Originally Posted by
mkeller234
Treebound, I am sorry if I upset you at all, it's not intended. I didn't post this in the value section originally because my original question didn't concern a dollar amount. I am not happy with the turn of events concerning this bike but I am trying to prepare myself by gathering info. The CL ad has been pulled by the seller, I did however keep pictures on my computer and some of the details in a notepad doc. I will post them in a seperate reply. Please feel free to move my thread as the purpose has changed, and again I am sorry.
I'm not upset, not upset at all, I guess I need to add smileys or something, oh well.
And I'm not a moderator so I'm not a mover of threads, I was just giving you a heads-up that the shift in focus from being about the bike to being about the value of the bike would probably trigger a move of the thread.
Let's see now,
There, that should alude any stern implications in my post
As to value, that's a hard thing to pin down sometimes. While I'd like to have a Basso, I've never owned one and don't know how they value out in auctions. I do know I was just watching a late 80's Trek 560 with an opening bid of $125 on ebay that just closed a couple of minutes ago for a final price of around $187 or so. I'm not saying the Trek 560 is comparable to the Basso, but it does give a frame of reference.
The top tube pic shows what looks like a little rust and missing paint in front of where the cable exits the tubing, also the cable housing appears to have some cracking in it, so at the very least I'd say the Basso is a candidate for a complete tear-down and overhaul and add in some new cable housings. That rust and paint flaking is also in a location where crashed bikes tend to flex and/or bend so I'd get a close look at the downtube as well if you can to see if there is similar paint flaking, if not then the top tube issue might just be from cable rub, but if the downtube has any similar appearance then the bike might have rammed something enough to flex the frame even if it didn't leave a permanent bend in the tubing - so it could be minor, or it could be more, but is something to look at closer in person.
I won't comment on the paint color except to say that if you like the coloring and can live with the Salmon/Pink on it then that's all that matters in that regard.
And I just noticed in your text that the ad said the bike was primarily an indoor bike for the past few years, so I'd wager that is where the rusty area came from as it's close to where chin sweat would drop onto the frame. I've seen pics of trainer-mounted bikes where the entire top tube had a major rust line down the center which is why you might see a lot of people hang towels over their trainer-mounted bikes.
My gut feel is that if you can get it for $200 then you would have probably done well. Beyond that and I'll let the Basso experts answer.
