mcrobinson

Hi all,

I'm new to road bikes, though I had a Cannondale mountain bike until it was recently stolen. I'm learning the lingo through these forums while I search for an affordable, high-quality steel touring bike, anywhere between 10 to 25 years old. I'll be using it for grocery hauling, getting around the San Francisco sprawl, occasional touring up in the hills and coastlands, and perhaps daily commuting in the future.

I'm on the prowl for any of the following bikes, in no particular order: Trek 520, Fuji Touring, Miyata, Bridgestone RBT, Specialized Sequoia, Schwinn Voyageur, Bianchi Volpe. I'm open to other suggestions in the same category. Notice the lugged steel theme?

If anyone has a lead on one of these, or is looking to sell that old bike in garage, I'm interested. Ideally, I want something I can ride today, but if it's the right one in need of some tlc I'd buy it and make it work. My price range is $200-$400.

These forums are great! I've learned so much already from the well informed patrons, and many of the newbie questions could be pulled straight from my naive mouth. Keep it up!

ahpook

Hi mcrobinson. I'm new too, and suprisingly your post could almost be me! Except

- I'm further south (San Jose area not Berkeley)
- I'm commuting daily (4x / wk) up and down San Tomas Expressway on my mountain
bike conversion (GT with WTB wheels and Panaracer Pasaela 26x1.25" tires for the road)
- I rode a Trek 520 at Chain Reaction on Saturday and pretty much eliminated it from
the running due to the oddness of the bar-end shifters
- The other contenders for me are the Bianchi and Jamis Nova -- based on the recs in
this forum

I agree that the conversations here are excellent, nice to know I'm not alone in this
particular cyc-osis...

UmneyDurak

Hi.
Try Craig's List: https://www.craigslist.org/bik/