caljyp

Hello,
I am undergrad student at UC Berkeley trying to buy a used road bike under $300.
It'd be greatly appreciated if you guys could tell me these bikes are worth the price.

$300
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/3916061741.html
$250
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/3916864559.html
$300
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/3895423683.html

I do understand that bikes are a bit more expensive in the Bay Area than other places.

67tony 

Not the Schwinn...it is decidedly lesser quality than the other two.

The Bianchi has a detailed description of the components - Suntour Cyclone is good stuff and the power shifters get a lot of respect, too. But, it sounds like it needs some work.

Others will have to opine regarding the Miyata 312...

Bianchigirll 

The Bianchi is more like an '82ish machine and a upperend recreational bike. If your looking for basic transportation and it fits it might be a good buy. I would like to see closer to $250 but I think for your market it might be OK.

bikemig 

I'd get the Miyata. It has the nicer frame tubing, a forged crank, and comes with a "bonus" rear rack. The OW wants $425 which seems high to me but this is SF. If you are not worried about this bike disappearing, you could try offering $380 (the price of the Bianchi) and tell the S there is a Bianchi you like at $380 but you'd rather buy the Miyata.

caljyp

I got the miyata down to $300. Would that be a great deal?

bikemig 

You know the local CL prices better than we do. It is not a great deal. It is a nice bike. It is also I suspect fully priced even for the Bay Area. I did a quick search on SF CL for 53 cm bikes and they seemed to start at $300 and go up from there. This is a pretty nice bike. Miyatas are revered for a reason. Go check the bike out with cash in hand and take a good long look at it. Make sure that the paint is not dimpled anywhere (that can be the sign of a crash) and that the wheels turn straight (they should at least not rub the brakes and not have any bad wobbles).

Here is some info on your bike: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...185-Miyata-312

Miyata was probably the best of the Japanese importers. This is a lower end Miyata which is still a very nice bike.

The owner went down fast on the price and so may be willing to accept even a bit less at the point of sale. I'd offer $250 and see what happens.

caljyp

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/3920545373.html

What about this one compared to the Miyata?

oddjob2

Both the Bianchi and the Miyata would be sweet, but geez, how long will they last on a bike rack in Berkeley, 20 minutes or an hour? I am not being facetious, just being wary.

If that's not an issue, the Miyata is my choice. It already has a rack and looks to be immaculate.

Forget the above. GET THE TREK! A GREAT DEAL AT $200. Call now, don't email, it will be gone.

caljyp

Hopefully, if I double U-Lock and wire lock as well, it'll prevent theft, but you never know at my school...
Anyways, I've contacted the seller and I think we will meet soon.
By the way, what about this bianchi? I know it's not really a vintage, but she agreed to sell it for $300 since I'm a college student.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/bik/3920519842.html

oddjob2

The white Bianchi is Fugly, Sora group is so so.

rekmeyata

I'm a huge fan of Miyata's, I own two and love both of them, but that 312 is a lowend what they called a fitness bike. The frame was triple butted which is great but the tubing was the not the higher end splined triple butted tubing. That bike will not raise in price in the future much if any, add on top of that the asking price is way stupid high, closer to $150 to $175 would be more appropriate!

The Schwinn is the worst though of the three, I would stay far away from that one, it had a piss poor frame with extremely low end components, it's worth maybe $90!!

That leaves the Bianchi. The Cyclone derailleur was one of the best friction derailleurs ever made, second to only Suntour Superbe and not by much. That bike's Suntour component package is extremely reliable. That's the only one of the three I would consider and is priced more fair, combined with the late 70's age factor that bike will go up in price if taken care of.

By the way, I just noticed the Trek, I like the Treks of the 80's but again that particular one is a lower end Trek, granted it was the top of the low end bikes, but nothing to write home about, and their not doing well in the appreciation factor either. It is a far better bike the Schwinn, but more on the level of the Miyata and worth about the same $150 to $175.

Of course some of these bikes are priced high because their looking for suckers that will pay more for a vintage bike, but especially the Miyata and the Schwinn they are WAY over priced, the Trek is also over priced but not as bad as the first two.

DISCLAIMER, this is all my personal opinion of what I think those bikes are worth and having lived and rode those in the days those bikes were created.

FastJake

Get the Trek. Forget the rest.

At $300 the Miyata isn't too bad, but not any better than the Trek and priced 50% higher. Also get a good U-lock if you plan to keep any of these bikes for more than a week. Personally if you're leaving it outside for extended periods I would skip these nicer ones and get an ugly old POS that is in good working condition.

caljyp

Thank you for the advice guys.
I'm currently in process of making an arrangement with the Trek guy.
In the mean time, what about this Centurion bike? Out of my budget, but just curious.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/3920857272.html

aramis

I've sold the exact saddle off the trek for $70. If it wasn't so far from me I'd go buy iy.

oddjob2

0ver 100% too high. Who'd want a bike that causes indecent exposure? A U-lock can be cut in less than a minute.

rekmeyata

Agreed, not that it matters, but the price on the Centurion is too high like most of the others you've showed us. It does have a nice frame, it uses Tange 2 which was the third from the top of the line Tange Prestige then Tange 1, and 2 was quite strong. It's frame is about equal to the Bianchi and above the others.

Don't get the Trek, that model use Tange Mangalloy tubing which was their bottom of the line tubeset out of 7 road tubesets that tange made! People are hypnotized by Trek, not all that Trek makes or made are or were good bikes. Granted better than Department store bikes, but not the best choice in the ones you were looking at except for the Schwinn. If you were looking at just the Schwinn and the Trek then yes, the Trek is the better choice of those two. But again the Trek is overpriced, worth closer to $150 to $175

FastJake

Wrong information alert....

The Trek has a clearly visible True Temper decal, and if you look in the catalogs you can find it's a 1989 which used "True Temper RC double butted chromoly" which was good stuff. https://vintage-trek.com/TrekBrochure1989.htm

The Trek would probably be gone in a day here $150

link0

Wow, those prices are about 2X or as high as Los Angeles prices, or more. There is a very good condition Miyata 710 that's been reposted on craiglist for over 2 months now at $200 here in LA. And a Bianchi with full Shimano 600 (ultegra) for $270 has been unsold for over a month here.

I don't envy you at all.

oddjob2

LA, still the car capital of the world, where dealers gouge with prices higher than MSRP!

rekmeyata

Actually not true, I use to live in LA and I could find cars cheaper there than anywhere in California. Why? Because they sold more volume in LA than anywhere in California, and the harbor was nearby in Long Beach so transportation charges were lower. Of course this was 30 years ago, but I doubt anything has changed to reverse that. Not only cars were cheaper but we could pick up all sorts of stuff, cameras, electronics, appliances, etc for less. Some things were more expensive like building supplies.

caljyp

Guys what about this one?

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/3924119969.html

oddjob2

Pass. Frame looks rough, wheels mismatched, fruit salad of components, big asking price.

FastJake

Nice bike, but condition looks rough. This bike has obviously been through a lot and doesn't look like it's been taken care of. Celeste Bianchi also screams theft magnet to me. I bet it will sell near that price in SF bay. Personally I would pass.

rekmeyata

It looks like a Speciallissia from around the early 80's, but my monitor isn't clear enough to see the wording or even the condition, though it looks ok, the paint looks a bit rough around the stays. Those were decent bike though whoever owned it before stripped a lot of the old Campy parts off of it so the actual value is lower than the asking price. At least in my opinion. If you can find the proper year and brand in components and wheels then if would increase in price maybe a lot if it's a Speciallissia, to close to the $800 to $1000 range if the paint is decent, but right now maybe $200 to $250; again must my opinion.

It appears in the monitor that the blue Bianchi was in better shape paint wise, and it was cheaper, what happened to it?

caljyp

He was going for $350 and no less.
The celeste one the seller is willing to sell for 300