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Advice on buying used road bike
Hello,
A friend and I have been taking longer and longer weekend rides on our hybrid and mountain bikes and have been contemplating buying used road bikes during the off-season. When is the best time of year and where should we be looking for used bikes? How old is old? Does quality fade off dramatically after 5 years or so? About what could one ask for ~$300? I know these are very general questions, but your advice and any suggestions are welcome. Thanks, Mike Moorhead |
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Advice on buying used road bike
"Michael S. Moorhead" wrote in
: Hello, A friend and I have been taking longer and longer weekend rides on our hybrid and mountain bikes and have been contemplating buying used road bikes during the off-season. When is the best time of year and where should we be looking for used bikes? I would say during the Fall / Winter. This is when most bike stores and racers are trying to unload last year's inventory. Try www.eBay.com or www.roadbikereview.com. Also rec.bicycles.marketplace You could also try the LBSs in your area and scope the classified ads in your local newspaper. How old is old? Does quality fade off dramatically after 5 years or so? Its not about age, but mileage. If its been sitting in a garage for 5 years, than the only thing old is the technology. If its been ridden 50+ miles a day for 5 years, odds are (unless very well cared for, worn out parts replaced, etc.) its *old*. About what could one ask for ~$300? That depends on how good of a bike wrench you are $300 won't get you much... unless you enjoy wrenching a lot. With road bikes, up until around $1200 you pretty much get what you pay for. I know these are very general questions, but your advice and any suggestions are welcome. Thanks, Mike Moorhead Your welcome, - Boyd S. |
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Advice on buying used road bike
On Tue, 5 Aug 2003 16:31:52 -0400, Michael S. Moorhead
wrote: When is the best time of year and where should we be looking for used bikes? At stores, end of season is coming up, or maybe here already. Better: people's garbage. I found a very good Peugeot that needed a little work and is now a rather nice road bike. Of course, you have to be not embarassed to pull a bicycle from somebody's garbage on garbage day, and it's hard to find one when you want one. When I wanted one, I could not find one for months. Since I've gotten it, I see them all the time [and salvage some]. How old is old? Does quality fade off dramatically after 5 years or so? Technology becomes obsolete. However, you can replace parts whose technology isn't to your liking easily enough. About what could one ask for ~$300? That should get a moderately nice used road bike, if you buy from the owner. I get the feeling that you won't find many used road bikes at LBSs. Consider, also, that you can get new low-end road bikes for about $500 at LBSs; and if you have a Dick's Sporting Goods near you, they have a Diamondback road bike that seems to be better quality than you'd expect from a seemingly department store bike, and it goes for about $300. Thanks, Mike Moorhead -- Rick Onanian |
#4
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Advice on buying used road bike
In article ,
Boyd Speerschneider wrote: How old is old? Does quality fade off dramatically after 5 years or so? Its not about age, but mileage. If its been sitting in a garage for 5 years, than the only thing old is the technology. This can be important. Not as new as 5 years, though. I have an old thing, and things like my 6 speed cogssets (not freewheel) are not easy to find. -- -- LITTLE KNOWN FACT: Did you know that 86% of North Americans cannot taste the difference between fried dog and fried cat? |
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Advice on buying used road bike
"Michael S. Moorhead" wrote in message
... A friend and I have been taking longer and longer weekend rides on our hybrid and mountain bikes and have been contemplating buying used road bikes during the off-season. When is the best time of year and where should we be looking for used bikes? Garage sale time is a pretty good time, if you are looking for something modest. There's a bunch of things to look for; Jon Isaacs has a writeup he will send on request giving a lot of tips about looking for a used bike (search up his e-mail address using Google on this newsgroup.) Beyond size, the main thing to look for is wheels. If they are steel, you will need to get the bike very cheaply, because you are probably going to want to replace those steel rims with aluminum alloy wheels, and that will be about $130+. That's not necessarily bad (because a bike with new wheels is a good thing), but something you should prepare for. Also, you should know that 27 inch wheels are an obsolete size; you can still get replacement parts, but there are no new ones made (700mm replaced it). How old is old? Does quality fade off dramatically after 5 years or so? Not really quality. The two road bikes I have were made in 1976 and 1980. HOWEVER, newer bikes will have better shifting (e.g. STI rather than those downtube friction shifters). If you grew up with friction shifters, these are OK, but if you really like the grip-shift type of shifting on modern hybrids and mountain bikes, you will find friction shifting an adjustment. About what could one ask for ~$300? You can certainly get a moderate original quality road bike you can put thousands of miles on, if you are patient. However, it may be wise to look for something in the ~$200 range, with the idea of spending ~$100 overhauling the bearings, replacing some of the rubber parts, and just generally getting it in tune. When I returned to riding a road bike, I bought one for $40 at a rummage sale -- then spent $40 on an upgraded saddle, and $140 for new wheels and $40 for one new tire and new tubes. So, the $40 bike cost $260 to get outfitted -- on the other hand I now have over 7000 miles on this bike. Some of the best garage sale values are bikes that have not been ridden in a decade or more, and the owner just wants the garage space back. However, 10 year old tires that have been sitting in a garage are not tires you will want, and bearings that haven't moved in 10 years will greatly benefit from cleaning and new grease. None of this contradicts what the other posters said; there was good advice there, also. |
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