towards the crank (on the blue painted portion of the stay) while the non-drive side stay is dented on the chrome portion. I have them covered up in twine right now but will post a pic later. The rest of the bike looks like it is nearly brand new. Tires are Schwalbe and have sort of a crosscheck pattern on the wear surface and it is still pretty much there, he couldn't have ridden this much, probably from dorm to class and back I suppose.

Oh, the other thing. The seatpost is about 18" long! I didn't measure, but it is gargantuan, at least compared to my other bikes. I'm considering getting out the hacksaw, any problem with that? It will reduce some weight, although I'm not that hung up on weight, any other reason to not lop off some length?

120 bucks! That rules.

Yeah, the stock seatpost is ridiculous. It won't cause any problems if you cut it, just make sure at least 4 inches is left to be inserted into the frame.

I tried to cut mine down, but my tube cutter didn't quite make it through...I gave up. But yes it is LONG!

I'm going to start a new thread with the pics. Thanks guys!

Post 'em in the Madison thread here:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?640259-Schwinn-Madison-love&highlight=madison+love