Hi guys,

I'm looking at purchasing an older CCM bike from a local fellow who fixes up older bikes.

I tried searching but I couldn't find any info on this particular model and was wondering if any experts could shed some light on it before I went and saw it.

It's listed as a CCM Elite 5 Speed Middleweight, and it has been overhauled (almost completely I'd say), new cables/pads and tires, bb servicing/wheel bearings/headset greasing.

It has also been converted to a singlespeed, which I find very attractive.

The price is 130$ Canadian, which appears to be a fair value for the work he has put in, although I have been burned before, hence me asking.

I'm probably going to meet with him sometime during the week to try it out.

Thanks!

I would try to talk him into upgrading the crank to an alloy cotterless version. Ditto the wheels, from steel to aluminum. Since he fixes up older bikes, he will likely have some parts laying around to make those changes.

Very overpriced if you ask me! Probably was priced about that when it was new in a shop, maybe less.

You find that kinda thing on the curb on trashnight, only you get to have all the fun regreasing and tuning everything yourself.

I will ask about that, thanks.

Thanks, I agree that it would be a blast to do all that stuff.....unfortunately it would have to take a backseat to family time, school/study time, riding time, house work time.

Right now family and school have me so busy I hardly get to work out, and I do need a bike soon as some lowlife stole my commuter

So I guess the question is "is the bike worth it?" given that there is no way that I could do that kind of work on it right now. I would also have to state that my wrenching skills/tools are limited to basic maintenance (fd/rd adjustments, simple wheel truing/brake work).

Thanks again!

ps. is the picture showing up? I can't seem to see it.....

I agree with it being overpriced. The Elite was an entry level middleweight. The frame is hi-tensile steel and all the OEM parts are steel, , so it should still be pretty heavy, despite having shed the derailleur, shifters, freewheel, fenders, chainguard and mattress saddle.

These bicycles and the similar Elan 3 speed turn up quite frequently at garage sales for $25-$50. The question is whether the tune-up and changes are worth $80-$105 to you?

BTW, based on the head tube decal it is circa 1977.

While bikes may show up at garage sales in the $25 to $50 range, the question for you is do you have the time to go to a lot of garage sales and thrift stores to score a deal? I consider the difference in price to be in part a finders fee and part of it a repair/rebuild fee.

I go to a lot of thrift stores and garage sales and find nothing (>99% of the time). Maybe the garage sales and thrift stores in your area are better....

Then occasionally, I do find a good deal. All these "good" deals required me to do extensive maintenance, clean up and repairs. Everything from full rust remediation, finding replacement wheels, basic tires, lubes, bearings, cables, etc. I don't mind, and I am set up for it. So for those that do not want to wrench on a project, and do not want to continually go to thrift stores and garage sales, I would recommend finding a local reputable bike flipper. Let them know what you are looking for, and they could probably come up with something.

This bike does seem overpriced as a resale, which could be a function of your local market (its all a local thing) or could be leverage for you to get him to throw in some good upgrades.

Thanks

Ok, thanks again for the opinions guys. I am going to check out the bike in the next few days and try my hand at negotiating.

Nice to see yet another Edmontonian here...

The bike does not look too shabby but the price seems a little high... I can usually help folks build up a bike like this for under 100 dollars at our shop here (EBC) and use better parts and mid 70's CCM bikes are pretty pedestrian.

If you wanted a nice ss bike I would really lean toward a nice Japanese frame which will be lighter and probably come with better bits.

This is not to say that I haven't put some considerable work into my own really old CCM bikes... if you see this old beater around town it would be me... cause there's only one like this.

Hey 65'er, yeah Edmonton's great eh? I see you over at MTBR too.

That red one you've posted is sweet, a beater maybe, but still pretty.

You mention EBC, I really need to get over there and check it out. It's been on my list for months. Do you guys have parts available for me to put a SS like that together for sub 100$?

I've been scanning CL and kijiji for months now and haven't had much luck.

Anyway, thanks again everybody.

PCS - You have a good eye... my 1940 is a bit of a jalopy but will get less beater-ish over the winter.

We're on winter hours so are now only open Monday and Wednesday nights from 6-9 and Saturdays from 12-5... I will be there this Monday and Wednesday as I volunteer on a bi-weekly basis.