soccerwuedo5

So, as many of you have been extremely helpful to me, you may know that I am completely new to all of this. I have been browsing my local classifieds with no luck til (maybe) today. Local bike, Nishiki, just one picture, for $25. What should I look for/ask? As a first bike, is it worth my time to go check out and possibly restore?

https://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218...&lpid=&search=



Things I immediately see: no downtube shifters. Bummer, thought that'd be cool. Kickstand, low quality pedals. All signs of lower quality build?

No info given from seller.

--Jake

soccerwuedo5

No contact from seller yet. After more browsing, looks to be a Nishiki Olympic (12?) and about 56cm. I'm looking for something in the 60cm range and trying my darnedest to find something uber cheap. Anyone have any more info?

wrk101

Pretty bottom end bike, at a really low price. What is your budget? At $25, you are not going to find much better than this, unless you look for bikes everywhere, full time. The market value of decent vintage bikes starts at about $200.

If you are looking for something good super cheap, you need to visit all of the thrift stores, garage sales, spread the word among friends, etc. And yes, thrift stores in Utah can have deals on bikes, I have found several there in my travels (mainly at DI).

Also, if you want something good super cheap, consider buying something regardless of size. Clean it up, sell it, and use those PROFITS to find a bike your size. Wanting something super cheap AND in a specific size is asking quite a lot. I have found a lot of bikes cheap over the years, rarely do I find one my size.

10 Wheels

It is a good bike, I had one.
But it is too small for you.

TugaDude

+1 on it being way too small for you. Be patient, something will come along. Or buy it, polish it up and possibly double your money. It is a great way to learn about bicycles. It is how I learned and I'm still learning.

In my area 60cm bikes and larger seem to be plentiful, but the going rate is about $125.00 for a decent bike. Sometimes less, sometimes more.

soccerwuedo5

Thanks for the input. The more I searched it seemed to be not the Olympic model but the Tourist model (no chrome on front forks, etc.) and does seem to be rather low end (and yup, looked small compared to other 60cm Nishiki's I looked up).

My plan is still to go out and hit the pavement, looking at thrift stores, etc. but I really want to try the fliers in the mailbox (or doorstep, pending illegality) method. I think I'll pass on this one.

Thumpic

buy it; flip it....and do it again....saving cash as you work toward a quality bike that'll fit you........

wrk101

+1 Flipping bikes that did not fit provided the funds for my keeper fleet, which includes a modern Colnago, a Waterford Paramount, and a few other higher end bikes. All funded by bikes that did not fit. Ditto my bike tools, all funded by bikes that did not fit.

melonbar123

+1. All bikes can either be flips or keepers. Sometimes I prefer flips because they allow me to buy nicer keepers.