ussrian

Hello,
at
I am looking for a cheap commuter road bicycle, and have found these two, however I have no idea whether they are worth the money:

https://madison.craigslist.org/bik/3061862456.html

https://madison.craigslist.org/bik/3029567963.html

In general, I am just looking for something cheap but reliable. I've seen people on this forum talking about buying road bikes for $40, so I'm wondering if these I found on craigslist are overpriced. It seems like a lot of road bikes on craigslist in my area are at least above $100.
What do you think? Are these bikes worth the investement? Are there better places than craigslist to look for cheap reliable bikes? Used road bikes in the local bike stores are at least $200.

Any feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks!

joel52

The ~$40 bikes and other deals tend be things that have been in storage a while and are not ready to ride. May need cables, tires, re-greasing, and other work that if you can do yourself, makes for a great deal, but if you bring to shop can add up.

These look like they could be road ready in which case the prices don't seem out of line. In addition to test riding to make sure it fits and runs through the gears and braking okay you could look to see if the cables have any rust, whether either of the wheels wobble if you lift the bike and spin, whether the tires have any cracking, and eyeball the frame for weird bends or dents.

You could also make sure the seat posts and handlebar stems go up and down, and ask the seller if the wheel hubs and bottom bracket have been serviced (looks like the same seller on both).

Hopefully others can chime in as to whether one is a much better deal, but obviously the difference in handlebars and shifters between the two might be enough to decide, assuming both otherwise fit and check out.

lostarchitect 

Those look like totally fair prices to me if what the seller says is true (new cables, bearings, etc). It's the same seller so I'd assume he's a filpper, and it looks like he's fairly thorough. If it was me I'd get the crescent. It has style! I might buy it myself if it was around here. The saddle alone should be worth $50.

FastJake

The blue Viscount is pretty cool. If I didn't have way too many bikes already I'd probably make the trip to Janesville and pick it up. Don't see that early Dura Ace very often. The bars on the Crescent aren't doing it for me but that one also looks worthy of the price, although the Viscount has higher end components.

For a commuter though, I'd probably look for something newer/lower end. I wouldn't subject a bike that old and nice to regular commuting. But that's just me.

I have a Fuji single-speed I'll be selling soon if that's something you'd be interested in...

bikemig 

I like the crescent as the company made some nice bikes. This one has been repainted so it is possible that the frame has some issues that you can't see. I'd want to inspect and test ride it. Viscount made what was, in its day, a lightweight and affordable frame but the only models I am aware of came with a really bad (like in seriously dangerous) aluminum fork. This fork does not look like one of those but it is something you want to be certain of before buying it.

Edit: while the prices on the bike seem OK assuming the seller has put some work into them, I think you can do better for a commuter. I'd be on the look out for a vintage MTB for an inexpensive commuter. You can run fat tires, fenders, and a rack and you don't need to pay a lot to pick one up. This is mine, a really nice 1988 Stumjumper comp with a full deore xt gruppo:

zukahn1 

Both of these look to be fairly good deals. They both have fairly desirable component groups and nicer vintage wheels which is pretty rare for vintage road bikes under $200. To me they also look a little more like nice C&V bikes and not really daily commuters.

randyjawa 

Welcome to the Bike Forums.

You want something cheap but reliable, is that correct?

If so, you will have to do what many other Forum members do, which is work hard (and smart) at finding a bike, for a decent price, or hope that you get incredibly lucky. The $40.00 bikes are out there, but you do have to hunt for them and, as often as not, the bikes you seek will need a generous dose of TLC, better described as maintenance.

Can you do the work yourself? If not, then there is no such thing as a cheap vintage road bike for you. Maintenance can be very costly, if you have to run down to the local bike shop, every time your bike needs tweaking.

Yes, there are many places to look for bikes, other than Craigslist or Ebay. Spend some time looking through How To Find Vintage Bicycles and see if some of those procedures work for you. There is no Craigslist, where I live, and I find about a hundred vintage road bicycles a year, assuming, of course, that I am actually hunting.

Of course, if you do start some serious hunting, you had better know what you are hunting for. When that good deal does surface, you need to act immediately! And "act immediately" does not mean spend a day or two asking if the bike is a good buy. Do that and you will miss every opportunity. Good deals on Craigslist get snapped up immediately by professional Flippers, as a rule.

To act immediately, you need to know what to look for in a bicycle, figuring out how to determine a quality bike as opposed to a POS. You will need to learn a bit about Bicycle Quality and Bicycle Purchase. Armed with that knowledge, you will be better prepared to make a quick decision, dramatically increasing your chances of getting the special bike for a low price.

My guess is that, by now, you are beginning to understand that you need to do the work to find the deal. Though your question seems simple and straight forward, the answer(s) are not. Many people here have worked for years developing their vintage bicycle interests and associated skills. The learning process is fun but fraught with pitfalls, make no mistake about that.

Anyway, I could go on and on and I already did. That's why I publish MY "TEN SPEEDS", to help people just like you come up to speed a bit faster, and cheaper, than you might without the information offered.

Good luck with your search and purchase. Let us know how you do.

bent-not-broken

I live north of Madison and I can still find the $25 yard sale 12 speeds (the latest an '86 Schwinn Super LeTour with the original catalogs from 85 and 86). The local Craigs List is listing gaspipe Schwinns for $100+ in "as found condition". If you aren't able to do the repair work, these are great deals for your area. There are few deals on Craigs list.

ussrian

Your bike seems to be nice for commuting, my issue with mountain bikes is that they seem slower and bulkier, also all the mountain bikes I rode were the pretty cheap wal-mart kind. However yours seem to have thinner tires, and in general looks more "road bike-ish" than the new mountain bikes. I found this one:

https://madison.craigslist.org/bik/3105321678.html

Which seems like what you were describing. I might go take a look at it pretty soon.

bikemig 

That's a cheap bike; you really don't want that. What size bike are you looking for and how much do you want to pay for it? You want something with a rigid fork and from a manufacturer whose name you recognize; that's not a guarantee of quality but it helps. This bike (if it's your size) might be what you want: https://madison.craigslist.org/bik/3105495003.htmlIt's a Trek 830, chrome-moly frame, and decent equipment. It would make a good commuter.

ussrian

I've seen this one before. I am biased towards road bikes, since I feel like they are usually faster, I never really need to go off road, and I just think they look much better (which I realize is a rather irrational aspect). So I thought that for a similar price, I might as well get one of the ones I originally posted. I suppose this one might be more comfortable, but I would say speed is most important for me (after price and quality). Is there a reason why a mountain bike is better for commuting?

Regarding the price, I am looking for something $200 max, probably, unless it's a really good deal. I'm about 5'10, so the road bike frame size I need, from my understanding, is around 57 cm, and around 19 inches for a mountain bike.

Thanks!

ussrian

Thank you everyone for the replies, I found them very useful, especially since I am new to this. It seems like many people thought those bikes were a bit nice for every day commuting. I do need a bike for every day use, and while I can put some effort into fixing one up, it's more of a necessity (i don't have a car) than a hobby, so I would like to start using one basically immediately. I also don't see too much of a point in buying a cheap used bike just to spend large amounts of money on new spare parts, unless of-course, one enjoys fixing bikes.

Sorry if this is a bit off topic, I've heard this before, and I wanted to reaffirm, is it not worth to buy a brand new bike for the $200 and under price? People at the used bike store told me this, but they do work in a used bike store...

bent-not-broken

I'm confused. Why aren't you buying one of the bikes you originally listed?

bikemig 

The 21 inch Trek 830 hybrid for $150 will make a fine commuter and all round bike and should fit you fine.

lostarchitect 

Most new bikes you will find under $200 will be junk, the bike store is right. I'm sure there are a few exceptions, but if $200 is your budget you can get a much better used bike than a new one. MUCH better.

rjhammett

I can guarantee you that the standover height of the Viscount will be closer to 33" than 30".

ussrian

I'm still going to go look at them, and possibly buy one of them. I started doubting I guess, because I was discouraged by people stating that those aren't quite commuter bikes, and the they are too nice for that, so I'm wondering how much of the price is due to the fact that they are vintage and restored. The cheaper - the better for me, I wouldn't be buying those bikes because they are rare or vintage, I would buy one of them only if it meets my commuter needs. So if there was a simpler or uglier bike that would last me just as long, that would be cheaper, I would buy that.