Kooky12

Everyone in my family has a bike... But me, so I have been looking on Craigslist for a decent used name brand bike. I rode my nephews trek last summer and loved it. I am just a recreational rider, we camp a lot and use our bikes on trails dirt and paved.
Saw this bike on Craigslist but don't know if its a good deal??
https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/3878971120.html
Any thoughts help or advice would be appreciated!
Thx!!

BruceHankins

The antelope is a good bike. I had an old 820 antelope that was I switched between flat bar and drops until the frame got to be in rough shape. Test ride it, make sure it fits and the cables have no corrosion. I would say $200 is a fair price, but at the top end. You may be able to find something cheaper. Have you looked at specialized or giant? If you find something decent but older figure one about $125-$175 for a tune/lube at the LBS unless you/family can do the work.

rekmeyata

$200 for that Trek seems way high to me, it's not remotely a vintage bike, it may be worth $100 at best depending on condition.

VegasTriker

There's a big problem for CL sellers these days in that it is VERY easy to do research on a particular bike and weed through any hype they may write. I think the problem for this seller is that they made the mistake of paying a bike shop to restore the bike before selling it. DIY is OK but labor costs at a bike shop make doing this nonsensical.

Check out these two sites: https://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...0#.UcdGwNiTt30 and https://www.mtbr.com/cat/older-catego...501_91crx.aspx

According to these sites, the bike you are looking at is between 10 and 20 years old. Nothing wrong with that. I buy and restore lots of 15-20 year old good quality bikes for the Scouts in my Troop. Buying a 10+ year old bike at 2/3 of what other people bought them for new a decade ago is not smart. According to Bikepedia, the later versions of this bike had an MSRP of $395 which means that many people paid less than that for it if they bargained with the bike shop.

The components are OK but nothing to write home about. The sub 30 pound weight is nice but I bet you could find a lighter bike with better components for $200 in the used bike market if you take your time. A couple weeks ago I called on a 20 year old Balance 450 MTB listed in our local CL for $130. Unfortunately it was already sold. It dates to 1993 and originally sold for around $1,400. It has high end Shimano components. I know because I have owned the same model bike for more than a decade.

BruceHankins

All I know is trek makes a quality product and that's a good price for around here. Varsity's are going for $150-$200, so a quality frame like that is a good find @ $200 to keep and ride, not flip.

nfmisso

Here are a few in Portland area worth checking out: https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/bik/3880335492.html https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/bik/3894864116.html https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/3899204374.html https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/bik/3899087545.html https://portland.craigslist.org/grg/bik/3898928910.html