Thanks guys. If you find anymore keep them comming.

Where do you live? Maybe one of us is close by and can help out.

Comments: A very good touring bike, one step below Miyata's best touring bike, which is considered by many to be the best touring bike ever. In excellent condition, slightly dated components, but that shouldn't be an issue. Will probably do everything you want a bike to do. $425 plus shipping puts it outside of your budget, but you might be able to get it for less, depending on interest and what it's worth.

Comments: A good bike, not as good as the Miyata, but good, certainly hands down better than the bike you asked about, and in excellent condition. Will also probably do everything you want a bike to do. He says it's a 54-56, but it looks like a 58 to me. This bike is worth buying if you want to keep within your $150 budget, but check with the seller on that size, first.

Comments: This bike will do almost anything you ask of it. The most versatile of the bunch, in my opinion, and probably as high in quality as the Miyata. Not in as good a condition as the other two. If I were looking at these three, I'd be considering this and the Miyata, and would be leaning towards this. That $500 price is too high for this bike, though.


One more thing to consider, you live in a college town, and will have to watch out for thieves. The Miyata is the most flashy, and will attract the most attention, but all three are good bikes, and will attract unwanted attention if you don't take precautions. I would suggest that when you buy a bike, you keep your bike locked up indoors at night, and locked with a really good u-lock when you're in class.

Two more high-quality bikes:

Trek 520

Trek 620

My first bike got stolen. I intend to leave the bike in my room from now on. I bid in the Bianchi, but have no idea what the reserve is.

Free country and all, but that seller has 10 negative feedbacks in the past 12 months, 5 in the past 6. That's a lot, especially for ebay where buyers are afraid to leave negatives due to seller backlash.

Also, that seat tube looks really short. I don't think it's close to the 56-57cm you're looking for. I guess the slanted top tube might make up for it, but I can't really tell if it's slanted.

The other red flag for me is the BIN price. Personally, I wouldn't trust that seller.

I'm admittedly biased toward the Bridgestone RB-2, but they are a great bike that is often overlooked by bidders gunning for an RB-1. Most go for under $300, even in really nice condition. There's a few up now, but the closest to your size is this 55cm. I'd keep my eye out for one in your size.

https://cgi.ebay.com/Bridgestone-RB2-...QQcmdZViewItem

Bump that up to about 8 years? The majority of my road bikes are post 82, but pre 90. I still consider them vintage.,,,,BD

Vintage died with the onset of black stems, seatposts, etc.. IMHO...

I'm taking the advice here, and will not try to meet the resere price and look elsewhere. Right now it looks like I'm better off buying a new bike. Even cheaper new bikes have better components than older bikes regardless of how much they cost when they were new. I think I could spend 1 or 2 hundred more for a new bike.

Vintage means you can get something high end for less than a cheap new bike now. It sounds like you've been talking to a
bike salesman? Cheaper new bikes have better components than older bikes regardless of what they cost when they were new? Where did you hear that nonsense?,,,,BD

Cheap new bikes will wear out and fall apart quickly. New bikes in general have more complication, and therefore require more adjusting. New bikes made of aluminium or carbon fibre have limited life spans compared to steel bikes.

I have a high end 1980's tourer which I bought for $40. It doesn't brake quite as well as a new bike, the shifters are on the downtube rather than the brake levers, and the shifting is not indexed. Those things aside, it's as good as the sort of tourer you would pay $1200 for now. Make your own decision, but I'd advise seriously considering the vintage route.

Sheldon Brown, for one. Even low-end Shimano components perform better than some vintage high-end components. It's simply technology trickle down. Many of the newer low end components are heavier than older high end, but that's a trade off. But I think the OP may be referring to a bike store bike, not a Wallybike.

I think it's a wise decision to make if you want reliability. Most vintage bikes on the market, even if pristine looking, usually need a complete overhaul if you want a reliable machine. And unless you have the mechanical know-how, and a stash of parts, you're going to be paying through the nose for labor at the LBS. And if you decide on some minor upgrades, like a different saddle, more comfortable bars, different stem, or different pedals, you'll be paying a good chunk of change. It's possible to find a vintage bike set up the way you want, but unlikely (unless you are very easy to please). Finally, there are hidden problem you can't see on an ebay auction. The bike looks pristine, but how are the hubs? Pitted? The headset, the BB? A new wheelset will be expensive, as will labor for headset or BB replacement.

I'd agree with that, if you compare it to a high-end or even mid-level vintage bike. But those are not easy to find or cheap. If you can afford a mid-level bike from your LBS, you'll be better off. But even the entry level bikes will give you good service for a good amount of time. As for finding the $40 high end tourer...that's not an everyday event. You're in the business of searching out deals on vintage rides. The OP may not have that inclination. I'm relatively new to the vintage bike market, but in over a year of some pretty intensive searching at yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores, etc, the best I've found is a Miyata 310, which was an entry level bike.

What I've observed is that the high-end vintage bikes available are NOT cheap, and then they usually require a complete overhaul on top of that, which may be beyond the OP's resources.

Cheap vintage depends on where to look. I haven't paid more than $45 for ANY of my bikes? If you
look on ebay all you're going to find is people who know what they have and expect to be
paid. I haven't had to look hard at all for my bikes. The flea market is about 4 miles up the road, and the thrift store about 2 miles. Everything I've posted has come from those two places, unless otherwise noted.
It's a moot point. He wants a new bike, and thinks even high end vintage is junk now.,,,,BD

No, at least in the UK, it's easy to find bargains. All mine come from eBay, and I invest perhaps an hour a week finding them. Log in, go to the bikes section, and sort by price. I then work through all of them from 99p to Ł50, generally, and I look at anything which the title makes sound interesting, and anything where the title is unclear (there's nothing like "racing bike", or "gents cycle" as a title to get my blood racing - who else is gonna even look?).

Everything that looks remotely interesting, if it's somewhere I can pick up, or if it's got shipping, I watch it. If I'm being scrupulous, I'll probably have 80 items being watched at any time, but I know that 90%+ of those are going to go out of my range - no problem, it's the other 5-10% that interest me. Every morning, I glance at what's ending today, and if any of them are still within my budget, I'll fire up Jbidwatcher (it's free, google it). I add the auction, and tell it how much I want to pay, and in the last 10 secs, it bids for me. Fantastic!

The best bargains are usually bikes that are pickup only from the middle of nowhere, and of course, I only get the ones that are near somewhere I have to go, but hey, this guy only wants ONE bike! I've had a Gazelle Trim Trophy, which is a second from top of the line early 80's road racer, for Ł21, the Raleigh Royal tourer mentioned for Ł22, an Olmo for Ł4.20, various Freddie Grubb, Holdsworth and Claud Butler bikes for Ł20-50, a Raleigh Gran Sport for Ł60, a Dawes Galaxy for Ł60, a Mercian mixte for Ł30, I could go on and on. It just requires a little commitment, and to not be looking for something specific. I'll admit, however, that I don't know whether it would work as well in the states.

What I know for sure is this. I'll take an entry level downtube friction shift over an entry level indexed brifter or thumbshifter system every time. If you're buying bottom end, get an old one! I'll admit, however, that if your budget will stretch, a midrange LBS bike is a good idea, but you'll not get anything with the character of some of the bikes you could find by hunting.

I agree with SammyBoy on the "Local Pickup Only" stuff on Ebay, especially located in remote areas. I am not sure what those people are thinking, using ebay instead of Craiglist (may not be available in their area) or the local newpaper ad. I saw an early 70's Raleigh Supercourse in good condition recently go for like $10 on ebay, local pickup only in some small midwestern town.

Most important point of all! How likely is it that someone else will have that exact same bike (excluding Schwinn Contivarsitys, that is)?

East Hill

The need for a triple crankset and longer chainstays for foot clearance when you pedal makes things difficult. If you go new, and want a road bike, full touring bikes are way outside your budget. You can try to find a hybrid or cyclocross frame, or something like Raleigh's Route 66, but that has flat bars which I wouldn't personally recommend. The Raleigh, however, unlike most new road bikes, will give you fender/rack mounts and fender clearance.

I've been looking for a similar setup as you are for a while (touring bike with triple crankset and relaxed geometry), and the pickings are slim. There have been full touring bikes on ebay going from about $250 on up, but I can guarantee all of them would require a complete overhaul, and there might be some other upgrades you would want to make. I haven't found anything like this in my size locally.

Another option, if you are okay with 26" wheels with slicks, is to look for an older Trek 800 or 900 series mountain bike, which has many of the attributes you're looking for. In fact, you can probably find one of these more easily for less money. Then you could add some moustache bars or the like for more comfort.

Or, I've been thinking about this for a while. A full steel touring frame with Sora STI for $500. I have no experience with Sora, and I've read disparaging reviews of the group, but I imagine it would work well for a while at least. You would need to adjust the bike yourself, or have the LBS do it, as I've heard bikes from this source arrive poorly adjusted.

A final option is WallyWorld type bikes of course. Here's an interesting thread in the Commuting Forum regarding the GMC Denali. Unless this is some masterful hoax, it dashes some of the snobbery held against the durability of department store bikes.

One option is to check and see if there is a re-use center near you (a.k.a. "the dump"). I know that the one out here makes you put bikes that you are dumping off in a rack. You just have to show up, tell them your zip code and can take whatever you want. I grabbed an '83 Peugeot that is in mint condition last year as well as some vintage Schwinns. It is always hit-or-miss as there are people that go damn near every day and take stuff to sell elsewhere, but every once and a while you will find a gem that someone thinks is just a crusty old 10-speed, but is in fact a nice lugged steel frame with very nice components.

Consider a folding bike. That way you can keep it inside your room and still have plenty of space.

Finally, a voice of reason.

Most every vintage bike I've bought, I got a good deal on. But almost to a one, they've all needed work. There are very, very few $50 vintage bikes on the market that are clean and ready to ride. Take your garden variety garage sale/flea market/thrift shop find and bus it over to the LBS and see how much money you have to pay them to overhaul it and make it a daily rider. Unlike us, they charge for labor and parts.

Furthermore, modern bikes do not have "more complications", they work exactly like the bikes of yesteryear for the most part - pull on the cable, the brakes/dérailleurs move. The only "complication" is the integration of the shifters and brake levers. And they are not that complicated - more expensive, maybe. Also they are very user friendly - my child can use them competently.

As for picking between an entry level bike from 20 years ago and one from today, no question - I'll take today's bike. As JYB points out, the technology trickle-down makes the bike world's apart. An entry level bike from today would be a world beater if teleported back 20-30 years ago. You can talk about character and style - sure, that plays a big part. But to deny that the technology has not improved.....

Look - the vintage stuff is great, I love it just as much as you guys. But let's not be witch-burner's here. Honesty, I wonder if any of you guys that are making disparaging comments about the new stuff have ever put some long miles on a modern machine (or any miles at all?).

Really, I'd like to know - what, exactly, are you basing your opinions on?

It's a "cross terrain" model, so it's got a sloping top tube. The standover height is 31."

Whether the seller is trustworthy or not is a different matter.

I think older bikes are inherently more reliable, because they are less complex. For example, ask yourself, what's more reliable: Friction shifters, or indexed shifters? Rigid fork, or shock fork?

Look for a mid-range bike from the 90's that hasn't been ridden much. Those are the most bang for the buck in the used market...in my opinion.

My best bike-- a very high end bike-- fell into my lap here on BF. Somebody had tried to sell it at a yard sale for $20, had NO luck, so she came on here asking what it was worth. I told her to name her price and I'd buy it, she named her price, and I bought it. We both walked away happy. Well, if I had seen it for $20 at her yard sale, I would have been ecstatic, but that's dreaming...

Good advice, that's exactly what the bike I described above was: A barely ridden high end bike from the 90s. And I got it for a very good price.