Sticking with your word was the right thing to do. However bikes are always coming up on Craigs so next time wait for a better picture. The humidity here in Raleigh can really tear up any bike left outside or in a crawl space. If you are not a restorer and don't need the parts just put it back on Craigs, (with an accurate description). It should fetch $40-$50 for parts. If it is just the stuck seatpost holding you up I can get about 95% of them out. Just let me know.

You're going to get your C&V card pulled for not being able to resurrect that bike! Looks like a good score to me!

if the seller misrepresented the item then personally i don't think there is anything wrong with saying that you won't buy it.. hell, even if they didn't misrepresent the item, there's nothing wrong with deciding that you don't want to buy. obviously don't go around wasting people's time, but if I show up and realize the item is not worth the $, I'm not giving up the cash..

I have no problem of these bikes and it doesn't look too bad to me. Many bikes that I scored on CL were in similar or maybe a bit better shape . I usually tear it down, clean different components at a time, wax/buff/elbow grease whatever you want, repack the BB and/or headset, put them back together. You will end up with a very nice, working machine. I am not sure about others, but I enjoy to bring a bad shaped bike back to life. If you have no spare time at all then flip it for $20. Good luck

I can't believe your setpost came out to be honest. Geeze.

Dam man, I am sick of you!! That is exactly what I thought I was getting. Wouldn't mind a little messed up.. But dam...

Anyway, your bike is the chit!!

Hope I can get this one there...

I learned my lesson.. And I think I got off pretty cheap... Even the feedback and info I got on this bike has been worth more than the $70..
Won't happened again...

Good Point, and I was acting like a real C&Ver too with my long sig,and few bikes...

You are right on with that one.. Thanks

Thanks for the compliment on my Grand Prix. You dig into yours yet?

great perspective and yeah i looked closer and you got an ok price.. nothing to be excited about but if you use it to learn how to wrench on, even if you just tear it down and sell the parts you should break even

the first couple bikes i worked on were junkers that i didn't have to worry about messing up.. bought the first one for $50 with a broken chain.. didn't realize at the time it was a total POS.. 1970s xmart bike boom level .. the rear cogs were made from one solid piece of steel, and the middle cogs were all crooked, rear wheel was all loose and shaky, same with the 1 piece cottered crank/bottom bracket. steel 27 rims.. i learned how to fix the back hub and used some pliers to fix the chain and sold it for $60. learned a lot and still made $10. but i did some have tools on hand already.. nothing bike specific but some adjustable wrenches, set of metric allen keys and metric socket wrenches will allow you to do most things on a bike besides remove the drive train elements


edit: also, this is a little funny.. have two tabs open in my firefox:

Took 2 weeks of soaking and I about flipped the work bench my vice is attached too a couple of times.

I'll give this thread ten minutes before someone from SS/FG posts a Ganon joke here.

I'm more surprised that the ears didn't disintegrate; there is a frightening amount of corrosion on them.

-Kurt

Update?

Yeah, you really didn't get burned that badly. I mean, think of the guys who pay top dollar to buy a Gios or some other classic, to find out later it's a forgery.

And there are lots of things you could do with the bike or the parts. And since you're going to wrench, you can make all the mistakes you like, because if you wreck this wreck, what will you have on your hands? A wreck! And if you don't wreck it, it will be a nice, working bike. So you have the perfect place to start.

And I don't think it looks that bad. I've seen much worse.

I sold that line of bikes back in the day. I don't remember the line all that well. Did this model really come with 531 tubing? That's the thing that I'm slightly suspicious of.

Yes, they were Reynolds 531. Go check out Kurt's site and look at the '86 catalog scans.

No, I take your word for it. Thanks for the clarification. So that reinforces my feeling that Howard (is that his name?) didn't really get burned. He just paid a bit more than we'd advise, but it's not a total loss at all.

Nope. His deal really isn't so bad.

Nope, I am a mini-vaction (5 days), with the Raleigh Prestige,Raleigh Competition and the wifee.. Soon as I get back, going to get into it..

You are right about that. If I get thing thing going, it is going to be a winner..

Me too. It's really just a flesh wound.

I'd a paid $75 for it no problem. . .

Ha!

I don't think that's such a bad deal. The frame looks like it'll be quite a bit of work but all in all I bet it'll clean up nicely.

Just be glad that the handlebar wrap wasn't cloth. This past Saturday I worked on an old 80s era Raleigh that is owned by a hardcore rider who uses the bike as his main mode of transportation and seems to be perpetually bathed in his own sweat. There was rust and corrosion aplenty all over the bike but the worst of it was the old fraying cloth handlebar wrap that reminded me of mummy wrap I'd seen pictures of in National Geographic and smelled like the part of underwear that usually gets lodged in the crack. I considered calling a hazmat team. The worst part is that he must not feel that replacing the wrap was necessary since it wasn't on the work order.

the 105 brake calipers go for 25-30 on ebay regularly. levers about the same.

but cehoward, you should def take your first swing at restoration. as long as you have the patience for it bc you certainly have the enthusiasm for cv bikes

Weird, that bike with a wheel set like those are sitting in a store front here in Portsmouth, NH for $600.