bfuser1497518

WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE CL GUY????

I ALMOST DIED

So, I went there and he had probably over 100 older bikes. I looked at the trek 1100 and it was utterly perfect. It was all tuned up and looked in real good shape. Cheap too.

I got on it to test ride ON A NEWLY PAVED ASPHALT ROAD. While riding not even that fast, the front wheel came off somehow and went flying off it. Good thing is, I was unscathed by some miracle.

The guy started cussing me out and demanded i buy it for braking it. so I hopped in my car and left, as clearly It wasnt any fault of my own, as a front wheel of a bike shouldnt fall off...

It really sucks because he has a lot of really nice bikes in my price range.

So, I dont want to go look at any more craigslist people. I want to get new or used from an authorized reseller.

ANY SUGGESTIONS?? THANKS!

rms13

That's unfortunate. If you are sticking to that plan I would either raise your budget or think about a hybrid where you can get better components for less money

Raleigh 2016 Cadent 1 Event Bike


What is your intended use for this bike?

bfuser1497518

I basically want to get a fast bike for some decent transportation. I have a heavy slow trail bike and a broken (not worth fixing) old road bike.

It takes me a while to get places and I want a bike faster and lighter. Do you think a hybrid is better/lighter/faster?

Smithson1

If you can get down to Chicago, you can find something for $300 at this small shop call Nearly New Bicycles. I got a nice 1980s Univega from them for around $275 which beats the hell out of any Walmart bike you'll find. Check em out Nearly New Bicycles

Stucky

You can get an older used mediocre road bike for $300.

Don't even think about new for that price- all you'll get is junk.

Stucky

Wow! That is unreal! The guy sounds INSANE, trying to blame you- as if you could possibly have anything to do with how the front wheel was secured. Had you gotten seriously hurt, you could have sued him for everything he was worth.

I wouldn't worry about his other bikes...if he can't even get a front wheel to stay on, all of his bikes are probably crap.

Don't let that one experience deter you- there are plenty of sane, normal people who have bought a bike, and no longer ride it, and who are selling it on CL. I got a really great deal on a one year-old Venge that was like new, on my local CL.

chip1

Not entirely true. Although their days of producing bikes like the Paramount are gone they still seem to make LBS quality bikes. I recall seeing some of the more expensive models on their website just few years ago, and I've also seen carbon bikes on the road in the past. They sure seemed more modern than bikes from 1990.

This is my steel frame Le Tour from 2011

CycleryNorth81

The first priority of the OP is price, not performance. The OP can have his cake and eat it too. Bike direct is selling their NEW Dawes Lightnin Sport for $239.95 DELIVERED WITH NO TAX! I hardly think anyone can beat that price, including Wallymart.

Again the OP is not spending top bucks for performance. He just wants a decent bike to commute. I know this bike to be of quality because I have ordered one similar from Bikes Direct. I wanted an inexpensive bike to lock up while I ran my errands. The bikes works fine. It needed assembly when deliver in a box that the OP may or may not have the mechanical skill set.

I know what quality bikes are: my other bikes are a Schwinn Circuit (Columbus SL tubing, second to only the Paramount) and a custom made Cyclery North criterium bike (Reynolds 531 tubing). The Dawes is more than adequate for casual riding using real bike parts (ie Shimano).

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rt_al_xiii.htm

RoadGuy

It's unfortunate that you had a bad experience visiting a Craigslist Seller. In our haste to try and give good advice, we (collectively) forgot to mention that if you are inexperienced at evaluating bikes, you should take someone with you that has some knowledge or expertise in bikes.

Anyone can have a bad day. The fact that the Seller had many bikes for sale (from your visit), tells me that the Seller is not inexperienced and should have reacted better (more professionally) to the incident. That being said, there are some simple, quick checks that you should make each time, before you get on any bike.

#1 check that the handlebar stem and handlebars are tightened securely. You should not be able to rotate either from their fixed positions.

#2 check to make sure that the brake levers are securely tightened to the handlebars, and that the brakes work correctly.

#3 check to make sure that the seatpost is adequately tightened to the frame, and the saddle is securely tightened to the seatpost.

#4 check that the wheels are securely tightened to the forks and dropouts, and not loose, or ready to fall out/off (locknuts tightened, OR quick release skewers locked and tight). Check the tires for correct inflation and the wheels for true by spinning the wheels (use the brakes to stop the wheels).

#5 lift the rear wheel, spin it by cranking by hand, and shift slowly towards the low gear, checking to make sure that the rear derailleur does not shift into the spokes, the front derailleur does not allow the chain to overshift and fall off the rings, and the rims are not wobbling/rubbing on the brakes (bent wheels?).

If the bike passes all of these checks, it's probably safe enough for a test ride. It is the rider's responsibility to make sure that the bike is safe to ride before hopping onto it for a ride, the same way that it's a driver's responsibillty to make sure that a car is going to drive is safe to operate before driving off.

If the bike had passed the test ride, then the next check would have been to try loosening the seatpost, and the handlebar stem to make sure that they were not frozen, and if the bike had passed that test, it would have been time to go on to the next test ride, and to agree on a price with the Seller.

If you did these quick checks before riding the bike that the wheel fell off of, the wheel would not have fallen off during your test ride. You would have caught the problem, and the Seller could have corrected it before you went on the test ride.

Did you touch the quick release on the front wheel, before you took it for your test ride? Do you know how to properly install a front wheel with a quick release, and how to properly tighten the quick release?

What were you doing when the wheel fell off? In normal riding, the way the wheel fits into the fork, even if the quick release was open, and not locked, the wheel should not have fallen off (the slots in the fork blades are angled, and the wheel should slide onto the fork and not off). You weren't trying to do something stupid like jumping off a curb or over something, or popping a wheelie were you? Were you riding fast, and braking hard using only the rear brake (I guess that might do it with the front wheel quick release loose or not locked) ?

While the wheel coming loose was not a good sign (not a confidence builder), it doesn't mean that you should have driven off at that point. I go to look at plenty of used bikes, and often arrive to find the bike was not what I expected, and is not rideable. To me that just means that the price I offer is going to be lower.

Which Trek 1100 was it? The older 54cm 1990 black bike with downtube shifters, or the newer (looks like it might be a 60cm) 1991-1992 blue color bike with bar-end shifters?

From the sounds of it, you were able to get your feet on the ground quickly when the wheel came off to prevent a tumble and injury. How did the bike fit? Sounds like it was not too big.

You had a opportunity there, and due to your inexperience, you did not capitalize on it. Was that the first bike you rode? Was it the right size? Did it sing to you before the test ride went south? Was the bike damaged when the wheel came off? Were you ready to an offer on the bike if the test ride had ended well? If so, why didn't you make the Seller a low opening offer?

RoadGuy

You can forget buying a mailorder/internet bike and assembling it yourself (at this point). If you can't tell the difference between a properly assembled safe to ride bike, and a "death trap" you don't have the skills, and knowledge to safely assemble and adjust a "bike in a box".

bfuser1497518

First of all, I left because I felt unsafe. He was swearing at me and threatening me. Why would I try to reason with a person that way?

Second, the biked looked in order, he showed me all the functions working properly, so I assumed safe to ride.

I also stated that it was on a smooth newly paved asphalt road, NOT going fast at all. Only about 10 seconds into the ride going down his street. The wheel didnt come off the threads of the screw, the screw itself broke. He specifically pointed it out to me that "you f*ckin snapped the front wheel"...

bfuser1497518

I also stated in the OP that I do have simple skills like changing tires/tubes and adjusting breaks for bikes. I am not a completely novice when it comes to building things, as i have been building things all my life.

So PLEASE tell me, how do I tell if a screw will snap?

bfuser1497518

Thanks

Well if you can find any good bikes in my price range THAT ARE NOT FROM THAT GUY (which you will be able to tell because all his bikes use the same background), I would be very thankful.

https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/

Bike from that guy -------> https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/bik/5239854072.html (THIS WAS NOT THE ONE I RODE, HE TOOK IT OFF CL IT LOOKS LIKE)

bfuser1497518

Dont think I can do that, thanks tho!

Stucky

I'll bet it sang American Pie- and just before the axle broke, it was singing the "This'll be the day that I die...[piano flourish]...This'll be the day that I dieeee..." part.

The thing with CL, is that unless you live where there's a really hot bicycle market, it could take a while for a good bike at a reasonable price in your size to show up, locally. I had been scanning the bike ads on my local CL for years before I found that Venge. On my CL, it's usually nothing but kids bikes and Walmart turds and lower-end old Schwinns being offered for 5 times what they are worth. (I had two other bikes, so it wasn't like i was in a hurry )

Hehe....I'll take a look at your CL- I've got to see the bikes that the mental-case whose bike you test-rode looks like! (I STILL can't get over the guy actually trying to blame you for breaking the axle, merely by riding the bike on a smooth road! Had you ridden it down a flight of stairs...maybe!)

If you can't find anything on CL, as others have said, one of the cheaper Bikesdirect bikes'll do ya. I started with one- for $300- I was quite impressed with it, and put 3000 miles on it the year that I had it- and then sold it for $150. It was still like new when I sold it. They're really easy to assemble, too- as they come 95% assembled already.

EDIT: WoW! That CL appears to be dominated by 2 bike flippers!

RoadGuy

You haven't made it clear about what broke. Are you saying that the axle broke, OR the quick release skewer broke? Either way, if the part/s that broke looked like they were in good condition without any damage or rust, and you checked to make sure that it was on tight, I don't see how it could be your fault OR his fault (unless one of you unlocked the skewer, and did not lock it correctly before your test ride).

As I wrote before, seems like the Seller handled the situation poorly.

Besides the broken part/s that caused the problem, was the bike damaged by the incident (what was damaged if anything)?

RoadGuy

Looks like several of the Trek bikes the Seller was offering for sale had the ads removed. Maybe the Seller was selling bikes on consignment, and doesn't know much about them. that may explain how the Seller could have so many bikes for sale, yet not know that much about them.

The Trek 1100 that was removed was the 1990 54cm black color bike. the ad for the 91-92 blue color Trek 1100 is still up. How was the fit (were you able to tell before the crash)? Trek 54cm bikes are actually 54.5cm from center of the crank to the top of the top tube at the seat tube (for your reference). If 54cm fits you, then a 58cm bike is probably going to be too big for you, regardless of who the manufacturer is.

I have the same 1990 Trek 1100, except the frame is 56cm. I removed the Suntour drivetrain and brakes, and installed new wheels with new 8,9,10 compatible wheels (shimano hubs), and a 8-speed custom Shimano HG-50 13-28 cassette. Shifters were changed to Shimano 8-speed 3 X 8 downtube SL-400, derailleurs to Shimano 105, and brakes to RX100 dual pivot. The chain is a KMC X8.93, and I have a Shimano RX100 triple crankset that I bought to replace the Suntour Edge triple.

For some reason I seem to prefer riding the 1990 Trek 1100 (Alcoa 6061 frame with chromoly fork) to the 1997 Trek 1400 (Easton E9 with aluminum fork and RSX 2 X 7 with brifters) that I bought a few months before the Trek 1100. Both the frames are 56cm, but the Trek 1400 weighs about 2lbs less than the Trek 1100 even thought the 1400 has metal brifters, and the 1100 downtube shifters (the brifters weight about 1.5 lbs more than the downtube shifters). The 1400 has Conti 700 X 25 tires, and the 1100 has Forte Strada K 700 X 28 tires.

ABCycling

Vilano Aluminum Road Bike. It's the perfect training bike for a beginner with simple gear shifters and parts. You will have to get use to the positions and braking, but after that, it's a thrill to ride. I just went on my 5th bike ride on it, and went 42 miles without a hitch. Be delicate when shifting so don't shift when you're pushing hard. It's light compared to other bikes in its category.