I'm back again and still bike shopping....what are crestar bikes like? are they a good brand? this one is going for $60 on craiglist..any thoughts? https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/d...618762616.html
Thanks

Hmmm it looks like a swedish crescent. It's the low end one but it has decent but low end european components. The biggest bummer is the cranks, those one piece cranks suck and the threading is almost certainly french. In terms of ease of working on it and upgrading I would avoid. You're probably anxious but don't pounce too soon.

Look for japanese bikes. If you can find a mid range one you will have a decent rider that is easily upgradable with cheep and easy to find parts. Brands like Panasonic, Nishiki, Bridgestone, miyata, centurion, to name just a few all made low to high end bikes. Be careful as some of the early 70s bikes by these companies are real junk but if it was made in the 80s and has alloy wheels it is a safe bet. Feel free to check in here but just read up about old bike on here by searching the forum and reading sheldon brown. You will start to get a feel for what is good and what is bad after a while... mainly you would like something with alloy as opposed to steel rims and alloy cranks as opposed to steel. The 2 critical components represent a way to drop a lot of extra weight and would only be found on at least better than entry level bike in the 1970s and early 80s... but steel crank all but disappeared by the late 80s except on the absolute junk so avoid them if you can. Take a magnet with you when you go to check out a bike if you are not sure.

Also there have been threads with good advice for buying your first used road bike in the past. Try searching the forum with phrase like "what to look for in a used bike" etc...