Iverson ten speed
 

Someone showed me a bicycle yesterday. He said he wanted twenty dollars for it, first, and then I had a look at it.
I told him twenty was more than the bike was worth.
It was a black Iverson, from the mid 1970's. All components were steel, except the brakes, which were classic centerpull style.
Rims were chromed steel, tires dry-rotted.
black electrical tape on the bars (drop bars), more tape on the seat. chromed steel rack with a "mouse trap".

I didn't mean to disappoint the man by telling him the bike was only worth five dollars, but the give-away to the poor quality was where the stays (chain stays and seat stays) met the drop-outs. They were the kind where the stays are crimped onto the dropout, and "permanently" secured with a single spot-weld.

Was I wrong in telling him the bike was only worth $5.00?

It had been kept indoors, or in a garage, in Great Neck, Long Island, so it wasn't rusty.

Sounds like your estimate of value was generous, it would cost more to make the bike roadworthy then it would ever be worth. I don't like telling someone their pos has no value. When I run into that situation, I tell him or her that's not the type of bike I'm looking for and move on. Some bike aren't worth saving.

Sometimes a gracious "No thank you" is all that's needed for a truly hopeless project. If your friend persisted, though, no, you weren't out of line.

+1 I put a wanted to buy ad in our local neighborhood newsletter. I did mention adult bikes. Well, I got presented some real junkers, I felt I had to take them regardless, so I overpaid for them. Didn't work out as I had hoped.....

When I try to let someone down, I usually compliment the bike, but either say its not my size, or not the style I am looking for, or something else vague. I don't mention that it is really a POS.

It was funny. This friend, Alan , knocks on my door and tells me he's got a bike, and he only wants twenty dollars for it. I was skeptical from the start. He said someone told him it was worth it just for the parts. I asked who told him it was worth twenty, he said "A Lawyer".

It was a waste of my time to go outside to look in Alan's car to see the bike. I want those ten minutes of my life back.

I did in fact tell Alan that the bike was worth nothing, and what I said was: "the most you could possibly get for this bike is five dollars".

He asked me if he should give it away, and I said "I wouldn't take it if it was for free".

You could leave this bike without a lock, and no one would steal it.

Anyway, someone in Great Neck got rid of this POS, and the empty space it took up is worth a lot more than the bike. (Great Neck Real Estate is pricey).

Yes, the Iverson ten speed is worth nothing. The five dollar estimate I gave was over-generous. You'd really have to pay someone to haul this bike away.