choose between used Trek, Miyata, Releigh, or Shwinn bikes

[driedupfish]

Here is a list of used bike that I am interested in. I need the bike mostly for commuting and maybe cardio exercise.

I am 5' 7''
Classic Schwinn
Trek aluminium 55cm
Schwinn World Sport - Excellent Condition
Raleigh Olympian
Miyata
Raleigh Sprite cruiser - women's (or men's)
Suburban -- Schwinn
Varsity -- Schwinn



Here is the entire craiglist.
chambana all for sale / wanted classifieds "Bike" - craigslist

I am leaning more towards the Raleigh Sprite, what do you guys think? Also, how are these bikes compare to the Schwinn prelude? [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-Prelude-Mens-Road-Wheels/dp/B000KZ1GHQ]Amazon.com: Schwinn Prelude Men's Road Bike (700c Wheels): Sports & Outdoors[/ame]

Thanks

 

[jhuskey]

Without going through the whole list of bikes I can pretty much guess that a 55cm is too large a frame. Always go for the fit first.

 

[cyberlegend1994]

AT 5-7 you're probably looking at around a 51 cm frame, maybe a bit more or less depending on your inseam. I'm 5-9 and ride a 54.

 

[driedupfish]

I've been told the Miyata is the better one out of the bunch. What do you guys think?

 

[jhuskey]

It seems like a reasonable bike and I think the size is probably ok for you.Probably a good entry level bike and it all depends on what kind of riding you are going to do and how far you want to take your cyling.

 

[driedupfish]

It seems like a reasonable bike and I think the size is probably ok for you.Probably a good entry level bike and it all depends on what kind of riding you are going to do and how far you want to take your cyling.

I am using the bike mostly for commuting and maybe a bit for cardio exercise.

 

[jhuskey]

I would say this bike will be fine, however if you get the bug bad you are gonna upgrade.

 

[alfeng]

I am using the bike mostly for commuting and maybe a bit for cardio exercise.

This

1976 Gitane Grand Sport Deluxe & other bikes with a frame this size are what you should probably be looking for. BUT, not necessarily that particular bike because it has a French threaded BB & headset (nothing inherently wrong with that, I suppose, but replacements or upgrades become more difficult).

BTW. The MIYATA you posted the link for is an old MTB with 26" wheels (again, nothing wrong with that) ... nice bike, but ...

You need to expand your search to include eBay because BAKERBIKES is charging a premium ... by about a factor of TWO ... it may be warranted, but I think you can do better.

 

[driedupfish]

In that craig'slisting for the Miyata bike it stated that the bike is totally refurbished, with New Brakes/ New tires and tubes/ New cables and housing. Doesn't that mean it no longer has the origin parts? They could have refurbished it with much cheaper parts, so how would I know that this is a good deal?
Sorry if this sound stupid, I know very little about bikes.

 

[jhuskey]

In that craig'slisting for the Miyata bike it stated that the bike is totally refurbished, with New Brakes/ New tires and tubes/ New cables and housing. Doesn't that mean it no longer has the origin parts? They could have refurbished it with much cheaper parts, so how would I know that this is a good deal?
Sorry if this sound stupid, I know very little about bikes.

Anything bought on line is a risk. It is good to educate yourself the best you can before buying anything and in that way you know more of what your want and need.Most Ebayers will list pretty concise detals of bike components and will answer questions. I don't think you can get this on Craigslist.
I personally wouldn't consider any components lower end than Shimano 105 but everyone differs.

 

[driedupfish]

Anything bought on line is a risk. It is good to educate yourself the best you can before buying anything and in that way you know more of what your want and need.Most Ebayers will list pretty concise detals of bike components and will answer questions. I don't think you can get this on Craigslist.
I personally wouldn't consider any components lower end than Shimano 105 but everyone differs.

you mean the original Miyata uses Shimano 105?

 

[alfeng]

In that craig'slisting for the Miyata bike it stated that the bike is totally refurbished, with New Brakes/ New tires and tubes/ New cables and housing. Doesn't that mean it no longer has the origin parts? They could have refurbished it with much cheaper parts, so how would I know that this is a good deal?
Sorry if this sound stupid, I know very little about bikes.

Let me say this again. The particular MIYATA is a MTB with 26" wheels. Now, there is certainly nothing wrong with that ...

I reckon almost half (maybe, more) of the people who read this Forum can cobble together as-good-or-better a bike for $200 which they would be willing to sell you. New tires/tubes + new brake pads + new cables & new housing aren't worth $95.

BTW. To answer your question about '105' components, it is unlikely that the particular bike has any Shimano 105 components.

 

[alfeng]

In that craig'slisting for the Miyata bike it stated that the bike is totally refurbished, with New Brakes/ New tires and tubes/ New cables and housing. Doesn't that mean it no longer has the origin parts? They could have refurbished it with much cheaper parts, so how would I know that this is a good deal?
Sorry if this sound stupid, I know very little about bikes.

Okay, no matter how nice that Miyata may-or-may-not have been OR be, I reckon that the odds are very high that you do NOT need a multi-gear bike to ride around the Urbana area (it's generally flat, right?) unless you are riding up a parking garage ramp ...

IMO, and I am very serious, if you are still giving ANY consideration to that Miyata or any other bike with 26" wheels, then I think that you should take advantage of your current height and seriously consider going to WalMart and buying one of the PeeWee Herman type beach cruisers -- your cost will be between $80-to-$100. That is the bike which I would buy for riding around campus UNLESS I was actually getting a Road bike for riding along county roads (like the Gitane I pointed out which will be a nice riding bike, but that particular bike is over-priced unless it is in MINT condition). I think that it would probably be difficult for a rider who is more than a couple of inches taller than you to use a beach cruiser frame as the foundation for a "Road" bike, BTW, otherwise it would probably be a good foundation for most campus bikes.

I believe that the Wally World beach cruiser has an English BB, and that is the only thing that matters for if-or-when you want to change anything (e.g., a bigger chainring + new chain).

Personally, I would buy the beach cruiser and then I would probably try to figure out what all-around gearing I needed for riding along the county roads (for your cardio exercise) + through campus/wherever and then add Drop bars to the beach cruiser frame.

The object is to have a bike that is good to ride (for you) but which no one will be likely to steal (which is one reason why you want to make it distinctive by installing Drop bars on the bike).

Even though it won't be a high value bike, I recommend that you would want to buy a good lock if you are going to leave the bike around campus.

 

[jhuskey]

you mean the original Miyata uses Shimano 105?

No, that's just the lowest quality I would want to purchase personally.