Originally Posted by
RubeRad
I think that bike looks fine. You would have to ride it and evaluate the fit and comfort for yourself. The seat doesn't look very comfy. Many people consider racks and fenders essential for commuter bikes, this bike has no mounts for attaching those, but it would be possible to attach them with clamping options if you wanted. The tires that are on there look maybe 28mm wide already, which is a good bit cushier than racing 23mm tires, and there is plenty room in the fork and chainstays for more if you wanted a softer ride for bad city streets. The gearing looks like it has a fairly wide range -- not like mountain bike wide though -- if you are reasonably young/light/fit that gearing should be able to get you up hills that are not too terribly steep.
It definitely has mounts on the dropouts for fenders and/or racks. Bikes of that vintage didn't usually put anything on the seat stays for mounting racks. As far as gearing goes it looks like an traditional 10 speed with friction shifting. I realize that friction shifting still has its fans but most people prefer indexed.
It looks like there's room for a bigger tire on the back. I'm not sure about the front. It's weird how the rear brake pads are mounted as far down as they can go, but the front brake pads are the exact opposite. It's almost as if There's a 700c wheel on the back and 700c fork on the front on a bike designed for 27" wheels.
Originally Posted by
megalowmatt
When I looked at the ad earlier my first impression was that the decal is too low on the downtube. It just doesn't look right all together.
As far as the price, unfortunately that's pretty much the prices these get listed at in Southern California.
That's just crazy given you get a
very similar bike brand new for less. I'm not saying those BD things are the best, but they're better than this.
I can sort of imagine how the seller can justify it if they were to come clean about the paint job. A lot of the parts on that bike are probably better than the original and they put some time and money into it. Cheap bikes of that vintage didn't have aero brakes. The wheels are probably better than the originals and both the seat post and the handlebars might be newer as well. The fork might even be chromoly (maybe). However the frame is probably super cheap steel and the drivetrain is ancient and wasn't very good even in its prime. It's just not worth anywhere near what they're asking.