Hi all. I have been on a real excersize kick lately and just started researching bikes for crosstraining days. I jumped on craiglist to find me a good commutor for work (2.5mi) as well as take out on the weekends and do 20mi or so. I was amazed at the resellers on there wanting 2 and 300 dollars for a 30 year old bike?!? I am not sure what to do at this point.

Cheers and welcome to the Forums.

30 year old bikes fall into classic & vintage category. Why not look for newer rides? You could also try visiting your local bike stores, bike co-ops and such and see if they have used bikes for sale.

--J

Thanks Juha,

I started at my local shop and the cheepest bike is in the $600 range. So I ended up on CL to find something used.


Amazon has this Robot Check

It kinda cought my eye, but it would look like a Schwinn advertisment going down the road. Also not sure of their reputation. I am almost thinking of buying an old Cannondale or Trek, and feel like I invested better money.

Welcome to BF!

I know that sounds like a lot of money. Not exactly the same as the beloved bicycles we got under the Christmas tree. But the bicycles sold at the LBS (Local Bicycle Shops) are real adult sporting/commuter equipment that can service you well for many years (decades).

If you do pursue cycling for transportation and or sport/fitness you'll soon find yourself cycling along at pretty quick speeds. Staying upright and being able to stop at will.... become really important. A bicycle that fits your body correctly (the LBS will help you with that) and is and can be properly maintained (again the LBS) will become a huge assess. Don't cheap-out.

Yeah thx for the advise. Coming from the bottom feeder community, "cheeping out" is what I do. A little research, and a good mechanical background can save me hundreds of dollars.

In my area, a 1990 Schwinn LeTour is a pretty nice commute bike for $150 asking 1990 Schwinn Le Tour Road Bike In fact if I was looking for a short city commute bike I would buy it.

Really cheap I have seen basically new Pacific cycles on craigslist for $40. Not what I would buy, but they are cheap

edit - I would focus on late 1980 Japanese bikes for the best bank for the buck - $100 to $250 depending on condition - Centurion, Nishik, Miyata, Fugi, Shogun, Schwin, Univega. cromo frames, 700c aluminum rims/hubs, decent componatnts

I eat my words! I ended up by a Specialized Secteur from the LBS. The benifits of buying new, outwayed buying a 30yr old bike that may or may not be my size. Also, some of the used bikes I was finding were owned by resellers who threw parts on it collected from their garage, then flip the bikes for a premium.. I just didn't want to spend the time filtering price, fit, form, and hacked/function. The LBS became a huge asset

With that said.. I have gained a new interest in vintage/ classic bikes and plan to learn more about them. There is a swap meet close by on Aug 16th. And I plan to attend with a humble mind.

Congratulations. I am sure you will enjoy may years of good service from your new bicycle.

I ride new bikes.... but love the old classic and vintage bicycles. I like working on the old bikes in the off season. You can piece together a [bicycle] work stand... even just using ropes. And there isn't a lot of special tools required for bicycle wrenching. Repair books can be borrowed from the library and TONS of useful videos are on Youtube.

It can be very rewarding to bring back an old dirty unappreciated classic. And the repair skills learned will make owning and maintaining your bicycles easier and cheaper as well.

Thanks for the reply... I would be interested in seeing some pics of the makeshift work stand if you have them.. Or maybe I can find a thread here showing some details on building one?

Welcome.