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An appropriate offer for this used KHS?

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An appropriate offer for this used KHS?

Old 05-15-15, 12:19 AM
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An appropriate offer for this used KHS?

Came across an interesting KHS Flite 500 on craigslist- asking price $500. I met up with the seller and had a look at it. It's in great condition overall but ultimately I declined at the first sight because the shifter for the rear gears wasn't working. He's since said he got it working- that it was gunk in the shifter- but having looked at it I'm thinking the bike may be quite a bit older than I thought at first and might not be the deal I was hoping for at $500. The owner says he got it at auction and has no idea what year it is.

It's definitely got an aftermarket carbon fork but the frame says Chromo on it and you can feel it in the weight. The orange paint job it looks like a 2000 model. The blue book value for the condition, without the upgrades, is closer to $250.

I don't mind offering more for the upgraded parts, but I work 60 hours+ and I'm not really digging the idea of adjusting and tweaking shifter components right out of the gate. The weight is also a problem. On the other hand I was leaning towards a new Specialized Secteur for $850 at a local shop that offers free lifetime maintenance in addition to the Specialized warranty.

Depending how deep the shifter issue goes it could only take a wasted, frustrating weekend of farting around with it or ruined weekend ride to eat up the $350 difference between the used bike asking price and the brand new one with warranty and free lifetime maintenance.

What are your thoughts and what would be an appropriate offer to make on this?
Bluebook estimates
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Old 05-15-15, 01:03 AM
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so the guys asking twice what its worth.... the shifter has issues (spraying some wd40 inside the shifter will free it up of gunk but isnt really re-furbishing anything). its heavier than you want, and ugly....

passsss! more bikes will come around, your patience will pay off.


$850 gets you brand new. you have to partially assemble and no free lifetime maintenance but.....

$800
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Old 05-15-15, 01:47 AM
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Originally Posted by catonec
so the guys asking twice what its worth.... the shifter has issues (spraying some wd40 inside the shifter will free it up of gunk but isnt really re-furbishing anything). its heavier than you want, and ugly....

passsss! more bikes will come around, your patience will pay off.


$850 gets you brand new. you have to partially assemble and no free lifetime maintenance but.....

$800
Save up to 60% off new Road Bikes - Motobecane Vent Noir
Save Up To 60% Off Pro Level Steel Road Bikes | Commuting | Commuter Bikes | Motobecane Gran Premio PRO
Thanks, I think that's kind of where I was at with it but the thrifty part of me really wanted it to pan out.
I've never heard of Motobecane. It looks like some good parts but what's the long term life look like on them?

To be honest I hadn't considered buying online at all. I'm sure I could save quite a bit on the initial cost but the lifetime maintenance would be a huge time/dollar saver over the life of the bike. I'm upgrading (slightly) from a 2010 Fuji newest 4.0 that I put about 5000 miles on in 4 years and grinding derailleurs and wheel misalignment was a big problem towards the end. Plus just road grime and the thought of having to spend my one free day of the week cleaning and tinkering and/or buying the necessary tools and parts for a fix rather than riding... Ugh. The local bike shops have done a TON to get bike lanes put in, setup riding clubs and get bikers a lot of preferential treatment in local ordinances. I'd like to help support them.
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Old 05-15-15, 08:01 AM
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I would wait. I doubt it will sell at that price. Maybe offer him 250 and to let you know when he is serious about selling it. Depending on the number of speeds, there are a few people out there (you can find them on ebay) that will overhaul old STI shifters for like $40. But usually in the old ones it was just a lot of gunk. Please use something like GT85 and NOT WD40. WD40 is sticky and isn't so much a penetrator as rust preventer.

I have a number of older shifters I have had to spray out with GT85 and then they start working like new, so I wouldn't say no just based on that, especially i he says he freed it up.
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Old 05-15-15, 12:46 PM
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Originally Posted by bmthom.gis
I would wait. I doubt it will sell at that price. Maybe offer him 250 and to let you know when he is serious about selling it. Depending on the number of speeds, there are a few people out there (you can find them on ebay) that will overhaul old STI shifters for like $40. But usually in the old ones it was just a lot of gunk. Please use something like GT85 and NOT WD40. WD40 is sticky and isn't so much a penetrator as rust preventer.

I have a number of older shifters I have had to spray out with GT85 and then they start working like new, so I wouldn't say no just based on that, especially i he says he freed it up.
Good to know. I will keep him in mind, though the frame weight is still an issue it could be a good deal at $250. I didn't know you could get the shifter overhauled so cheap.
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Old 05-15-15, 01:05 PM
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Originally Posted by moobot22
Good to know. I will keep him in mind, though the frame weight is still an issue it could be a good deal at $250. I didn't know you could get the shifter overhauled so cheap.
It depends on the shifter.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shima...&tab=page_info

He has an ebay store as well...
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Old 05-15-15, 08:10 PM
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Originally Posted by moobot22
...........I've never heard of Motobecane. It looks like some good parts but what's the long term life look like on them?

...............I'm sure I could save quite a bit on the initial cost but the lifetime maintenance would be a huge time/dollar saver over the life of the bike............I'd like to help support them.

First off, like many brands, Motobecane, the name, has been around for 30+ years, however it is not the same company. Originally it was a french, road racing, co. I will not pretend to know the complete history but I do know that one time they were highly revered and put out some very nice top end bikes. Now they are owned by a congolomerate (im assuming) who is interested in making money more than making only top end high performance bikes. Like many others they offer a very wide range of products to appeal to all price points. I have ridden a few of their aluminum frames, one of the titanium frames, and one carbon. all seem very well made.

Bikes direct is kind of an unfair comparison when looking at prices. They always have the lowest prices around although the available sizes are often limited. Im assuming they work by buying in volume, all items are new but may be a year or two older, they take some shortcuts here and there on wheelsets or cranks ( alot of mfg'rs do). a few drawbacks are you dont get to test ride before purchase. you dont have the support you would get at a shop, and there is some assembly required.

The whole "lifetime maintenance" statement can be very misleading. You may want to confirm exactly what they include in that. Im assuming they will adjust your deraileurs and brakes for free for ever (approx $40 service?). not much more. Youtube, park tools, shimano, sheldon brown, etc....... can teach you how to make these adjustments yourself in about 10 minutes.

Supporting your local business's is the only aspect of buying online that I cannot counter. You can always go to your lbs for repair and what not or ill bet if you wanted to make a direct donation to the shop for the bike lane project they would most likely accept it.
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Old 05-15-15, 08:19 PM
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I love a bargain... but it doesn't kill me to over-pay from time-to-time..... if it's something I really want. We don't live forever.... and we only get one shot. But the right bicycle will call to you. You'll know it when you find it, don't sell yourself into buying anything, particularly a bicycle.
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Old 05-15-15, 09:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Dave Cutter
I love a bargain... but it doesn't kill me to over-pay from time-to-time..... if it's something I really want. We don't live forever.... and we only get one shot. But the right bicycle will call to you. You'll know it when you find it, don't sell yourself into buying anything, particularly a bicycle.
Grand advice. I think I'm going to go with a new Specialized, either the Allez or the Secteur. I rode Giant defy 5's today, A Jamis and a Trek 1.1 and a Masi. I like something about the Specialized. The Secteur is more than I wanted to spend but the comfier saddle helps close the gap between it and the Giant. The stock saddle on the Giant Defy 5 was straight up painful. And the aesthetics are probably more important to me than I want to admit. I'm a designer and a little subtler matte gray with a splash of electric blue is really refreshing at this price point, which seems to be populated almost exclusively by the oatmeal trinity of black, white and red.
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