Germany_chris

The cross check is a $500ish dollar frame the could probably be a runner for $800-$900 with some eBay/Amazon deals..

CleanClassics

Wow this thread has been really helpful. I didn't realize how active the classic bike community was. When I'm working on classic cars it usually takes a few days before I can get a response to a question. You guys are fantastic.

Thank you for that info. I actually have a Trek FX that I use around my area. From time to time we ride together to something local so I go on my mountain bike and he takes my FX. He likes it because it's super light, but he's definitely a fan of the drop bars. I honestly don't know why. I could never get used to them, but he likes them. He had drop bars since he was a kid, so he just might be used to them.

That bike is really nice

Mine was a similar story, a local guy posted that he needed to clear space in his garage and this bike needed out. I liked the look of the red (even though at the time it was grey/brown covered in dust). The tire rubber had turned to plastic and since they were old cloth side wall it was all tearing and ripping. But it was exciting to have something new to work on, and I had fun restoring it. I even got the retro cycle-computer to work on it.

Gotcha. I'm in SE Michigan.

Looks great! How are the brakes? When I was restoring a few bikes with the Trek400 I had a late 70s, maybe early 80s Ross bike. I really disliked the brakes on it and figured that was just how brakes were in that era (I could've been wrong), so I told myself not to get bikes older than mid 80s. But if this assessment is wrong let me know.

Yeah... Inventory has been a problem. I split my time 50/50 between mountain biking and biking around town. Last year I waited all year to get my first new mountain bike (I mountain biked for years on borrowed or used equipment). Inventory came back around November, so I can wait till fall. My area is seasonal so as winter approaches the bike stores inventory and service get better (luckily).

As for used budget, I usually try to stay below $<200-$300, depending on the condition. I'm ok with going over if I know the bike will keep its value. I've done that before with mountain and hybrid bikes, where I dropped $500 on a used bike, rode it for a bit, cleaned and maintained it, then when I needed to upgrade I was able to get my $500 back.

For new bikes the prices of the 520, Domane AL2, or Surly, are pretty much our max.

I like the look of Surly (and the price!)... but I don't think I have much access to Surly in my area. I looked up online it looks like I have some stores that might have access but I'll need to investigate a bit more and see if I can find something.

Lazyass

That picture brings back memories of when I bought a red 400 on ebay about 12 years ago. When I got it I noticed the downtube/fork was slightly bent from a head on collision that you couldn't see in the pictures. And I could never contact the seller, he ripped me off.

fishboat

OP..from your comments, you may enjoy the youtube channel "OldShovel" ..

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzr...x2JFfJb-ipGk8A

bikemig 

The brakes on the Ross bike simply could have been crummy brakes. If you have decent quality vintage brakes, it is easy to set them up properly. You can improve braking by (1) quality brake shoes (kool stop makes good ones) and (2) quality housing and cables. Also modern aero levers can help.

CleanClassics

Sorry to hear that, eBay is really the wild west in it's current state. I've been on it since its beanie baby days but since around 2014 onwards it's been hit or miss for me.

Were you able to get a new fork to get er running?

I do like watching restoration channels on youtube.

Yea. That was my conclusion. It was a crummy brake design. Even if I had the ability to set it to brand new tolerances it would have been inadequate (compared to what we have today). The biggest flaw was the way the line pulled on the brake assembly it would always lead to one side of the pad hitting the wheel first. No matter what you did, it could not (the way it was designed) clamp both at the same time or near the same time. It had to hit one side of the wheel before the other side of the brake assembly could clamp down. This made the hand brake pretty much useless the first 40% of the pull and awfully unlinear to engage. Even when 100% pulled it just didn't stop well. I stopped trying to investigate it after a few hours determining there was nothing I could do to fix it (other than new cables and pads, which still would only bandaid the problem from what I assessed).

Lazyass

No, it was trash. The down tube was bent.

thumpism 

Here's a local one.

https://richmond.craigslist.org/bik/...341677010.html

CliffordK

If you are looking for a USA made bicycle, there are literally hundreds of small builders here in the USA working in anything from Carbon Fiber to Titanium to Steel. Even Bamboo.

A lot of welded frames, but some also make lugged frames.

They may not come cheap, but there are some excellent bikes.

I think Portland Oregon has an annual handmade bicycle show.

CleanClassics

I got lucky. I didn't think I'd find another vintage Trek and I was ready to get a new one. But this one popped up locally in very good condition. Pops is back to riding again. He's very happy. The difference we could tell from his is that this one has two tone paint and has 2 front gears instead of 3 in the old one (He seems to prefer the 2 gear, the 3 gear model kept grabbing his jeans). The owner we purchased it from had put a more comfort based seat as the original one (vetta) had degraded. Dad likes it so no point in messing with it for now. Thanks everyone for the help.

Gym123456

I joined recently and am a bit surprised to see the number of people who are in the Milwaukee area. The Craig's List 400 in Pewter that's leaning against the tree (Brown Deer, WI) looks almost exactly like mine.