Hey all,

I've been checking out some of the older road bikes on ebay. Some of them don't look too bad. There are a lot of bikes for under $200. I saw an old pre-GT Schwinn that looked pretty cool. Here's a link to another bike that looked good: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7157204808&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

What do you guys think of these older bikes? Anything I should look for? I've had my bike in the shop a couple of times or it's been outta commision while I was waiting on a part, ect.. It'd be nice to have something else to ride without breaking the bank.

A $200 bike with shipping and packing will be more like $300. With older technology, and possibly having to replace a few parts which can be hard to find, one might as well grab a 105 9speed bike for $700 (or even Tiagra for $400-500). Those Giant OCRs are pretty cheap, for example.

Collectibility aside, I would not consider getting a bike over 6-7 years old.

I agree with Elviento. It may be cheaper -but add in shipping costs, risk with not seeing what it's really like and if it's the right size, replacing parts, etc and you can't be too far off a cheap new bike that's also got cheaper upgrade potential (e.g.8/ 9 speed hub and shifters).

It's the kind of thing I'd definitely consider if it was in a yard sale and you could try it and not pay for shipping.... but not something I'd want to do on ebay.

Hey all,

I've been checking out some of the older road bikes on ebay. Some of them don't look too bad. There are a lot of bikes for under $200. I saw an old pre-GT Schwinn that looked pretty cool. Here's a link to another bike that looked good: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7157204808&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

What do you guys think of these older bikes? Anything I should look for? I've had my bike in the shop a couple of times or it's been outta commision while I was waiting on a part, ect.. It'd be nice to have something else to ride without breaking the bank.

I don't share the previous poster's aversion to older bikes--I have a couple that are 15-20 years old, and there's not THAT much difference in feel and enjoyment between them and my newer bikes, certainly not enough to justify paying eight to 10 times as much. But I'm sort of a friction-shift eight-speed retro guy, so that might not apply to you.
One problem with ebay is that it's really easy to get ripped off. I've had good experiences and bad, and fortunately the bad ones have been for small amounts. I'd look for something locally first, then if you decide to go with ebay, at least check out the seller's history. But for $200 or so, you really can't get hurt THAT bad, and there are some solid, usable bikes out there for that.

The sellers I looked at had high feedback ratings. One seller looked like he specialized in selling older bikes. Tons of pics and great descriptions - plus he had something like 8 to 10 bike for sale, and some of 'em sold for under $200 (including the Schwinn I mentioned). $300 is a far cry from $700 (for me anyway). Would a bike from this era with top end components be better than a cheap modern bike?

I'm a little unfamilair with the components and even some of the brands from this era though.

If its a bad idea then I won't mess with it - it just looked like there was some interesting stuff out there. Some of the bikes looked like they were hardly ridden. Plus I kind of like the idea of riding a steel frame - especially for cheap. :D

Apparently a guy looking for $200 bike is on a very tight budget and cannot afford to be ripped off more than a couple of times. A 15 year old bike that's well taken care of (tires, cassette, chain, etc.) can be fun to ride but how many 15 year bikes are like that?

I don't share the previous poster's aversion to older bikes--I have a couple that are 15-20 years old, and there's not THAT much difference in feel and enjoyment between them and my newer bikes, certainly not enough to justify paying eight to 10 times as much. But I'm sort of a friction-shift eight-speed retro guy, so that might not apply to you.
One problem with ebay is that it's really easy to get ripped off. I've had good experiences and bad, and fortunately the bad ones have been for small amounts. I'd look for something locally first, then if you decide to go with ebay, at least check out the seller's history. But for $200 or so, you really can't get hurt THAT bad, and there are some solid, usable bikes out there for that.

If a guy has 10 bkes for sale at any given moment, chances are he is just a used bike dealer and it's not likely these bikes are well taken care of. I would rather buy from the gentleman above (the friction shifting retro guy).

Feedback is so deceiving, because the good people do not leave negative feedback for fear of retaliation (I left a neg fdbk for a non-selling seller and it took me lots of time and $$$ to get rid of the retaliatory feedback he left for me).

"Would a bike from this era with top end components be better than a cheap modern bike?" Yeah sure, but if you are not familiar with components how can you tell it's not a CRAPPY old bike??? Don't forget the less common a bike is, the more knowledge it takes to figure out the true value.

Yep, I'm a cheap son-of-a-gun. :D Actually I have a bunch of expensive hobbies and I just need to make the most of my $$$ esp. for a "spare" bike. Then I'm tooling around ebay and was a little curious about some of these older bikes. Actually, what I'm seeing is not that they were well cared for, but that they were never ridden. Somone got the cycling bug when Greg Lemond was doing his thing, rode it a couple of times, then stuck it in a garage for 15 years.

I think it can be lots of fun. You can turn the older bikes into a towny/beater bike, or a stripped down fixed gear. If you can throw some cyclocross tires on it, it might be great for cruising down old dirt/fire roads. Or find a sweet old frame that rides like a cadillac and start restoring it with vintage campy. Tons of fun unique options. Go for it!

Jamis Dakar mtb for my son, Look fixie for me and Reynolds 531 Puch for my son. The total cost for the 3 bikes was $880 including shipping. The mtb required no work to put on the road. The Look needed only pedals and a $10. rear axle that I found was broken about a month after I got the bike. The Puch needed a front der, chain, pedals and a seat. I wouldn't hesitate to get another E-Bay bike so long as I stay out of competitive auctions and away from popular brands/models.

Umm,

I have bought 6 second hand bikes in the last year. Just about all of them were perfectly described by their sellers. 3 bikes and a frame came from ebay, didn't really have any issues or troubles. I still see it as a bit of a gamble, but I tend to only buy from people with a reasonable amount of feedback and with at least some bike bits in their ebay history....

I bought an old bike, mostly unridden, on ebay. I converted it to fixed gear. Bianchi celeste. got it on a whim, since it was cheap and local.

I really think the only way to make it worthwhile is to find one on ebay that is local to you so you can pick it up. Just keep looking, and when one comes up near you, email the seller asking if you can check it out/pick it up. If the seller says no, run away! It's junk/scam.

When I picked up mine, I was totally prepared to walk away if it was not as described. But it was fine and I paid cash. The seller actually brought it almost to my house. Easier than dealing with packing/shipping for him.

HOWEVER. I should have just gotten a new bike. While it was basically unridden, and I removed the shifter stuff, the BB of 20 years ago are unsealed and basically junk after a few wet rides. Same with the hubs/headset.

Want to spend $300? it might look good now, but after about 500-1000 miles it will be a POS in need of repairs. I wish I had just spent the 500-700 up front.

Look for a 700 bike that is a one or two years old in decent shape. Tiagra level. there are even some new no-name bikes on ebay that are probably a better bet.

A 15 year old bike that's well taken care of (tires, cassette, chain, etc.) can be fun to ride but how many 15 year bikes are like that?

I got two late '80s/early '90s Bianchis, an Eros and a Boardwalk, earlier this year, and they're great. I wish I could say the Eros was as cosmetically sound as it is mechanically, but I'm getting it spiffed up, slowly but surely. Yeah, it's got "only" seven cogs on the rear, but that's plenty. RX100/RSX components that do exactly what they're supposed to. Very comfortable ride, very much an "all day" kind of bike. The Boardwalk was virtually flawless, although the Suntour drivetrain needed a tweak or two--replaced the gawdawful push-push AccuShift setup with a delightful pair of XC Expert thumbies, and I'm temporarily running an XT rear while I figure out why the Suntour mech's cage binds if I shift to an (admittedly) bad gear combo. Yeah, yeah, I know--it's a (gasp!) hybrid, but it's great-looking and it's perfect for those beach bike path rambles with some friends and their kids. I think the two together were about $400, and I don't regret either purchase.

Well, if you really have a low budget and it does not sound like you will be riding it all that much, your neighboring Wal Mart should have'em for $79 a piece brand new.

Yep, I'm a cheap son-of-a-gun. :D Actually I have a bunch of expensive hobbies and I just need to make the most of my $$$ esp. for a "spare" bike. Then I'm tooling around ebay and was a little curious about some of these older bikes. Actually, what I'm seeing is not that they were well cared for, but that they were never ridden. Somone got the cycling bug when Greg Lemond was doing his thing, rode it a couple of times, then stuck it in a garage for 15 years.

I lucked out last year when I found an almost unridden Trek with a Reynolds 531 frame & Campy Gran Sport group in a thrift store for $22. Check the Retro and Fixed gear forum archives, though, & you'll find quite a few posters proudly showing off their bikes from eBay, thrift stores, etc, but all many of them have is an entry-level "10 speed" from a well known maker that sold for maybe $150 new in 1978.

By the time they pay for shipping and "professional packaging" they've often got more invested in a 30 pound P.O.S. than the thing cost new.

Check for used bikes in LBSs, yard sales or look in the classified ads in local club newsletters. If you don't know older bikes, take a friend with you who does. You may not find a $75 Gios Pro like the one currently in the Retro forum, but there are a lot of good older bikes out there selling pretty cheap.

Check out http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/about/cities.html and look for the local
bikes for sale.



Hey all,

I've been checking out some of the older road bikes on ebay. Some of them don't look too bad. There are a lot of bikes for under $200. I saw an old pre-GT Schwinn that looked pretty cool. Here's a link to another bike that looked good: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7157204808&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

What do you guys think of these older bikes? Anything I should look for? I've had my bike in the shop a couple of times or it's been outta commision while I was waiting on a part, ect.. It'd be nice to have something else to ride without breaking the bank.

I just re-read my first post, and realized it could look like I'm looking to replace my current bike. That's not the case. My current bike is a good bike that was fairly expensive to put together. I'm just looking for something in addition to my current ride. I won't be riding it all the time - just when my current bike is out of action for whatever reason, and maybe every once in a while as a change of pace. Most of my mileage will be on my current setup.

I have to admit, I also somewhat like the idea of just "going retro". ;)

I lucked into a 90's Raleigh with indexed downtube shifting that was in like new condition (purchased locally). I had gone from straight friction shifting to STI and this filled a gap for me. I have a bike from every decade 70's forward now and I enjoy riding all of them.

Del McCoury fan, by any chance?

unless you're are looking for something specific or know what you're looking for ebay can be a gamble. i've bought a number of bikes off ebay with no problems. even one coming from germany, packing was weak but it made it fine.

if they have older components, it's good to know where they fell in the line-up. and like many, some things pop up on ebay with the seller wanting lots more then the worth of what they are selling. if you are looking for something as a back-up check your local craigslist, local cycling clubs often times have stuff for sale by their members, yardsales, thriftstores, heck one of the best finds i've ever had was at the dump! lugged, early 80's DA/600 arabesque gruppo, $5.