A guy wants to sell me his 10 - 15 year old Trek 1500 for $250. He says the
derailleur needs adjusting and that it needs new tires. Other than that and
a general tune-up, he says the bike is in good shape. Cosmetically at
least, that appears to my untrained eye to be true.

Assuming he's being honest, does that sound like a good buy?

This is my first time posting to this group, so I hope the content of the
post is appropriate.

Thanks.

Andrew Short
Dallas, TX


I am not familiar with that particular bike. But I can make some general
comments as to it being a "good buy". A brand new shimano 105 equipped bike
can be had for around $1000. The old bike will be lacking some of the nicer
features. It will probably have down tube shifting rather than shifting up on
the brake hoods. And it will probably have 7 gears on the rear cog as opposed
to the 9 gears that are standard now.

When you have the mechanic look at the bike (that was good advice from the
previous poster), ask the mechanic if they carry parts for this thing like
chains, rear clusters or freewheels and so on and if not, can they get them
easily?

There really is nothing wrong with a 10-15 year old bike. And if you are cash
limited, you can get a very good ride for not so much cash. It will be missing
a few features but it will still be very rideable.

So if cash is no problem, there are better bikes available now. But if saving
some $ is important and you don't mind not having the lastest bells and
whistles, it is just fine. Your call.