Hi there,

Not sure if this is the right forum for this, but I'm looking for advice on a potential commuter project. Recently I have been shopping for a road bike to use as a commuter. I had intended on buying a bike in good shape where it didn't need much work, maybe just TLC, but nothing significant, that I could ride right away for a fairly short commute (3.7 mi one way).

In my travels, I looked at a 1996 Raleigh R500. While inspecting the bike I saw that the head tube had two hairline cracks in it and told the seller that I would not be interested as a result. He then asked if I'd be willing to give him what he paid for the bike ($50) since he couldn't not reveal the cracks now that I had shown them to him. The bike has a full Shimano RSX groupset (3x7 Brifters with cantilever brakes) with Mavic wheels. I bought the bike thinking that the groupset alone was worth at least $50. The parts seem to need to be serviced, but otherwise are in working condition.

Now I have this bike. I can either continue shopping for a complete bike and save this one for some future project or I can use the groupset and find another bike/frame on which I can put the groupset.

I'm looking for advice on which way to go. I have a budget of about $350 for a "new" bike or for a project bike. Thanks for any thoughts you can offer!