#1: What is your budget?

#2: What are your capabilities/time/tools/and skills to do any and all repairs and restoration?


You will hear of endless "great" deals others have gotten on this list (I have posted several myself). What you do not usually hear is the amount of time spent looking for deals. Myself, I am looking every day: thrift stores, garage sales, Craigs List, ebay, word of mouth, etc. Its a part time job, and not one I would recommend to others. So some of the super deals I have posted have been somewhat misleading, as I neglect to point out how many garage sales, thrift stores, etc., I have gone to and found nothing (99% or more).

Back to your task at hand. Educate yourself first, do a variety of searches of this forum and others. Know the type, size, era of bike you want. And then when you see what you are looking for, pounce on it. There is no time to post a "what do you think of this deal" listing on this site. By the time you get an answer, the good deals will be long gone. No single posting can possibly cover all the details to consider.


What do I look for? Japanese lugged steel frame road bikes from the 1980s, with good name brand frames (Tange for example), alloy rim wheels with stainless spokes, alloy three piece cranksets, good grade of components. All of this at a good price of course. I am less concerned about the brand of bike itself. My last two buys of this ilk were a 1984 Centurion Mixte and a 1986 Nishiki Prestige.