Univega: Gran Sprint
 

Hello and thank you in advance. I am hooked on getting a univega. I found this and wanted to ask if this seems like a good bike/value to pay $330 total after shipping. It is my size 54cm which has been hard for me to find. I haven't been creative and known where to look. I see in the pictures there are some scratches and hopefully just dirt but in general I wanted assistance with my decision to buy.

Univega Gran Sprint

$220 plus $110 for shipping
tripple butted chromoly tubing
Very nice lug work
Suntour Cyclone Derailleurs
Dia Compe Brakeset
Signature Crank set
Wheelset is newer 700c, front wheel has shimano hub with alex rim, rear wheel is unmarked
Tires less than a month old.
12 speeds

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Univega-Gran...36acbfchttp://

That is a nice looking bike but I think $330+ may be a bit much for it.

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Univega-Gran-...hUw~~60_57.JPG

It looks like it needs a good cleaning and likely overhaul on all the bearing surfaces. Does the seller say why it has a Schrader valve on the front and presta on the rear?

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Univega-Gran-...75Q~~60_57.JPG

No, should be able to find a better deal locally. 54cm hard to find? About a third of the bikes I find are a 21 inch (53cm). Very common size on vintage bikes.

Do realize many sellers on C/L in particular get the size WRONG. So being able to spot a 21 inch frame from a craplist pic is critical.

Sloppy seller not cleaning that bike first, rusty cables, dirty housings = DKO flip. Expect what you can't see will need thorough maintenance (wheel hubs, bottom bracket, headset).

Circa 1985 model, poorly maintained. Mismatched wheels. Almost certainly needs a complete overhaul. I'm not sure that I would even consider this even as a local pick-up. Factor in the high shipping costs and the extremely low feedback numbers and I'd pass.

Funny, but I seem to come across quite a few 54cm, probably because they're too small for me. Last week I passed on a Bertrand SLX and a couple of Bianchi Brava.

+1,000,000 seller has ZERO feedback from sales, a whopping four total feedback from purchases. I would not want to be his first customer, particularly on something that is tricky to package and ship like a bike.

JRAO, Welcome. You are smart to start checking in here. With patience, you will find enough info here to find a NICE local bike or get a good one shipped from a trusted member of this forum. Dan

I haven't been the best researcher. I bet there are 54cm univegas (in decent shape) that I just haven't found online. I haven't bought on ebay before and didn't notice the (Only!) 4 feeback. Thank you all. I will pass on this one and look around. Hopefully I'll find one locally. Being a complete newbie to the biking world (it's a bug I caught) what are better ways to find a "good deal" vintage bike possibly Univega other than craigslist? I read a different thread recently and it only mentioned "try different markets" other than craigslist and ebay. Thought I'd ask. Thanks all!

Look beyond Univega. Univega never made a single bike, they only made brochures. They are one of a long list of marketing companies from the 1980s+/- that had one Japanese manufacturer or another build bikes for them. Lots of nice brands that never made bikes: Lotus, Nishiki, Univega, Centurion, the list goes on and on. I would consider Univegas to be good bikes, but no better than dozens of Japanese brands out there. And Univega had a complete product line from basic to really nice. So not all Univegas are so great. And by the late 1980s, Univega was having some of their bikes made in Taiwan, so not all Univegas are Miyata built (Miyata made a full product line too, from really, really basic to outstanding).

The best deals on a public sales forum (think C/L) tend to go fast, lightning fast. To get a deal like that, you have to up your game to beat those competitors. Less public sales outlets have less competition, particularly word of mouth. As you found out on ebay, you have to overcome the hurdle and expense of having a bike shipped.

The only bikes I see linger on C/L at reasonable pricing either have horrible ads, are projects (need work, often a lot of work), or high end (so prices above the norm, but reasonable given the bike). I picked up a nice Batavus Professional last year in Charlotte. It lasted several days. Its problem? It was not complete (no wheels). Not many buyers for incomplete bikes! And the shifters were toast (Shimano STI). I only snagged it because I was up in Charlotte already picking up another bike (when I drive a distance to get a bike, I like to make it worth my while by picking up several).