xStaticS

I am looking to buy this bike and the seller wants me to make an offer on the bike after I go to check it out. The problem is that I am brand new to the world of bikes and I am not at all sure of how much this bike is worth.

The seller says he use to own a bike shop and that the bike is in good condition, has always been kept in a garage, and he just tuned it up yesterday. According to him all it needs is a back tube and it should be ready to go.

This is what he says about the bike (I do not know what much of this means): "it is double butted real nice crome-olly frame all original parts. Rather on the rare side it is made in japan not taiwan for these bikes that is a big difference."

"It is set up in ten-speed tuned it up yesterday this bike was well loved all most no tool marks and has been garaged all of it's life."

He included a photo that is a bit blurry but I will attach it here. I was hoping to spend around $250-300 on a bike but could go up a bit if I was getting a good deal. I don't want to offer too much but at the same time I don't want to offend by offering too little because I do not know very much about older bikes and their construction.

xStaticS

Thanks for quick reply! I have been gaining knowledge steadily for the past few days but almost everything I know about value and pricing applies to new or like-new bikes. I am just lost when it comes to older bikes. I've been having a really hard time finding something of decent quality for around $400 in my area. I keep getting told to go into LBS and buy a brand new bike by cycling enthusiasts but I simply cannot afford to buy a brand new bike. I am not set on a road bike and I was originally looking for a hybrid but I cannot find much of anything with good reviews and available in my size.

If you have any suggestions for how I can continue learning about bikes so that I can make a good decision I would really appreciate it.

Bianchigirll 

I think I would pass unless your very petite. That is a lousy pic but it looks like a model that was made with a smaller front wheel for petite women.

Where is your area?

Again the pic is bad, so you can't really tell what componentry the bike has. I agree on the story being malarkey, if the seller has a shop why is the pic in his living room? If it needs a new tube odds are good it needs other work too.

xStaticS

Hi thank you!

I am very short - about 5'3" but I am not extremely thin or anything so by petite do you mean it was made for shorter women, or for very lightweight women?

I live in Montana in the US. My city is very bike-friendly and we have many many LBS but this also means a lot of the bikes they carry are expensive. There are a lot of people into racing around here. I will look at some LBS for used bikes that are maybe more affordable.

I do not really believe the seller's story either. He claims that he USED to own a bike shop with a woman who was the owner of this bike. He says she lost her job and doesn't have storage space so he bought this bike off of her and now he wants it gone because his daughter decided she didn't want another touring bike (his words).

I had a hard time understanding some bits of his email because he had a lot of typos and incomplete sentences but I just assumed he was writing to me on a smart phone or something. I do wish he had at least tried to get a clearer picture of the bike. I may still go and check out the bike and see if he will maybe take $100-$150 for it if it is not in great shape. Or else I will have to continue trying to find a decent made bike around here that I can afford ):

howsteepisit

Story is hogwash. Front wheel is in backwards, (see the QR on the right side). It not a touring bike in the true sense its a sports touring rig, any former shop owner would know these things, And be able to replace a tube in 5 minutes. No trust here makes a doubtful deal.

Edit and at the level and year of this bike, taiwan or Japan really doesn't make much difference.

xStaticS

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies! I will look elsewhere for my bike. I am glad I came here before making a deal blindly

Chicago Al 

I think BianchiGirl is right about it being a 'Terry' style bike, though the angle of the photo obscures it. Nice job of CSI-C&V work there! Doubt the seller was trying to hide this as he doesn't sound very sharp.

Terry bikes were designed by Georgena Terry back in the 80s, and her idea of a frame that took a small (24") front wheel, so the frame could be small without 'toe overlap' of the front wheel (the usual problem with small frames) was copied by many companies. At 5' 3" you might fit on a regular small road bike with a 19 1/2" or 49cm frame, but the Terry style might work well for you, too.

Shogun was a made-up brand name, built for and distributed by a company in Seattle. There were a bunch of such companies in the 80s. Japanese bike production at the time was in its heyday and even fairly basic bikes from that era can be of surprisingly good quality. Shogun is not as well-known or documented a company as (say) Miyata, Fuji, or Centurion, so there don't seem to be any catalogs from the era around. They used a numbering system for their models, at least some of the time, higher numbers being better models: 200, 400, 500, etc. Apparently they changed that to names so who knows whether a Samurai was the entry 'soldier' level bike or the top 'general' model?

Actually seeing downtube shifters on this bike suggests it's at least mid-level. I would suggest having a look at this bike, esp if you could take a knowledgeable friend along. While there are a few people who know and want this style of bike, I'd say it's unlikely this seller is going to have people clamoring to buy it. (Also a hard core Terry bike fan likely wants a real Terry.) If it looks good, fits you, etc, and you can get some kind of idea of condition and work needed, you might give the guy an offer of say $150 or $200, see if he bites. If he says it's a $400 bike say, 'Yeah, fully rehabbed, in Portland, on a nice day, which I hope you have.' And be prepared to walk away.

jyl

If in good condition and ready to ride, that bike is worth maybe $200. It is a no-name brand, pretty old, and a weird Terry-style bike - all that limits the appeal to very, very short women. Problem is, the seller is an idiot or a shameless liar, the bike is guaranteed to be not tuned up - at least, not by anyone who knows what he is doing (flat tire, backwards front wheel).

The Terry-style bikes are a pain because the front tire is a small and unusual size. You have to carry two different spare tubes, getting a new tire is a bother, and finding a tube to fit the front tire might be a bother in a smaller town. At 5' 3", I think you should look for a small (48-50 cm) bike with standard 700C wheels.

Chicago Al 

In this forum, a bike being 'pretty old' is not considered a negative. True, most likely you won't be able to pick up a 24" tire in a local bike shop, but they could certainly order it...and how many do you need? If I were buying a bike like this for my wife, I'd get a half-dozen 24" tubes, which should last for several years, and two of the Panaracer Pasela tires in this link, that way there would be a spare. Search Results: 24 - BikeTiresDirect.com

Anyway, I'm not saying buy the bike, but suggest you not rule it out yet, either.

Fahrenheit531 

Is that a bio-pace sticker on the chainwheel in the 10-o'clock position? Frankensamurai?

RobbieTunes

Pass. Doesn't even have the cool Samurai helmet head badge, and the "bike shop" deserved to be defunct, if he wrenched there.