Originally Posted by
ratdog
My opinion is that it is not that good deal. The seller is asking almost what the original bike cost if not more.
I will also say that a lot depends on the condition of the bike itself. Things that may or may not need replacement for an older bike may be
Brakes or brake pads
Cables and cable housings
Tires,
Chain
This can start adding up quickly and if it reaches the $800-$900 range, you probably can get a newer used bike. I may pay that price if there's no work involved and the cosmetics were in great condition, but only $300-$$400 if it needs a lot of work.
I agree with you on these points. Once in a great while, I do upgrade an older promising bike for myself (some examples below). I upgraded a very nice Raleigh Twenty just last year for the grand total of 160 dollars including purchase price (see
The Restoration Of My Raleigh Twenty at
http://sites.google.com/site/compactcycling/the-restoration-of-raleigh-twenty for an expanded discussion on the subject). It is now my "second" bike to my Brompton and enjoyed far more than my former purchased new Dahons ever were. Please do be aware I "learned" from the new Dahons as far as whether or not folding bikes are best choice for me as well as how much I like
certain type of folding bikes over others so I do not think of the Dahon purchases as a complete loss. The type of bicycle I prefer is as follows: upright position, wing nut tightening (Brompton, Raleigh Twenty) rather than latches (Dahons) for locking/unlocking the frame & stem into a folded position or not (if latches are used then I determine if they are available for purchase), steel frames only, first world made,
and most important of all ability to purchase both off-the-shelf and proprietary parts for the bike(s) with relative ease as I generally keep them for the long term-a least a decade.
Originally Posted by
bsmithsweeney
I was intending to buy from a really local shop (no offense of course to Thor or any other Internet shop on the forums) - that is, somewhere that's within easy walking distance of home or work. Without any experience to back this up, my feeling was that - particularly for someone that's new to folding - having a relationship with a good nearby bike shop to help you out if something goes wrong is a good idea.
But after casually looking around on Craigslist it's clear the particular models I'm looking at are very common and from the descriptions in very good working order. So the new plan is to get a used $300-ish D7 or similar to get me back into riding and into the world of folders. If after I'm at it a while I feel like I want an upgrade, to the bikeshop I'll go.
Thanks again everyone, this forum is an excellent resource! Requisite pictures to come once I've settled on a bike.
If you want to upgrade a purchased new or used folding bike in the future
buy one new or used that you can upgrade-or simply replace worn parts! Bromptons and ancient Raleigh Twentys can be upgraded with some ease from parts that can be purchased either at a Local Bike Shop/Brompton Dealer-in my case handles both bikes-or even a local hardware store, the
Worksman Port-O-Trike folding model (imminent next folding bike, rather tricycle, purchase) has many-most parts that can be mailed to me or my Local Bike Shop (or I can buy some parts off-the-shelf like rims and pedals from my own dealer-of-choice). My Dahons were
not so even just a year from when they were made (much like computers) and were sold or donated off after I grew tired of game playing with Dahon HQ or dealers.