pvfjr

I've been riding a 31 year old Fuji Sports 12 to school for 5 years now, and I've had about enough of the chrome rims that won't stop in the rain.

I'll be graduating, moving, and starting a new job at Garmin in June, and have been looking at commuting routes from the house we're buying to there. It's too far (~10mi X 2) for an old bike that I'm not comfortable on anymore. I've been drooling over last year's model of the Marin Fairfax DS3 on ebay. $550+ gets you quite a bit of bike if you go that route, but things are tight with still being a college student and buying a house. I've been thinking about ways to liquidate some stuff and justify dropping the coin on the Fairfax, then I see something interesting on Craigslist...

I scored a Specialized Allez Elite Triple, and it only cost me $95 all said and done! I'm pretty sure my old Fuji will go for more than that in this college town (road bikes are gold here). It needs a little cleaning and tuning, has a slight ding in the top tube, and the clear coat is pretty scratched up. For me, that is pretty much perfect. I was actually worried about how I would feel as soon as some idiot gave my future Fairfax a good thrashing on the bike rack. Now, I get a fairly well performing bike without dropping big bucks and I don't have to worry about beating it up.

One of the first things I'll need here in the Willamette Valley is a set of fenders. This thing has 23c tires on it now. Judging by the pics, could I fit full fenders in here? What models? How about bigger tires? Also, I was thinking of adding a set of cross-top levers to it, as I get tired of riding hunched over sometimes.

The chain seems to move freely, I might try cleaning it up a bit, or I might just get a new one. Oh, and I'm guessing this is around a 2004, does that seem about right?

TransitBiker

Congrats on both how long you had that fuji & on your new ride!! Keep us posted on how it works out for you!

- Andy

handsomened

That is a major score!! Congratulations, you got a great bike for next to nothing. BUT. . . that chain . . . no. Once they rust like that they are finished. that is a major part of your drive train. . . buy a new one. As far as the fenders go . . . they weren't really meant for fenders, but there are many options of fastening a rat tail to the seat post in the back and something similar in the front. good luck . . . hope it's not stolen!

pvfjr

Thanks, and yeah, I was pretty excited. I was worried for a bit that it might be stolen, but she said she blue-booked it and said it was in poor condition, and that's what the site told her. I think she may have been subtracting bike shop type labor expenses from the value of it. I looked for listings and checked the serial number with the local PD after I got it home, and it seems to be clean. Plus, she was a federal employee and had me meet her at her work to buy it; it seems unlikely that someone would fence stolen property in that fashion.

I found another thread somewhere that said some full fenders could be fit if there was 5mm clearance between the tires and the fork. I can pretty much pass my index finger between the tires and all potential contact points, so I may be all right. Those rat tails don't really get it done on a 10 mile ride in the PNW.

acidfast7

Nice job recycling!

Crud Roadracer MK II fenders will fit on anything. I have them and like them a lot.

Leisesturm

I guess it falls to me to ask how you imagine a 31 year old steel Fuji will bring you more than a 2004 Specialized Allez Triple. I routinely see 1984 steel Allez doubles for $200 and the sellers get it. In your own words, "Road bikes are gold in the Willamette Valley". I mean... what is an Allez? Is it not also a road bike? SMH. You can convince yourself that the seller wasn't ripping off her ex or current husband or boyfriend or that the bike wasn't stolen because she was a Federal employee... whatever. You scored a great deal. Pay it forward. Sell the Fuji for what the traffic will bear, or even less. You need very badly to compensate for the double hit to your Karma. Just saying

P.S. I Blue Booked it as well. $120 for 'fair' condition is as far down as they go. You'd have bought it for that. So would I. Just saying...

cyclokitty 

Nice bike! And I'm going to second the chain purchase request. It hurts to look at the chain! I can even hear the squeeeeek squeeksqueeksqueek of the chain.

likebike23

Just because somebody pays a great price for a bike doesn't mean it's stolen. Maybe the person selling it just wants it out of their garage because it's in the way. Maybe she entered the wrong model and year into the blue book. Whatever the reason, why try to pee in the OP's corn flakes? Enjoy your great score and sell your Fuji for whatever you and the buyer think is fair. What you paid for this bike is irrelevant.

Rudz

Seriously why the hostility?

Good job op, get that bike cleaned up and replace the chain

DVC45

Yup, at $95...you stole it.

Nice score!

anon06

I wonder if it's just jealousy. That's absolutely true; there are generous people out there who choose to sell their bikes for a cheap price, rather than near retail, because they're either moving, didn't use their bike much and wanted it out of the way, or outgrew it.

My secondhand bikes all came from couples with children; it's highly unlikely that they were stolen: the first was selling their two children's Huffy bikes for $50 because they were either moving or their children had outgrown them, I can't remember which (I was only a child at the time, and it was a long time ago); the second was a middle-aged couple selling their pair of Giant bikes for $300 (they said they were trying to sell other things in their garage that weekend, too).

Congratulations, OP! That's an amazing price for a road bike!

pvfjr

So, I bought an Allez in poor condition from someone who never used it and was tired of having it take up space. I paid $95 for it, and yes, I guarantee the going rate for my Fuji is more than that. It has nice fenders, new tires, and carbon bars.

So, I buy things in poor condition, fix them up, and sell them for whatever I can get out of them. Anyone who buys what I sell does so happily, and without being deceived in any way. Is that somehow wrong? I'm taking karma hits? What's your deal? I'm trying to make ends meet as a college student. I'm industrious and resourceful. I'm sorry if that offends you somehow.

pvfjr

Thanks to everyone else for sharing in my excitement. I did a little work on it today. I gave it a tune up, got it shifting right again, and got the brakes dialed in. The pads weren't even on it right. I'm gonna have to redo the cables too, I think this thing spent some time in the rain. Luckily, the self-serve bike shop on campus sells Jagwire by the foot, so it always makes redoing my bikes easy.

I threw a new tube in the rear and finally got to ride it a bit. It had those SPD pedals on it though, and I don't have any cleated shoes. I don't find them particularly useful for commuting to class either, as I don't have room in my bag for a change of shoes. I tried swapping them out for a spare set I had laying around, and man, were those things on there tight! I ended up breaking my 15mm wrench. I headed down to the LBS where they had a beast of a purpose built pedal wrench, and it still took two of us reefing on those things to bust them loose. I was even more surprised to find that there was no galvanic corrosion, and the threads were properly greased. I can't imagine why they were so tight. They didn't want to charge me for their time and effort, so I picked up a couple things I had been planning on finding online instead (ooh, maybe that will fix my karma, since I'm in such bad shape ).

Anyway, I thought a set of axle rod skewers would be a good idea; I've seen a lot of frames locked up on the racks on campus that don't have wheels anymore. They're like these: Universal Cycles -- Delta Axle Rod Skewers
Hopefully it'll at least slow down any prospective wheel snatchers.

I also picked up a couple of presta to schrader valve adapters. They seem to work pretty slick; I hate switching my pump back and forth between the two configurations, and this also enables me to use the tire chuck on my compressor. They're definitely worth the buck each from the LBS. I can't believe I didn't know they made these things.

pvfjr

Thanks for the tip on those cruds, those things look pretty sweet! Who knew fenders could actually look that nice? I'm not sure I could justify shelling out that much cash for them right now though. I think I'll peruse the local bike co-op for some used ones. I might have to do some cutting or head to the machine shop and bust out some custom brackets or something.

TransitBiker

You are just so much better than everyone else, and know way more too. I'm glad you came in and shed your wisdom upon us all in a thread celebrating a new bike. It's really welcome and appreciated. You must get so tired helping people with how much you know. Whew, thanks so much!

- Andy

TransitBiker

Fenders can range from ugy to pretty and really useful to "nice try". The most important part is that it covers enough of the width to be effective, and that on the front it drops low enough to keep the front wheel from kicking stuff up onto the chainring and your feet. In the back it's nice to have something that keeps your back, butt, seat, anything mounted on the back clean. Before i got my new bike i rode a cruiser once in the wet & muck after a flood with no fenders and i didnt even bother going up over 7-8 mph as i knew that over that stuff would start splattering onto me.

Do keep us updated on what ends up going on there!

- Andy

Dzrtrat

Every dog finds a bone every once in awhile, nicely done.

pvfjr

Thanks Andy, I'll definitely keep you guys up to date. I've definitely enjoyed having full fenders on my Fuji. I've had some half-measures (from the seatpost back) on my MTB before, and it just wasn't good enough. I think I'll shy away from the SKS race blades for that reason.

And yeah, I definitely waited a while for this deal. I pretty much check the listings daily looking for a deal. I know it has tons of scratches, a dent in the top tube, and needs some tuning, but I still think it's a great bike. It'll be a fun one to have.

Leisesturm

I've posted pictures of my bikes here once. It's not jealousy. But you are so eager to get some licks in, that you completely miss the irony in comparing a child's Huffy, moldering away in a garage for decades, to a late model Specialized Allez. @#$$ what the Blue Book says, in this part of the country those bikes fetch top dollar no matter what condition they are in. And no one would ever willingly let a bike like that get in the condition of the bike the o.p. found. But, you and everyone else should note that I never said the o.p. was wrong to buy the bike. I would have as well. What I would not have done is take five pictures of it and wave them in the world's face while talking about trying to get top dollar for my own bike when someone else has so clearly lowballed their own. Doesn't that seem wrong and in need of some push-back?

H

dynaryder

If pvfjr had scored a nice bike for a lowball price,then flipped it on CL for a fat profit,then came on here to crow about it,then I'd say let loose with the flamage. But he didn't. He scored a nice ride for cheapz,and now it sounds like he's going to ride the wheels off it. He didn't do anything wrong.

JosephG

Hell of a find!! Congrats!