i am new to road biking and just bought my first road bike

[Kyle Cook]

after someone stole my mongoose diverge out of my girlfriends garage i was encouraged to go out and buy another bike. i decided i wanted to try something new so i searched craigslist for used road bikes that would be good for me to start on. i came across a 1985 trek 470 black with red lettering. the bike has rust patches on the frame in various places but overall the frame looks solid. it came equipped with 700X23 tires and has a cateye vectra computer. all the gears shift great and it also has a this scott armrest thing which allows you to bring your arms in tighter than the normal grips allow. the guy i bought it from was asking $120 for it but i talked it down and snagged it for $80. I think i will get used to riding it and will upgrade next to a vintage cannondale maybe. one question though. the frames paint looks a little tired. should i respray the entire frame. i don't know how expensive that would be. plus don't know if that would ruin the resale value if i ever wanted to sell it.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

At $80 it really doesn't have much re-sale value to lose. I wouldn't be concerned with what you doing to a bike that isn't a collectible classic.

Bead blasting/sand blasting/cob blasting is the quick and easy way to remove the old paint and rust. Cheaper and more of a mess is to just use paint stripper and/or sandpaper. Figure $20-30 to blast the frame and maybe $5-10 to zip-strip it?

You could do a respectable rattle-can job for $10. Jobbing it out to a pro painter and using automotive paint/base coat/clear coat might run you more than what you paid for the bike.

If you are interested in a re-decal...that's where thing get a bit pricey. A local custom guy can replicate your existing decals, for the most part, out of vinyl, using a CNC laser cutting machine. Prices have dropped on custom decals, but you'll have to check local pricing out. I don't know if Trek can supply period correct decals, but it would be worth an email to find out. Your tubing type decal will be the most difficult to replace. Then, again, you may be just interested in putting a shine on things and not so much worried about the decals.

Good luck!