isabelringing95

Found a Vintage Woman's Huffy Savannah on Craigslist for $80. Owner says it's in "good condition". I'm a college student low on money and no car. Could use a nice bike to get me around and pretty reliable. Saw on other forums that Huffy's were bought for $20, would I be wrong for buying it at $80 ?

howsteepisit

"would I be wrong for buying it at $80 ?"

Yes

20 seems about right, and that may be too high depending on the condition, I see some rust, so it is in need of work.

isabelringing95

Thanks! What bike brand or type should I look for?

Poguemahone

Those brakes would stop nothing, and the rims are likely steel (adding to the problem). I would pass at 5$, let alone 20$-- there's really nothing I can see to salvage on that bike.

The price on old bikes has actually increased drastically since the advent of Craigslist. Prior to the turn of the century, I could find very nice road and mountain bikes for 5-50$, several a week, with minimal effort on my part. The Huffy you pictured would have gone to a scrapper then-- now it can pull in an unsuspecting buyer. DONT BE THAT BUYER, get yourself educated.

And up your $$$ a bit; there's a sweet spot on CL where the really good stuff just sits. Around 200$ here.

PatTheSlat 

If you post your location, we can look through your local craigslist and find some good options for you. Unlikely to find anything good for $80, but in my area you can often pick up an older rigid frame mountain bike for $100-150.

isabelringing95

Whoa great! I'm in the SF/Bay Area. Thanks !

digger531

How tall are you?

PatTheSlat 

From what I've heard SF usually has way higher bike prices than pretty much anywhere else, but after a quick look at craigslist it seems there are a pretty good number of mountain bikes already set up with slick or semi-slick tires (which are what you will want for road-use) for $100-150.

Depending on how tall you are...

5'4-5'5ish: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/bik/4340799661.html
5'7ish: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/4344090426.html
5'9ish: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/bik/4340781249.html
6'+: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/4344015488.html
Oddly enough all of those are Specialized, there's nothing particular about that brand those just happened to be the first few decent ones I saw.

If you tell us how tall you are we can find some more for you.

muzpuf

huffy and vintage should never be in the same listing together

isabelringing95

I'm 5'4-5'5ish. I found this bike https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/4339469807.html and have had contact with the seller, I know it's a little too big but he said it might fit if I adjust the handle bars & seat. Would that work?

PatTheSlat 

I'd definitely be concerned about the size, but you never know until you go and try it. If you're comfortable on it, I'd say that's a fair price for that bike in San Francisco.

BruceHankins

I really think it will be to big. My wife is 5'7" and she is most comfortable on an 18" frame hybrid. 20" without a step-through frame will most likely have to high of a stand over height.

digger531

You will want to stay away from suspension forks. They are really, really crap. Others will back me up on this. Even if you want a hybrid, which is likely a good choice, find one with a regular fork. The large tires on a mountain bike or a hybrid will do far more for cusioning your ride then a heavy, pogostick suspension fork.

digger531

And thats way too much money for that bike. Did your budget go up?

digger531

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/4343952462.html

digger531

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/4343692743.html

digger531

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/4336125025.html

digger531

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/4343471498.html

This is a cool bike. REALLY cool. If I was in the area I would own it. Now that being said it might scream "steal me" but it is cool

LesterOfPuppets

Man, I love that chrome Univega!

Here's a decent 'goose that should fit you nicely. See if you can get that for $75-80

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/bik/4344460200.html

isabelringing95

My budget is under 200, the owner of that bike said $160

isabelringing95

Thanks I'm definitely going to take that into consideration! Now, I'm leaning more towards the hybrid bikes, could I change the tires on a mountain bike to get a better ride?

isabelringing95

?
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/4342341326.html

Poguemahone

Yes. Street slicks provide a better ride on pavement than knobby tires. If you do this, figure the cost of new tires into your purchase. This is not a bad idea anyway. Figure 20-30$/ tire for decent ones.

+1 on that chrome Univega hybrid.

Fahrenheit531 

The Univega's pretty dang cool. Find a Kryptonite lock on CL for about $20 and you're set!

LesterOfPuppets

Might be kinda a bummer to subject that Univega to the rigors of big city beater bike life, however.

Also be prepared for no index shifting, surely also the case on the Savannah.