cannondale r800
 

so this bike isnt really a classic but i just want people opinions.
so i have been searching craigslist a couple times a day looking for a used road bike to upgrade from a cheap vilano that i bought as my first road bike. i came across a 2000 cannondale r800 for sale,

Specs:
- Cannondale 56cm Road Frame Aluminum Frame + Slice Prodigy Carbon Fork (by Time)
- 105 Gruppo (STI) ((Shifter are brand new) , Derailluers
- Mavic Cxp23 Clincher wheels
- Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Slick 700x23c tires
- coda brakes
- replaceable rear drop out.
-Weighs ~ 21 lbs
-Botanger standard pedals.

this is what the seller listed and since i am pretty new to road bikes i wanted to know what would be an average price for this bike? any help is appreciated

any pics? condition is everything, location is next. if it is super clean has 100 miles and is only $200 in Piggot Ar then it is a great deal. if it has 5000+ miles, lots of nicks and scratches and in Seattle for $1000 it may be a bad deal.

the guy sent me some pics and i cant really see any damage on the bike the bike tape does look a little worn but that would be easy to change. i live in upper new jersey so we dont ride year round here...i looked online and did some research and saw the same bike selling for 500 two years ago and he wants 695...whats a fair number to throw at him

Sight unseen I'm thinking $450 - $500 tops. A craigslist search has them from $400 - $700.

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/bik/2493234030.html
thats the bike he told me to throw him an offer

well it has been for sale for 3 days, so 605 isn't a deal. how far from you is it? offer $400 and take 500 cash and go look. but I would certainly keep the haggling low.


one of the last bikes i bought a friend picked up and I told him only take $325 with you, leave anything else in the car. the bike was posted at $450 but the seller then said he was asking $500 for it. my friend pointed out all the work and parts it would need. they settled on 335 and which point he counted out the money then went to the car and cam back with a five, a few ones and some quaters. don't talk him down then show a big wad

the guy lives about 20 mins away so it wouldnt be a bad drive i just felt like 695 was really high for the year of the bike..i do like the bike and its an upgrade from a vilano that i am riding now. i guess i will throw out 400 and see what he says

offered him 400 this morning and he never wrote back..i guess ill give him some time and see what he says if anything

There is a good chance you won't hear back from an e mail offer. I wouldn't respond to it.
If you are interested in the bike you need to drive over there with cash in your hand.

FWIW I have a 2005 Cdale R2000, CAAD 7 and it's pretty sweet, for an aluminum bike and they seem to get a lot of good reviews here and on the Road forum.

Edit: Also, that is a triple shifter and a double crank which is not an issue but if you go ride it make sure the shifter is adjusted properly to work with the front derailleur.

he sent back an email saying he wasnt going lower than 675 because hes getting a lot of attention for the bike...i think hes bluffing cause he lowereed the price of the bike from 695 to 640 but oh well i guess i missed out...i still cant see how that bike is worth that much with the miles hes put on it and the year of the bike

+1 Email offers? Forget it. Go in person with cash in hand. You are lucky he responded at all.

it was his way of communicating as he was not home to make a deal...i agree with you and i usually prefer to go and make a deal in person...it was a learning process and im sure i will have another chance at another bike..i hope at least

damn right he's bluffing maybe, If he was getting all this "attention" then he wouldn't be emailing you back at all. I really hate when people pull that crap. wait for a better deal and a different seller. But if you really like the bike chances are no one is showing up to look at it due to the price, their emailing just like you. IF you show up with money and a reasonable offer then you may get it for the right price. For me I would pay 500 which includes a 50 dollar bonus on the blue wheels/blue frame and a 50 dollar bonus on the newer parts. looks like new bar tape and tires.

How many miles are on it? If low miles then 550. Caads hold their value.

im gona go up and take a look when he comes back from a wedding...he said he wasnt going under 600 but maybe he will change his mind when he sees 450 cash and i can bring a little extra cash just in case

Good plan! Realize if he wants significantly more, just pass. Its an 11 year old bike, one with a pretty good component group, but still 11 years old. There are always more bikes out there.

Assuming it is in good shape, a price around $500 would be a good deal, $550 max.

I bought a Colnago on C/L at an attractive price. I wasn't looking for one, and wasn't really interested either. Colnagos are way outside my bike budget, so I don't bother looking. But this one sat on C/L for a couple of weeks. So I went to look at it. I had a limit in mind, based on what the bike was worth to me. So I offered that amount. I told the seller, "Look, I think your bike is probably worth significantly more. But I already have too many bikes, I really can't justify buying another one. So to me, I can only offer you XXX." Now my offer was not some ridiculously low/silly amount. But it was pretty low for a Colnago, and well below his asking price. At that point, it was up to the seller. He took it. Had he not taken it, fine, I would have passed on it.

Now had the Colnago been my must have/grail bike, I would have just blown my budget instead and paid his price.

You really gain a lot of negotiating flexibility when you can honestly walk away from any deal.

+1 Bad manners to talk down the price, then whip out a huge bankroll. Put any extra cash in the car, carry some fives, tens and twenties. Making an offer, and then asking for change for a hundred dollar bill is bad mojo.

yea i plan to bring a mix of bills and leave it all in m car cause i dont want him to know how much i have but i do have a limit in my mind and if he doesnt come down to it then i have no choice but to walk away and take a look for something else...do you have any suggestions to a bike similar to the r800 in case i dont get an r800...i want something just as fast with good hill climbing abilities in the same price range..used of course

The new 105 shifters... the bike's been upgraded to 10 speed?


I guess that's not much of a leap for a modern bike, but I guess he shelled out at least $200 recently :)

Pretty much all the major brands were making 105 bikes with aluminum frames and carbon forks. Let the best deal win.

Myself I have a personal bias against aluminum, so I would be shopping for steel.

so do you think hes adding 200 to the price cause he feels that those shifters bring the price up to almost 700?

Possibly. But the bike is worth what the market decides, not the sum total of the money he put into the parts. Sellers often make that claim of listing the price of the components they stuck on there and try to make their money back when they over spent on the build.

i agree its just like a car or house just cause you add on to it doesn't necessarily mean you are going to get that back in return. i really like what the r88 has to offer so if you know of similar bikes please let me know