Old 03-26-16 | 01:02 PM
  #11  
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mstateglfr
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Joined: Aug 2014
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From: Des Moines, IA

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Originally Posted by milofilo
How could I tell if the wheels, hubs and bbs are good on this bike? I emailed the owner and believe it is the right size but am worried about the possibility of getting a worn out bike or a bike in bad shape...

https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/5500621518.html
Short of opening the bike up, tou never know for sure if the bearing points are in good shape or not.
With that said, you can be 95% sure.
Spin the wheels- if they dont spin freely for 30sec or more, there could be an issue. They might just be tight and need a simple adjustment or it might be worse. Most likely its just a too tight issue. Listen to the wheel spinning at the hub. If you hear any clicking or grinding or hitch as the wheel spins, there is an issue. Again, could be a small issue or big, which is determined with opening it up.
The headset should move freely. Move the handlebars back and forth. If there is a hitch or and click when turning, its most likely set too tight. Too long of that use could mess the headset up, but that chance is small.

The bike will have a sealed cartridge bottom bracket. So if the current one is shot, a new one can just be swapped in. There is no servicing a bottom bracket for this bike. Thatll cost $20-50 most likely.
Spin the cranks forwards and backwards. If there is any sticking or grinding then something is up. Its easiest to spin the cranks with the chain off, fyi.

Most likely none of what I described would apply to the bike you linked. More importantly, run the shifting thru all the gears and make sure shifts are fast and accurate.
Then when spinning the wheels, look for wobble and hops. The wheels would need to be trued if thats happening. Figure $20ish per wheel to be tensioned and trued.
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