Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - Help me pick please - Nishiki vs Fuji Vs Swinn

Hi -

I am looking for a used road bike - ideally under $250.
my plan is to find a well-tuned bike, in decent shape. Once the new tune-up is needed, I plan to convert to a single-speed
This bike will be used to commute to work, and run errands. Anything above that is a plus.

I have three bikes that i'm interested in on Craigslist.
Was wondering if either are worth the money. All look like they're in good shape.
I'm especially interested in the Fuji and the Nishiki bikes.

If anyone has run into these before of has any info - would be very much appreciated.

Here's the bikes:

Guessing a 1980s Fuji Sagres - with what owner claims to be a Japan-made Chromoli frame.
I like this one the best.
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/3264992623.html


Red Schwinn LeTOUR - year unknown - singlespeed conversion. The plus here - already converted
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/3278084022.html

Old Nishiki bike - with what i'm hoping is a decent frame, and clean parts. LBS guy told me they made decent bikes.
I'm going to try and check it out.
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/3275444483.html

Links no workie

Try again

wooops.
Fixed.

Thx!

I like No 1 because of The Great looks.

You can always offer Less.

$100 is a big spread. I think you should check them all out and then pick. The LeTour is already converted and has a new wheel set. The Sagres is decent, but Valite tubing is over rated IMHO. The Nishiki may be the best price/value of the three. Deduct for old tires, rotted grips, etc.

Price to value, only the Nishiki is close. Sagras price is ridiculous. Claw derailleur hanger, stem shifter, swagged crank, steel seat post, steel bars, $275? WTF?

International is not rare, but is a good, solid performer. Needs to be either ready to ride, or you need to be prepared to do any required work on it, as if you have to have a bike shop work on it, you will be upside down value wise pretty quick.

Thanks guys. Perhaps I am getting used to the Chicago market and starting to accept higher prices as normal. I will check out the Nishiki bike. It's also the closest one to my house.
So. Lesson earned should be to keep bikes Like the ones I listed in the 150$ range

I have bought a lot of bikes in the Chicago market, as I have family there. Although the prices tend to be higher than here, I am very patient, willing to drive a distance, so I always come back with deals. My last trip, May of this year, I came back with five bikes.

After rehabbing those bikes, the sale of one paid for all five. So even in more expensive markets, there are deals out there. Typically you have to look harder (beyond C/L) and you have to be willing to do some clean up and repair work.

The Nishiki is about 10 years older than the Fuji but the latter looks like its fork may be bent. It's hard to make a definitive assessment from pictures but the blades don't appear to align with the head tube and the tire looks too close to the downtube.

I like none of these idea of buying one and converting it to ss/fg doesn't sense. If a ss/fg is what you really want buying a older bike for a couple of hundred and converting it is a very expensive way to go. You will end up paying the price of the bike plus $150 in parts maybe more to do a nice conversion plus your time and effort. Which puts you in the $300-400 price range total for significantly less than that you can get a fairly nice late model SS/FG used or a vintage bike that has already been nicely converted. Of the bikes you have shown the Fuji and Schwinn probably would be OK SS but are not real good choices for fixed. The Nishiki would make a OK fixed but would be expensive to do a nice conversion on you would need to change replace almost everything on the bike.

Thank you. So what would be a decent starting price for a conversion candidate? Or I guess a better question would be what to look for in a bike that I would eventually convert?

Forget conversion, unless you want to waste quite a bit of money. Instead, buy one of the myriad of ready to go SS/FG bikes out there, with new 700c wheels, new tires, any color you want, any style handlebars you want, any size you want, better everything, lighter weight, etc., for under $250 on line.

Converting used to make sense financially, but the market has now been flooded with cheap, and decent, new SS/FG bikes.

Forget conversion, unless you want to waste quite a bit of money. Instead, buy one of the myriad of ready to go SS/FG bikes out there, with new 700c wheels, new tires, any color you want, any style handlebars you want, any size you want, better everything, lighter weight, etc., for under $250 on line.

Converting used to make sense financially, but the market has now been flooded with cheap, and decent, new SS/FG bikes.

+1 on just about any vintage bike to do a nice fixed gear conversion your going to need to buy a wheeset with tires, chain, cog and likely a crankset/bb. For close to the price of these parts you can buy new late model fixed gear or a bike that has already been converted.

I have no affiliation with these ads but here's some in your price range

Schwinn World Conversion already done - $225 (may be larger than you have been looking at)
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/bid/3243379295.html

Motobecane Grand Jubli -$220 (not a SS/FG however would serve you great and have some resale value)
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/3268942862.html

Lemond Alread converted SS ( if the shifters/levers on it still funciton they are worth about $100 could sell them get some regular levers and and have some money left over) - $180
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/bik/3281157964.html


anyways. keep looking don't get discouraged you'll find the right bike for you at the right price. By the way if Schwinn Continentals really sell for the kind of money i'm seeing them listed for you could pay for a trip here to the ATL and get tons of them for like $70 a piece and make a fortune.

Thanks a lot bigwooly,
this gives me something to work with.

I've also started checking out some new SS bikes but anything in the 300-400 range is begging for at least better tires.

I have utmost regard for Motobecane, owning a Grand Record, a C41, and a Tandem, not to mention having sold many a Moto Mixte and currently have a Jubilee Sport to restore.

However that one is missing decals and headbadge, so do what you wish with it. Those Suntour Cyclone derailleurs are worth half the asking price of that bike!

I have utmost regard for Motobecane, owning a Grand Record, a C41, and a Tandem, not to mention having sold many a Moto Mixte and currently have a Jubilee Sport to restore.

However that one is missing decals and headbadge, so do what you wish with it. Those Suntour Cyclone derailleurs are worth half the asking price of that bike!

Also worth pointing out that those Suntour "power" downtube shifters are regarded by many as the best friction shifters available second only to some earlier version by another company that slips my mind currently. I've worked with a pair recently and would agree they're pretty sweet.

alright, one more please.
Ready conversion, nicer tires, from what I checked out.
it's exactly my size.

price is a little high, but I wonder if he'll part with it for 180

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/3278084022.html