Emptyjar

I'm thinking about going to pick this Sekine up for about $40ish dollars today after work, but I'm still pretty new to the whole biking world, and I'm hoping this could be a commuter for me. From what I've been told by research online, it's a lower end Sekine here, but the bikes are still pretty decent and it sounds like what I'm looking for.

However, I'm not good at looking at a bike and analyzing all the parts yet, but I do have a picture to show. The guy selling seems nice and knowledgeable about bikes and for 40$ it's hard to imagine I'm getting ripped off, but I'm more worried about missing a flaw in the back that could cuase me to end up spending much more on this bike than it's worth in the future.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

Edit: Oh, anyone have a ballpark guess of the model and year?

oddjob2

First, of all it is a short frame, probably 48-50cm, for someone 5'6" or under. Mid 1970's vintage is my SWAG.

It is hard to lose at $40, if you don't mind bearings that probably have 35 year old grease in them. New tires will set you back another $25, plus possibly tubes and rim strips at another $15. Also, brake pads add another $10.00. And you need a 13mm and 15mm thin cone wrench to get the hubs apart and $5-$10 for bearings and grease.

It has cottered cranks which are a PITA to service. Special tools needed!

But I do like the brand name on the dork disk!

Emptyjar

Haha, me too! So classy.

Hmm, might actually be a bit too small for me then, i'm about 5'10/5'11

I suppose I'm still considering it to just cannabalize into my current project bike.

FastJake

That bike is WAY too small for you. Look for something in the 57-59cm range.

It's hard to go wrong at $40, but I would not buy that bike. I would spend a bit more and aim higher, or get lucky on a higher end bike at a low price.

Emptyjar

Well I went and looked at the Sekine, and (as usual) you folks were right, that bike was a tiny piece of machinery! However, he did also have a Fuji that was my size, so I decided to bring it home.

So far I'm really liking what this bike has, and it's so much lighter than having all the components be steel! It's a Fuji S-10 S from the mid-to-late 70's, but I haven't had time to get my hands dirty or figure it out via the serial number yet.

I was going to make a new thread but decided against it as I'd rather not clog up the forums with multiple threads all pertaining to my own questions. So, how much do you think this bike is worth? I'm not looking to sell it, so I gues i'm just curious if I got a good price on it or not. It seems fairly nice, i'll most likely have to regrease everything and do all the normal maintenance, but other than that it seems like it needs some new tires, (probably) tubes, bar tape and brake lever hoods ( I think that's what they're called)?

However, finding these items are quite difficult without ordering from multiple sites. Are nashbar and performance bike my only choices or are there more online sources I don't know about? Because right now I would like tires from performance bike, but tubes from nashbar, and to be honest I can't even find a set of just brake hoods.

Any help is appreciated, also more info on this bike would be amazing too, thanks!

oddjob2

That's a lot cleaner than the 1982 Fuji Team I purchased today for $5.00. Try Niagaracycle.com, great prices, they can get just about everything, but a bit slow on shipping. And their cream colored tire selection sucks. Diacompe brake hoods are $8 a set.

zukahn1 

I really like the Fuji looks like a great first C&V bike good condition overall nice components well built frame. As for finding the parts a lot of it depends on your time frame Niagra or Ebay are cheaper but it may take a little longer. You can get basic bar tape off Ebay new for about $4 dollars with shipping as for tires the ones on sale at Performance are the best deal also note Performance will match there dirt low internet price in the store if you ask and they have stores in most cities. As for the hood you can get some Crane Creek ones online for about $10-12. If your flipping the bike I would lose the hoods and do a tape around you will get the same price for the bike and save some money. Also rethink buying anything new that isn't new to make the bike a good rider you just won't get your money back. Heres an example of what usually do on flippers all or mostly used parts only what is needed. I spent about $20 in parts in all on this.
Before



After



As for price on this on your Fuji very well done it should get about $200 so figure that in on your spending.

fixed1313

For parts I have heard Pro Bike Outlet mentioned. I have not ordered from them yet but I have looked around and they seem to have great prices on things. Maybe someone who had ordered can chime in about the experience.

FastJake

At 5'10" the Fuji is also definitely too small for you. Change out the bar tape, saddle, and tires and I think you could get $150 for it.

Then you can look for a bike in your size to actually ride.

Emptyjar

I only have about one inch (Maaaaybe a little more) while straddling the bar. I was under the impression that means you're most likely in the good range as far as fit goes. It feels natural/comfortable so far, but I guess that might change when I can actually ride around on it. We'll see, I guess. I have about a 30-31 inch inseam (according to my jeans, anyway). I'll try to figure it out when I get home, thanks for the input though, even though you have me scared I can't keep the bike!



Thanks for the links, Niagaracycle had pretty much everything I need and the prices are pretty hard to beat, I think I'll be going that route! Although I may look into Pro Bike Outlet when I get home from work.