Buying a bike off craigslist, advice?

Hey!

So I'm new to the forum. I've been a mountain biker, and have done a few MS150s before, but I've never had a road bike. I'm thinking about getting back into cycling, but this time on the road. But I wanted to get an entry level/cheap bike for the first couple months at least to see how things go.

Here's the bike I'm looking at:
Blue Schwinn Roadbike

I think for $80 it's really good for me (a college student). But my main concern is with the sizing. I asked the lady to measure it, and she said it was 57cm. I don't know if she followed my directions exactly, but I don't think it's that hard to mess it up. I'm just a smidgen over 6foot.

So my overall question is whether you think that's a good bike, and whether you think that's a decent fit for someone my size.

It's kind of a far drive away from me, so I don't really feel like driving out there if I shouldn't even be looking at it.

Thanks!

$50 is too much for that bike.

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+1. I agree. You will be lucky if you can find one replacement part for it.

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FWIW. By my reckoning that frame is in the 62+ cm range ...

You might be able to ride it with the seat a little above where it is in the pic, but probably not too far above where it is!

Is it the right size? If this were 1915, that would probably be considered the right size ... OR, if you think you're going to grow another 3+ inches ...

OR, if you want to be fairly certain that no one on campus will steal it (because of its size) ...

Otherwise, it's probably not the right size frame for you to consider buying.

The bike would probably be great if you were 6'4" or taller AND eventually planning to use it as a platform for newer components ...

It is, however, a bike you should probably pass up in favor of a yet unfound used bike that isn't quite as large.

I really appreciate the advice guys. Kinda dissappointed since it means I've gotta keep looking, but whatever. I'll find one.

By the way, as a 6' person, what size should I be looking for? Ideally I'd like to ride it ahead of time, but if I found one on ebay or in some classifieds somewhere, what should I be looking for in terms of size? And what's the maximum age of a bike I should look at?

Thanks!

As far as frame size goes, your inseam is a little more important than your height. Too large of a frame will not only make you have to stretch to reach the bars, you might not also have the stand-over height you need - top bar clearance. You should be able to have some clearance between yourself and the top bar when straddling the frame flat-footed.

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IMO, you would probably want to look for bike whose real-or-virtual top tube is in the 57cm-to-58cm range ... hopefully, a seat tube in the 56cm-to-58cm (c-c) range (if it has a horizontal top tube) should work for you.

Age of the bike isn't as much of a factor as is condition ... if it looks like it was ridden-hard-and-put-away-wet then don't buy it UNLESS you plan to do a lot of maintenance and/or 'upgrading' of parts in the near future.

What do you guys think about this bike: Custom 58cm Vintage CANNONDALE Touring Road Bike, 7 x 3 - eBay (item 110422525732 end time Aug-16-09 19:30:00 PDT)

Still early on in the auction, so it'll probably go up a good bit. Considering the $70 shipping price, what should be a maximum I should go for on the bike?

There's also this Trek which looks a little more worn, but like it may still be a good starter: Trek - eBay (item 160353950524 end time Aug-12-09 17:30:54 PDT)

I don't know, ya'll are the experts and I'm just here to learn from your wisdom.

Thanks again!

The CANNONDALE is nice, but between the two, I would opt for the TREK!?!

Particularly, if you are in SoCal & you will be able to pick up the TREK rather than having it shipped.

So, despite it's appearance, if I were your height & looking for a bike-or-frame, I would consider bidding up to $200+ on the TREK ... maybe, more ... maybe, not.

Mainly, the Trek has a fairly nice steel frame which you probably can use forever if you choose to ...

... If you're motivated, then in the future, the TREK will be fairly easy to update with the latest-and-greatest components -- all you will need to do is to have the rear stays respaced to 130mm & have the dropouts realigned (this can be a DIY project ... respacing is done with ONLY your upper body strength ... pull on the two dropouts, simultaneously, with whatever you estimate to be 30lbs of force ... measure ... repeat until the spacing is 130mm ... realigning the dropouts & derailleur hanger can be done with a couple of pieces of scrap plywood + a pipe wrench ... less force is better ... tweak & assess, repeat).

The IDEALE saddle is in rough condition, but useable. Nonetheless, you can probably sell it on eBay for between $30+ to $50 (maybe, more!) if you decide to use a different saddle.

BTW. I'm under the impression that BOTH bikes have 27" wheels ... not the ideal in the grand scheme of things, but not a bad thing, either. You should ask the guy who is selling the TREK what the wheel-and-tire size is. There are definite pluses to both frames if they can accommodate 27" wheels because it means you can use almost any size 700c wheel-and-tire combination in the future (different brake calipers may be necessary).

IMO, a double-butted Ishiwata CroMo frame in good condition is worth $100, minimum ... maybe, $150-or-more!?!

Interesting. I was expecting to get the endorsement for the aluminum frame since it appears everyone is scared of a few extra pounds these days.

I'll put down a bid on the Trek, although probably not $200. Cannondale is a couple days later, so I'll try that next.

BTW, can you explain the 27" wheels thing a little more. You said they aren't ideal, but then you said it's a plus if they accomodate them. Just a little confused.

Also, would it be better to spend $250ish on one of these older bikes, or spend just a little more on a entry level new bike from bikes direct like this one: Road Bikes - 2009 Windsor Wellington1

Heard mixed reviews on bikesdirect and their bikes, so not sure what to think about that.

Thanks again!

I think if either of the two above auctions don't workout, I might just start snooping around the local bike stores to see if they have any trade-in type deals or something, because there are couple things that I really think I should try out before buying, and bikes is probably one of them.

There are fewer tire choices for 27" wheels ... but, they are certainly readily available ...

A 27x1.25 tire is the equivalent of a 700x32 in circumference, or vice-versa ... that's actually a good thing for a larger rider, IMO, because the wheel is better scaled to the bike and the while there isn't the same volume of air as in a 700x32 tire, the ride will probably be just a little smoother over rough pavement because the volume of the cross section of the tire is greater than the typical 700c tire AND the 'angle of attack' (to use the MTB phrasing) is shallower over bumps (which includes the exit side of a shallow pothole).

The downside is that a 27" wheel is just porky when compared to a 700c wheel. In part, most vintage 27" wheels use Freewheels, and if you were to strap three Freewheels together then you could use the cobbled-together assembly for a small boat anchor. The rims could always be laced to a 'new' hubset which has a freehub & uses a cassette.

Even a 27" FRONT wheel-and-tire will probably seem to weigh considerably more than a 700c FRONT wheel-and-tire combination with a 700x32 tire (maybe, THAT's an illusion).

A vintage road frame which can accommodate a 27" wheel-and-tire should have space for up to a 700x42 tire without any problems (if that is the tire size someone was inclined to use); so, there is a great amount of potential versatility.

IMO, FWIW, you are absolutely NOT better off spending $299 + shipping for the Windsor Wellington. THAT doesn't mean there isn't a market for bikes like the Windsor ...

BIKESDIRECT has some good deals, but you'll probably need to spend 2x that much before you actually find one.

BOTH the Cannondale & Windsor would be ready-to-ride when you get them, but upgrading in the future (which may never be a consideration) would be much more tedious/difficult.

The TREK may just needs some new handlebar tape & some very minor maintenance sooner-than-later.

BOTH the TREK & the Cannondale would be a vastly superior choice to the Windsor.

$200 isn't too much to pay for the particular TREK & if I were looking for a 56cm bike-or-frame, I really wouldn't hesitate to buy the bike -- if you buy the bike, you may want to buy a longer stem in the future, but maybe not ...

New handlebar tape is a something you'll probably need at some point in the future ...

From the pics, the condition is actually VERY GOOD & it does not look as though the bike has seen too many miles ...

Let me just say that whoever buys the TREK (now, or later) will be getting a great frame-and-fork.

The Cannondale will probably sell for more than $300 ... possibly $400+.

If I lived in SoCal & was looking for a bike to ride then I would probably have already bought that particular TREK using the Buy-It-Now even though it is a little larger than the frame size I currently prefer to ride ... if I were your height, then I would have already bought the bike using the Buy-It-Now ... the frame is that good, IMO.

Well, I threw down a few bids, it appears someone already set a pretty high mark. I'll see how much the price changes over the course of the next few hours before the auction closes and decide if I want to go higher. $260 plus $50 shipping to Texas is a bit much for me at the moment, considering I already have pretty decent bike (even though it's mountain bike).

I've learned a lot from this thread/forum so far. Thanks!

So, I didn't get the other trek. I went up to 180, someone else bid above me, but the reserve still wasn't met.

Came across another Trek with only 4 hours left in the auction. Not sure how I missed it earlier, but geometry appears to be a decently good fit for me. TREK 460 Series Road Bike 58cm - True Vintage cycle! - eBay (item 200370360985 end time Aug-14-09 18:20:10 PDT)

Both appear to be steel frames. Kinda not sure what to think about the SunTour components on the 460 Series bike above. What do you think?

Also, any opinion on this bike? : Vintage 1982 Trek 613 Racing/Road Bike - eBay (item 290338502910 end time Aug-16-09 14:28:30 PDT)

Thanks!


And sorry if it seems like I'm not really contributing much to the forums yet.