Suncoastbiker

I'm trying to get back into a road bike fairly inexpensively, in the late 80's I had a Nishiki Landau Tri-A with full 105 on it I really loved that bike but I sold it to finance my venture into the mountain bike world, I'm still into mountain biking but have decided to get a road bike again and there seems to be some deals out there on the late 80's vintage road bikes, my budget is @$500.00 or less including shipping if I have to.The 2 bikes I'm looking at right now are a late 80's Specialized Epic Allez Carbon fibre with the Aluminum lugs and Shimano 600 groupo this bike would set me back @ $400.00-$450.00 including shipping, the other bike is a similar vintage Centurion Ironman Expert with full Suntour GPX groupo on it this bike is black with a couple of miami vice colored decals on it the guys asking $425.00 for it and it is local the specialized is in california. I'm concerned with the lugs coming unglued on the specialized and possible fatigue of the carbon fibre, but the groupo is decent I really don't know much about the Suntour GPX. Any advice guys????

gr23932

Don't know much about either one, but my friend has the same exact Specialized with a Shimano 600 group on it and he seems to like it. I on the other hand, felt it too be to fragile and it flexed way too much for me. Keep in mind though that I tend to ride an MX Leader or a Corsa 01 on longer competive rides.

cyclotoine

I think the concern about the carbon is legitimate, though many people on this forum ride them and love them. Personally, I would go for the ironman because you don't have to ship it and you can check it out before you buy it. The only issue might be if it has a cassette, you may end up having to replace the rear wheel with a shimano when it comes time (if it isn't already) to replace the chain and cassette or freewheel, but if it is a freewheel hub you are laughing. Someone on this forum might be able to chime in and tell us what kind of rear hub that bike would have come with.

wrk101

I bought the Giant version of that bike (the Specialized Epic) for $100 on C/L. That price sounds insanely high to me.

digitalbicycle

Both of those prices sound a bit high to me. If you are patient, you should be able to get a comparable bike for $100-$200 cheaper.

CardiacKid

I have no basis in fact for this, but the early model carbon bikes scare me.
I have a bike identical to the Centurion that you are looking at and I love it. It would be a great choice, but the seller is way overvaluing it. I don't think it is worth over $300 in good condition. I see them sell for under $300 in Austin every week.

Suncoastbiker

I'm thinking you guys might be right about the prices, bikes in Canada always seem to be too high at least on the west coast, I'm going to be at Disney land over spring break with my kids I'm thinking maybe I can score something decent in the LA area and drag it back on the airplane does anyone know what they charge to bring a bike on the plane? La CL seems to have some decent deals