Originally Posted by
noglider
Sedgemop if I wanted to buy a nice old 3-speed, I would get that Raleigh you showed us. I would start with an offer but eventually I would pay the $450 if I couldn't get the seller down. Or maybe I would pay less but still close to his asking price. My view is skewed by the high value of used bikes in my area (NYC), so maybe $450 is crazy for your area. But still, imagine picking up any bike and fixing it up to how you want it. It's going to cost some money, and isn't this bike close to what you want? The large frame size is particularly hard to find.
Good points, noglider. I live in an area where used bikes have value, so the constant grousing about used bike prices here makes me weary. I get it, we all want to get cheap bikes, especially ones in good shape and maybe rare. But sometimes you have to pay a little more for something you want, especially if it's something that's hard to find. And if the bike already has the extras that you would have paid extra money for (assuming you didn't already have these things in your parts bin) it can actually be more of a bargain than a cheaper bike you're going to have to fix up. Plus, larger framed bikes are harder to find.
If your aim is a bike that you're actually going to ride, vs. just something you want to flip, having those extras is a good bonus. Worst case scenario is you can sell that Brooks saddle if you don't want it.