A guy has a Novara Strada for sale down the road from me. I went and looked at it. It's just your typical older aluminum road bike from what I can tell. It has no sizing info on it. Just a sticker about the aluminum.



I found these specs online that seem to fit with it:

1997 Novara Strada
MSRP (new) $750.00
Weight 23.5 (felt lighter)
Sizes Large, medium, small, xlarge
Colors Dark blue
Frame Construction TIG-welded
Frame Tubing Material 7005 aluminum, double-butted
Fork Brand & Model Spinner
Fork Material Chromoly, unicrown crown
Component Group Shimano RSX
Shift Levers Shimano RSX STI Dual Control
Front Derailleur Shimano RSX top-swing, top-pull/clamp-on 31.8 mm
Rear Derailleur Shimano RSX GS
Crankset Shimano RSX, 30/42/52 teeth
Bottom Bracket Shimano BB-UN52, 122.5 mm spindle
BB Shell Width 68mm English
Rear Cogs 7-speed, 13 - 28 teeth
Chain KMC HG-50, 1/2 x 3/32"
Seatpost Tahoma DP 410, 27.0 mm diameter
Saddle Viscount 2951
Handlebar Rito R-66
Handlebar Extensions Not applicable
Handlebar Stem Rito AH-8
Headset 1" threadless Dia-Compe Aheadset
Hubs Shimano RSX
Rims Mavic MA-2, 32-hole
Spoke Brand Shuhn Lih stainless steel, 2.0mm straight gauge
Spoke Nipples Brass nipples

The bike won't shift at all. I was thinking about buying it and putting a newer, used drivetrain on it just for the experience. Was thinking of offering a $100 for it.

Is this a decent bike to do this with? Does it have any specs that would make it difficult to upgrade the drivetrain to something modern? Price decent?

IF I were into "road" bikes, I'd have no trouble picking it up for $100.

Shifting issues may be resolved as simply as flushing the shifters to a new shifter & DER.

I wouldn't buy it. The fork looks bent to me. With that and the non working shifters you could end up spending a lot of money for very little return. Unless the owner is practically giving it away, steer clear. Upgrading drivetrains can run into the hundreds of dollars and with a 7 speed drivetrain you are probably looking at 126mm rear dropout spacing which is incompatible with current 130mm drivetrain standards.

I see the same thing. I believe this bike has been in a front end collision, although it might just be a camera angle problem.

As for size, I would bet that bike is around 54 or 56cm, so good for someone ~5'5" to 5'11" or so.

Here's another angle:



What are you seeing?

I took my girlfriend to check it out because she wanted a touring bike, but it was too big for her.

When I stood over, it felt about like my 58's.

+1. the fork looks steeper than the head angle , they Hit something.. maybe the frame is OK** . or maybe you are buying it Just to strip the components .


** I can't tell without it being in Front of Me.

.02 - next time Bring a Tape Measure with you ..

A complete RSX group... but the shifters don't work and the fork is bent. Hrm. Organ donor. Might be especially nice organ donor if the whole group is still there and the shifters could be made to work.

Repair of Shimano Drop-Bar STI Brake-Shift Levers

Kind of hard to tell about the fork with it turned slightly in both pics.
I'd give it a GOOD look over.
Spin the front wheel and look for tell tale "wows".
Pluck spokes for some noticeably uneven tension in a general area.

From the photos provided, it does look like the fork is bent. But it's hard to tell from photos a lot of the time.

What would be your plans for the bike, that would definitely make a difference in any recommendation I was to make.

Most REI bikes are fine riders. That being said, if you can get it for a price that would allow you to make repairs, and still be under the going street rate/value of the bike, you could be okay.

RSX is a popular group, so if the frame and fork were totaled, you could easily get your money back out if you paid no more than $100 for it like some other poster/s have suggested offering. If the fork and frame were bent, I probably would not offer even that much. If the group was in good physical condition (despite the shifting problem) I'f still make an offer, based on planning to use the bike as a donor.

If the fork is bent, you could also replace the fork. You use the bike as a rider. I don't see any problem with replacing the fork if necessary. Lost of people upgrade forks, and I don't see people urging them not to. Of the frame is good and the fork is bent, just replace the fork.

The shiftng problem could be the brifters, the derailleurs, the cables, or a simple adjustment or cleaning. Once again, if you buy at the right price, you can afford to experiment. The Shimano 7 and 8-speed brifters with metal bodies are repairable, and there are people on eBay who will repair broken brifters for as low as $35 each, or $60-$70 a pair.

Thanks for the tips. I think I'll pass.