Matthius

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/bik/5119739044.html

Did some digging around, however, I could not find much information on the possible value on this bike. I believe the seller is mistaken on the model, but I could be wrong. Judging by the components, I have deducted that this was probably a sport bike as opposed to a race bike, but I don't know much more.

Is this a fair price for this bike? Thanks!

cb400bill

stem shifters equals recreational bike, not race bike

oddjob2

Looks like a 1984 P8. No French threading issues by 1984

https://www.bikeboompeugeot.com/Broch...chure%20P8.jpg

I don't think the asking price is outrageous, maybe 10-15% high. Make your best deal and good luck.

Bianchigirll 

If your looking for a flipper there likely isn't much to be made on it.

$199




Excellent condition, 57 cm (22.5 inch) frame with 10 speeds SUNTOUR components. Made in France.

Clang

You can do better for not much more money.

[h=2]BERTONI BICYCLE-12 SPEED-ALL ORIGINAL - $250 (El cajon)[/h]https://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/bik/5115505689.html



BERTONI bicycle--COLOMBUS SLX--12 speed--the paint is in excellent condition and it has the original Brook's leather set--the seat is fair condition--THE FRAME IS VERY VERY LIGHTWEIGHT and overall the bike is in excellent condition---$250.00

Clang

Other decent deals:

[h=2]Men's Bridgestone 400 Road Bike 57cm - $250 (Escondido)[/h]https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/bik/5119504755.html


Men's Bridgestone 400 Road Bike 57cm.
18 speed.
Made in Japan.
It's a light lavender color.
Suntour components.
Both wheels are quick release.
Clean.
Rides real nice.

[h=2]Vintage Classic KHS Men's Road Bike 56 cm - $210 (Escondido)[/h]https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/bik/5119698315.html


Vintage Classic KHS Men's Road Bike 56 cm.
12 speed.
New tires and handlebar tape.
Pretty clean except the spokes.
Rides very nice.
In good working condition.
Both wheels are quick release.

Matthius

Awesome! Thx.

zukahn1 

The Pugeot is just OK for the price. But as mentioned you can get a lot more bike for not much more money. This is typical of most markets the bikes in the $200-300 are often time 3/4 x better than the stuff under $200. I really like the Bertoni for the price if everything works and the frames not damaged I would get this one for only a bit more you would be getting a way better bike.

RoadGuy

There's a much newer 200X Trek 1000 down there that the Seller's asking $220 for. I think it's a 56cm, and it's Judy Yellow. It's been for sale for weeks (or months), and you could probably get it for a little less if you go there, to check the fit and condition.

Matthius

Do you happen to have the link to it? Thanks.

RoadGuy

I went to look on CL for the link and found this new for a higher end model. It's a Alpha 2000 (he doesn't state the model year) and it comes STI brifters and Tiagra. The Seller is asking $250. He does not state the frame size, so you'd need to go look at it.

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/bik/5120011747.html:

Here's a red Trek 1993 1420 with 7-speed triple crank. It looks like it's a 56cm frame with downtube shifters. Sellers is asking for $300.

Trek 1420 bicycle

Didn't see the yellow bike I was looking for but I swear I still saw the ad a couple of days ago.

Look at the three I found and let me know what you think.
Here's a Trek 1400. It's a little rougher, and it's somewhere between 1990-1992 model year. Shimano 105 with downtube shifters. Should have a 7-speed cassette. Can't see the frame size from the photos, looks like it may be 54cm. It's has an asking price of $175.

Road Bike **NEEDS TO GO**

RoadGuy

I went to look on CL for the link and found this new for a higher end model. It's a Alpha 2000 (he doesn't state the model year) and it comes STI brifters and Tiagra. The Seller is asking $250. He does not state the frame size, so you'd need to go look at it.

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/bik/5120011747.html:

Here's a red Trek 1993 1420 with 7-speed triple crank. It looks like it's a 56cm frame with downtube shifters. Sellers is asking for $300.

Trek 1420 bicycle

Here's a Trek 1400. It's a little rougher, and it's somewhere between 1990-1992 model year. Shimano 105 with downtube shifters. Should have a 7-speed cassette. Can't see the frame size from the photos, looks like it may be 54cm. It's has an asking price of $175.

Road Bike **NEEDS TO GO**

Didn't see the yellow bike I was looking for but I swear I still saw the ad a couple of days ago.

Look at the three I found and let me know what you think.

oddjob2

The Swiss Army knife solution for road bike seekers, "if you could have only one bike, make it a Trek aluminum from the 1990s." I see an emerging brand/model advocate, kind of like the Centurion Ironman champion from North Carolina in C&V.

Matthius

Thanks guys. I'll be moving in a month or so, but I'll look for the same bikes after the move. I'll probably go with a road bike to get road riding experience under my belt for at least a year and then maybe go back to fixed gear... We'll see.

RoadGuy

I have no recent experience with other surviving manufacturers (are there any?). I mean when I was younger I rode Royce Union, Schwinn, Murray, and Peugeot. Some of my friends had Nishiski, Raleigh, Cannondale, and Murray, and my brothers had Motobecane, and Diamondback. Trek and Cannondale were new/young brands back then, and that's what I wanted to try (found that the early Cannondale aluminum bikes were way too stiff for my liking), but didn't have enough money.

None of those brands survived in their original form (all bought-out, or bankrupt, or closed), except for Trek. Trek spans the eras of bikes that I'm interested in (steel, and aluminum, brazed, lugged, TIGed, bonded, indexed, 5,6,7,& 8 speeds), none of the other brands stayed true/original and evolved as the market changed.

I would have liked to have a new Merlin or Lightspeed before they sold-put, but I was busy raising kids and away from riding for about 10-15 years. I would never had thought that the titanium builders would be gone by the time I had time to appreciate a new one (I can't afford to buy a new one now).

I actually liked most of the bikes that I rode, although many people turn their noses up at what they called gaspipe tubing. I don't consider the bikes being sold as Schwinns, Motobecanes, and Raleighs to be much better or different from the so called BSOs being sold by Big Box stores now. I'm not into stiffness and lightness at the expense of durability, comfort, and affordability, so the newest oversized tubing metal bikes and carbon bikes really don't interest me.

When someone asks what they should by, I'll recommend a bike that I like riding, or if someone asks about an older bike brand/model that no-longer exists that I have ridden, and liked, I'll chime in with my opinion on the ride or the value. It's easier with Treks now, because I've spend more time with them recently learning about the different models/versions of their bikes from doing research on models made between 1984 and 2005, then I have with newer or later bike brands.

It's easier to find surviving Treks, than it is other brands because the other earlier brands are all gone now.

If I could only have one bike, it could not be replaced if the frame broke, and price was no object, I'd probably have a 90s Merlin or Lightspeed Titanium bike. If I could only have one bike, it could not be replaced if the frame broke and price was restricted, it would probably a late Trek steel TIG or early TIG (USA Made) aluminum bike.I

I don't particularly care for the Trek TIG bikes in the SL Series. I've come across more broken SL frames in the last two years, than any other Brand of bikes or Trek series of bike frames, including the bonded aluminum frames (both road and mountain). So you can see that I am not a fan of all things Trek.

howsteepisit

What difference does it make if the manufacturer is still in business or not. With Trek, the frame warrantee is limited to the original purchaser, so thats not a compelling reason to buy Trek. Generally speaking, the C&V crowed are steel frame fans, not aluminum, with a few notable exceptions. That said, Trek makes lots of good bike, but by a long way not the only good bikes, especially in the world of C&V and used bikes.

Matthius

So if I'm looking for more of a tight geometry frame that will be good for shorter commuting as well as the occasional long ride, what brands/era should I be looking for? I currently ride a chromoly frame and I like the feel of it, but I'm open to any option.

howsteepisit

I think right now the best consistent values are in the mid to late 1980s Japanese bikes, but then there are 70's Italians, British, and French bikes that are all good, the french thread problems make the French bikes a bit more problematic. I never rode any aluminum bike I really likes, but thats just me.

If I were you I would focus on fit, then fit followed by fit. Then the specific bike makes a difference.

RoadGuy

The fact that Trek has been in business for a fairly long time, producing bikes through different design eras, is still in business, and making lots of bikes makes it easier to find one in the price range with the features that people are looking for.

Some people say that they don't like aluminum bikes without ever really trying them, or after trying one brand from one era. Like the Early Cannondale Aluminum bikes which were the stiffest bikes I've ever ridden. My Schwinn 754 aluminum bike with oversize tubing rides softer in my opinion, yet I can't feel it giving when I'm hammering. I added a Specialized Kinesis aluminum fork and it still does not bother me at all, yet some people say they are too stiff, and haven't ever ridden one.

What makes a C&V bike? Age, Popularity, Availability? Certainly not the Brand, or the Material the bike is made from alone.

RoadGuy

What do you mean by "tight geometry"? Do you mean a bike with quick steering response? A bike that respond quickly to minor steering inputs may be tiring on longer distances, and is not going to have the stability at higher speeds that a bike with longer chainstays and a slacker headtube angle will have. That's why it's important to try any bike that you are considering at longer distances and higher speeds than you can generate drawing circles in a parking lot at low speeds. And you try try riding a simulated obstacle course as well have doing a speed run over a straight and a curvy road.

Otherwise you might find that the bike you chose does not turn well on curvy roads at speed, or becomes squirrely when you get the speed up, or it does not turn at speed (plowing a straight line) when you need to turn.

You need to find the bike with the correct fit for you, and then ride it to make sure that it performs like you want it to. A lot of the buying and selling that I want to do now involves getting the opportunity to see how different bike perform. If I could ride them at length before buying, I probably would not want a lot of them. Kinda like looking at new cars. They may look very attractive to you, but the test drive might show you that you really don't want them.

Matthius

I guess tight geometry is more of a track/fixed gear term. Something that's not a cruiser with drop bars to make it into a road bike, if you know what I mean.

Would it be necessary to get professionally measured to find the right fit for me, or would something like the "Competitive Cyclist" bike fit calculator work?

RoadGuy

There is lots more to how a bike feels under you than the printed specs. You can research specs to find bike that should fit you physically, but you got to ride them to see if you like how they are on the road. Bikes with identical specs can feel/ride completely differently.

Figure out what you are comfortable riding (measure that bike), research specs on other bikes that might work they appear to be similar, and then find examples and try riding them.