Captain Blight

Because I'm going to pick one up either tomorrow or the day after. Stupid low price, but I don't think it's all-original, either. The guy doesn't really seem to know what he has.


*SHOOT, WOULD A MOD PLEASE MOVE THIS TO C&V??

Alfster 

Uh oh, caught slummin' in Foo again

Captain Blight

Foo is a step up from C&V. At least the conversation is varied. In there, it's like... like... You remember that kid in high school who could go on for hours about the guitar effects Adrian Bellew used on Big Electric Cat? It's like that all the time.

I'm not saying it's a big step up. But there is discernible altitude.

cuda2k

Off to C&V as requested, let me know if you want me to send it back to Foo land. Especially since you said that Foo was a step up from C&V, they may run you out on a rail.

* Be nice y'all, I moved it here, and I'm sure he likes us just as much as the Foosters.

Captain Blight

I really do mean all that in the nicest way. I've worn out two Adrian Bellew CDs so far.

c0urt

what are specialized expeditions i am a bit out of the loop

mkeller234

I've seen one in person, it reminded me of a Miyata 1000. There were old ones that were high end touring bikes... but at some point they turned into modern day comfort bikes.

brian3069

I saw Adrian Belew once, think we were in Santa Cruz. Don't remember much, the second half of the 1980's are kind of a blur.

cuda2k

I'm guessing we're talking about the early-mid 80's era touring bike version of the Expedition right? Or the later semi-hybrid version? If it is the touring bike - buy it. It reminds me of a better distant cousin to the Schwinn Passage I had. Very stable bike, would have been great for tours or to the grocery store. If it's one of the later ones, don't know as much, but probably still a solid ride if that's what you're looking for.

mprelaw

Hybrid/cruiser. My wife has one, about 10 years old. It's held up well, but they're a ~$400 bike brand new. How cheap is "stupid cheap"?

They've cheapened the components over the years to keep the price in that range. My wife's has a Deore RD and Alivio trigger shifters, with an 8 speed cassette. The newer ones have a 7 speed cassette, and an Altus RD with twist shifters.

Captain Blight

It's steel. C'mon, guys, this is Captain Blight! Have you looked at my sig?

The guy thinks it's an '83 or '84. Stupid cheap=$150.

rothenfield1

Someone surely still has the quote from Sheldon that elevated both bikes to icon status. Paraphrasing from memory, his statement was that the Miyata 1000 and Specialized Expedition were the best off-the-shelf touring bikes of their age. Their used to be a debate about what frame manufacturer made the rather secretive Expedition frame. In my mind, that debate is pretty much settled, ironically also Miyata. The land-yacht length chain stays, all the braze-ons and eyelets you could ever need, half step granny. What year is your expedition? My understanding is that it was only made from 83-85, which seems a little bizarre considering its reputation. I’ve owned both the 1000 and the Expedition, and the one glaring difference is the extremely fine finish of the 1000 over the rather thin finish of the Expedition. Here’s a link to a site devoted to nothing but the 1000 & Expedition. Good folks there.

https://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/MiyataSpecTour/

wrk101

Should be driving right now.

+1 Specialized recycled the model name, and newer versions are hybrids. Totally different bikes at that point with limited value.

cuda2k

$150.... the frame alone is worth that easy IMHO. Should accept just about any upgrades and additions you want to add to it. I've considered looking for a sport-touring bike again, the Passage I had was just a bit too far in the touring category for enjoyment unloaded and I rarely loaded it with anything at all. Listen to those that know far more than me about touring oriented frames, like the late Sheldon Brown, and run, ride, stride, but don't walk to buy this one.

rothenfield1

Long gone, but sold for $600 + shipping.

balindamood

The original ones, built from about 1983 to 1986 or so, are considered by many to be one of the ultimate production fully loaded touring bikes. Designed by Neenan, and built in Japan by who-knows-who from what I understand was Specialized branded Tange tubing. My '83, shown below on my wind trainer, showns a level of caring beyond normal production bikes of the time (thinned lugs as an example). It is hard to believe that this was the most modestly priced Specialized bicycle at the time.

I have not put as many miles on this bike as my '84 Lotus Odyssey, and I will note that I prefer the Lotus' un-laden steering qualities over the Expo, but I have not really loaded the Expo down and headed off towards the hills to compare its loaded qualities. I do think they thought things through a little better than other offerings (Lotus, Trek, Schwinn, Centurion, maybe Miyata, others) for the 83-84 model years, but the others figured it out by 85 just in time to drop them all together.

A good one, in original conition, will sell for more than the original sticker price. Go figure.

Kanegon

They came with a BB dynamo, I remember seeing it in the catalog. It's why I got a Soubitez BB for my Raleigh. The Expo was my holy grail when it was all about cycletouring. The other bike I lusted for in that same catalog was the Stumpjumper. Belew with Crimson during the Discipline tour; Gabriel's Security tour, Suntour Superbe and Mt. Tech, BullsEye pulleys, man, these things are all part of my CV experience! Of course it wasn't CV then...

WNG

Here's my 83 Expedition as found at Goodwill over a year ago. A lot of nice workmanship went into this frame, and the OEM components were all top notch. As already mentioned, the paint and decals could be more durable.

Good luck, hope you snag yours.


1983-84 Specialized Expedition by WNG555, on Flickr

Kanegon

That is a ridiculously beautiful Goodwill find! Not fair. Can't even get a used inner tube at the store in my neighborhood.

WNG

Oh I used up all my Goodwill brownie points and CL karma points that year. Since then, it's been neglected and rusty mtbs, and seized seat posts at Goodwill.

rothenfield1

This one, to give the OP an idea of value, as it is set-up with original components, should have an asking price upwards of 1000 if the finish is good. No, seriously. I see Miyata 1000’s in that range frequently, and the Expo is rarer. Go figure.

balindamood

It is not entirely original. I upgraded the DT shifters to bar-end; the tires are newer, the saddle is different, I swapped out the original pedals for MK-9's, and the fenders/racks were added. The ill-fated crappy decals are long gone, but the finish is in very good condition (the previous owner actually waxed it).

rothenfield1

What you have upgraded doesn’t detract from the value in my opinion, especially adding the barcons. The 1000 I put up was more like an ebay price, but I actually think the value is up in that range because of rarity. I wouldn’t pay that much for it, but try to find a new touring bike for under 1 Thousand. It’s all about the frameset, quality, heritage, and Father Time.

cooperryder

The MiyataSpecTour site has quite a bit of history on the vintage Expedtions in the data files.

I had the 83 model for several years and liked it a lot. Would not mind having one again. I found my 60cm one to be a very capable tourer and did 2 month long tours on it loaded with around 65lbs of gear and I had no complaints about the bike's performance. I had upgraded it to modern XT components. It took a true to size 700c x 35 tire with fenders but could not have gone any fatter on the tire than that.

Chris_in_Miami

Bah! Not varied enough.