Newbie needs some advice
 

Hello,

I've been looking for a bike lately and looked into the vintage bikes. I'm looking for a good road bike that is under $200. I've been looking at the bikes on http://www.greatusedbikes.com

Can anyone tell me if those are worth the money? Also, I'm 5'5", so should I be looking at something around 19-20"?

Thanks,
Horace

Personally I think the prices are a high, but then they do deliver and do offer a guarantee of sorts. The problem I see with the guarantee is it is not money back if you do not find a bike to your liking. If you have the patience and the time, look on your own to see what is out there. As for size, it is more dependent on your inseam than overall height. Torso length enters in, but unless you have really short legs, 48 to 50 cm would appear to be right. Easy fit is to stand over the bike, feet flat, and there should be about an inch of clearance.

Hi, thanks for responding. Another question, are vintage bikes generally heavier than new models?

At 200$, the vintage ones may be lighter than new ones in that price range. Go for steel, it is proven to last; look for double butted tubing. Prices about right for an overheated used bike market, like NYC. Prices vary wildly on the kind of moderate-low level bike you're looking at depending on your location.

Did anyone looking at the bikes notice the Paris Sport. Cannot tell for sure, but it looks like it may have a 531 decal on the seattube. Not to mention what looks to me to be a gold anodized Campy spider. Too bad they won't let you d/l the full size to examine things a bit more.

The spider does look campy or campy-clone, however the derailleurs look Shimano to me. The picture size doesn't make it easy, but I'd almost be willing to say they look like the Shimano Golden Arrow 105 group. Which would make a bit of sense with a campy-clone style gold spider.

Around here, those prices would be insane. 200$ for a Varsitity!!? What about the Raleigh with cottered cranks! I would pass. But it is still way better than a walmart bike for about the same price, and if that is your only choice, go for it.

It's hard to price old road bikes. I paid $1 for a peugeot and cleaned it up and sold it for 60(no new parts just cleaned). I saw the same bike sell for 122 plus 50 shiping on ebay. the one on ebay was relisted a week or two later and only got up to 70, didnt meet the sellers reserve. A week after that It sold on ebay for $200 using buy it now option. So what was the bike worth $1 $60 $122 $70 or $200?

As the Poque man pointed out, it is NYC and the prices there do tend to be a bit high.

I'm 5'6" and I ride a 54cm Raleigh Super Cross, circa 1980. That translates to 21 inches, but each manufacturer may do these types of measurements differently. My Raleigh was measured "center to center," which means I put the tape to the center of the crank spindle and measured to the center of the top tube. With my 27" wheels, my bike actually is a bit too tall for me with about 31" of standover height.

While the URL you posted has some interesting rides, I would suggest looking for a more cost-effective source. I agree with the other posters that these bikes are kinda expensive. I find -- and am given -- bikes of this caliber all the time through my Bikes For Tykes program; some of them I sell for fundraising and I find locally they usually get a maximum of $150. Recently sold a `79 Motobecane on http://www.craigslist.org for $80. Maybe Craigslist is the place to look after you focus on a bike size. Or eBay, and try to pay $65 or less for shipping; any more than that is unusual but sometimes necessary if it's a business seller.

This Motobecane is a good example of what you can find on eBay

I know this isn't a vintage bike, but I just found this new bike for about 250. What do you guys think?

http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-ROAD-R...ayphotohosting

I keep an eye opn Craigs List for New York, in case someone closer to PA has something interesting, and it seems like every day there is at least one or two reasonable deals, but not in my neighborhood... This one has a Peugeot in your size range for well under $200:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/bik/174735604.html

Hey, that was my ad. I decided to keep my Peugeot and sell the Motobecane. Can anyone tell me what year this bike was made?

http://www.tammi.cc/CIMG0609.jpg
http://www.tammi.cc/CIMG0613.jpg

I showed the guy who started this post a few pictures of the bike and he said he thinks the frame is rusting. If this is true, how would I fix that? I don't know much about bike maintenance. I bought this bike used about 6 months ago because I didn't want to ride my nice bike in the snow during the transit strike. Maybe I could take it to a shop for a new paint job. I don't want to lose all the cool peugeot decals, though.