jcwitte

I have a newer Trek 520 for riding and future touring, but I wanted another bike that would be less tempting to thieves and less painful if it was stolen from the rack at a grocery or some place.

One of the LBS here sell a number of tuned up older schwinns from the 80's and such. One was a Schwinn Le Tour, another was a Schwinn Traveler, and then a few others. He said they all had new tires, tubes, and cables. They all had price tags ranging from $125 to $195 or so.

Would you guys consider these to be fair prices (it is an LBS with new bikes, so some markup makes sense), or would I be better off waiting around until I find one for $15 and then refurbishing it myself?

USAZorro

A lot of the answer depends on:

A. Where you live.

B. What kind of shape the bikes are in.

and

C. How comfortable you feel with bike maintenance.

jcwitte

A. I live in central Illinois, pretty much on Illinois State University's campus. Bloomington/Normal has a population somewhere near 100,000 when the students are in town.

B. At an initial glance over, I didn't see any major defects other than the scratches that you'd expect for a 20+ year old frame. The tires, tubes, cables were all brand new.

C. I am fairly new to bicycle maintenance, but that is something I wish to change.

luker

Haunt the Salvation Army or equivalent. 80's Schwinn or Japanese Iron goes cheap, and as often as not, someone bought it in 1982, rode it, got scared by a truck, hung it up for 20 years and then cleaned the garage. Sounds funny, but it is all too often true. Even well used bikes are often an unbelievably good deal if they were cared for at all.

luker

Oh, and if you find a nasty Cinelli SuperCoursa (56 cm) whilst your searching, send it on out here. My thrift stores are plumb out of that particular model.

cuda2k

I'm lucky to find thrift stores with bikes period.

Any Dallas residents know of any?

alanbikehouston

My local LBS sometimes has '80's era road bikes. (More than one were bikes I "traded in"). The owner prefers "better" bikes: light frames, good quality alloy wheels, good quality brakes and shifters. He trues the wheels, put grease where its needed, and tunes the brakes and shifter. And, he "backs" his bikes: he asks his customers to bring the bikes back in for "free adjustment" after riding for a few weeks.

These are bikes that are comparable in workmanship and quality to many new bikes selling for $600 to $1,200. And, he is selling them for $150 or $200. That represents good value.

Of course, because these are nice bikes, worries about someone stealing them are inevitable. If you have a nice bike, whether it cost $100 or $1,000, you need to deal with those worries by locking up with a Kryptonite New York 3000 or an OnGuard Brute. That way, you have "high security", plus you own a lock worth almost as much as the bike.

jcwitte

I can get a better lock like the ones you mention, but, I'd still worry about having my $1200 bike locked up outside the grocery store. Having a cheaper bike (or at least cheaper looking) would alleviate my worries better than any lock.

roccobike

I think Luker has the right idea. Have you considered garage/yard sales. I know this time of year there may not be many, however, on average I run across a used 10 speed almost every other week. As Luker stated, most are Schwinn with a Peugot or a Raleigh less often. I usually ignore them because I don't ride road bikes, but I picked up a rough Schwinn Le Toure Luxe for $5 because I wanted the seat. Better condition bikes sell for $20-25. Good luck with your search.

Blue Order

Yours too?

Crazy-B

I doubt you will find squat at the thrift stores in a college town. I live near Iowa City, and the stores there are always stripped. I think big college towns are definitely a sellers market, not a buyers.

greybeard87

One exception, Hit the pawn shops just after spring semester. Bike=Beer Money. Some deals can be had.

jcwitte

I went to four thrift stores this morning. One bicycle. A women's raleigh with a "Europa" sticker that looked like it'd fit someone around about 5'6". I think I'll head out to the pawn shops next. I stopped by one the other day and they had a few, but I hadn't been looking for something fixable, I was looking for something ridable. I can see how this could turn in to an expensive hobby rather than a search for a commuter.

Little Darwin

I have been scouring the thrift stores in my area for over a month, and have seen nothing but kids bikes... mostly 20" BMX style (mostly Huffys). I did see a pair of matching 12" bikes that I am thinking of buying in case I decide to build a bicycle trailer...

The people in my area seem to be fascinated with riding department store full suspension mountain bikes on the sidewalks, so unless the garages are full of road bikes, I don't hold out much hope...

Veloduo

Stoker and I were doing the RfortheR a couple of weeks ago on the tandem when we reeled in a nice young guy riding an '80s vintage Centurion with all Shimano 600 components that he said he'd picked up at a pawn shop for $120. Said he'd replaced the saddle with a gimme from an LBS (one replaced at point of purchase with an aftermarket $pecial) that he laid out about $20 for, and tires and tubes. It was a sweet bike, yellow and black lugged chromo, yellow tape and housing, black cages w/yellow bottles.He was still riding old Vittoria cleated shoes with clips and straps, and we chatted for a time about clipless pedal systems, chromo bikes, nice mid-'80s Japanese machines, getting into tandeming, etc. A thoroughly pleasant experience and a really nice guy. He was motoring along right with the vast majority of the other fit roadies in spite of their high-dollar carbon composite rigs.

Check the pawn shops!