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Please advise a roadbike newbie !

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Please advise a roadbike newbie !

Old 04-05-07, 07:48 PM
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Please advise a roadbike newbie !

Admittedly, I don't know much of anything about road bikes, or bikes in general for that matter I just know I enjoy bicycling. currently I ride a Raleigh mtb I've had since new for over 10 years, but I've been looking to get a decent used older road bike on the cheap for 25-100km of daily city riding. Someone offered to sell me a road bike they were given years ago and I was hoping someone could tell me if its worth the $175 CAD/$150 USD. It looks like a nice well maintained bike, but I know shiny paint doesn't always equate to a quality bike (unfortunately I lack the knowledge and discerning eye of some of you folks to tell the difference). So, with both me and the fellow with the bike both being fairly ignorant, is this worth the price? Heres all the info I've got:

Its a Steve Bauer, model is Scirocco I think
The frame is crmo sae 4130
Drivetrian is Shimano biopace exage motion
the rims are Araya 700G Japan and its still runnin the original Bauer tires..
he wants $175 CAD / $150 USD
Heres a picture..



So, let me know what you think.. I'm a cash strapped student looking for an efficient ride for a fairly hefty ammount of daily cycling and I don't want to end up with something I can't afford to regret! Is this a deal or a lemon?

Thanks for any advice!

-NC
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Old 04-05-07, 08:09 PM
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Had one of them. Steve Bauer was a great CDN cyclist but usually a bridesmaid to Greg Lemond. He got a silver in the Olympics behind Lemond I believe? and wore yellow for awhile on one of Greg's TDF victories. He came out with his own line of bikes but was never as successful as Lemond.

Nothing special. Your basic old steel bike with downtube shifters. If it's in good condition - frame good with no rust and good paint, it's a good student deal.
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Old 04-05-07, 08:13 PM
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If it fits and the frame is not rusted then I would buy it for $100-$150.
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Old 04-06-07, 09:05 PM
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The first question is whether the bike fits you well. If it doesn't fit you, don't buy it for any price. Bikes from that era vary from bikes that were used for a few months, hung up in the garage, and are now still in "like new" condition, to bikes where every bearing and cog is worn out.

Take the bike to a good bike shop and have them give you a written estimate for the cost of tuning the bike up, truing the wheels, and the cost of fixing any problems that they spot. Subtract that estimate from $150 or $175 and you have the "bottom line" value of the bike.
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Old 04-06-07, 09:22 PM
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+1 to what alanbikehouston just said. It's a given you'll need new tires/tubes to replace the stock rubber, so that will run you a minimum of $50.00. Looks like a solid student deal. Assuming it is the correct size, go for it!
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Old 04-06-07, 10:34 PM
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it's an iffy deal in my opinion. Could be a good deal if the bike is in primo condition for about $90-125 (US).

for me there are certain things about it that raise suspicion:

seat needs to be leveled

front wheel should be flipped with Q.R. on the non-freewheel side with the skewer closed towards the rear of the bike

handlebars need to be adjusted

placement of brake levers on bars seems slightly high to me from the photos

photo taken with bike in the crossover gear

a kickstand on a roadbike?


None of these things are in and of themselves major problems by any means but collectively they indicate a bike that may have been poorly assembled originally and/or owned by someone who wouldn't notice if the bottom bracket cups were loose, or the crank arms were loose or the wheel bearings were loose or kept the chain and other components properly lubricated. On the other hand if it needs no major repairs some simple adjustments and tuning could make for a very usable machine. I agree with those who suggest getting it checked out at a good LBS. In the meantime, look closely around all the lugs (where the tubes join one another) look for cracks in the paint or gaps between the tubing and the adjoining lugs.

when purchasing a used bike begin with the most essential/expensive components and work your way through

start with the frame-
is it a good quality frame in the first place?
is the frame damaged?
fork bent?

Then look at the wheels-
are they in true?

are the spokes rusted? loose? bearings loose?


Then the drive train-
looseness in the bottom bracket?

loose crank arms?

worn or bent chainrings?

rusted chain?

rusted cassette/freewheel?

derailleurs?

adjusted properly?

bent or twisted?

jockey wheels worn?

cables rusted, sticky, frayed?

then the brakes?

properly adjusted?

frayed, rusted or sticky cables?

worn brake blocks?

Last edited by buzzman; 04-06-07 at 10:40 PM.
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Old 04-07-07, 10:36 AM
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Thanks everyone for your replies! And buzzman, thats a nice checklist, thanks, I feel a little more confident now that I know at least what I should be looking at to make sure everything is in good running order.

A few more quick questions though..

How can I tell if the frame is too big for me, is it just the 1-2" below the crotch thing, or do I need to check how long that same bar is relative to my torso?

How do I do a quick check to see if the wheels are true?


Thanks again
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Old 04-07-07, 02:36 PM
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Originally Posted by nicecream
Thanks everyone for your replies! And buzzman, thats a nice checklist, thanks, I feel a little more confident now that I know at least what I should be looking at to make sure everything is in good running order.

A few more quick questions though..

How can I tell if the frame is too big for me, is it just the 1-2" below the crotch thing, or do I need to check how long that same bar is relative to my torso?

How do I do a quick check to see if the wheels are true?


Thanks again
You really need to have the bike looked at by a good bike shop. I've looked at 85ish bikes that looked to be in good condition. One went into the shop and needed only a tune-up and new tires. Under $100 to get it into A-1 shape. The other ended up needing about $300 worth of work...

When you stand flat-footed with your feet three feet apart, and your belt buckle just behind the stem, the top tube should be just below your crotch. If the top tube lightly brushes your crotch, that's okay, but if the top tube is pressing into your crotch, the bike is too tall.

Stand with your eyes directly above the brake pads and spin the wheels. The rims should move smoothly between the brake pads. If the wheels "wobble" from side to side as they spin, the wheels need truing. And, even the best wheels need truing from time to time.
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