The cheapest good bike you ever bought...

[stevenaleach]

Cheap bikes, the saga continues.

Have just purchased, much to my wife's disaproval, a 1970's Raleigh lugged road bike frame (reynolds 410??!! Anyone ever hear of 410 before?) off eBay for $20 for a fixed gear buildup. 700c rim with a flip-flop hub for $65.

 

[nomad]

Got my first racer in 1982, a one year old Peugeot for about 200USD. This was less than half the price it cost when it was new. The guy who owned it said he couldn't keep up with his mates in the cycling club so he'd decided to buy a skateboard instead.... In total, the bike had done less than 50km when I bought it!

I still own it and take it for a spin once in a while.

 

[Twisted C@t]

I got a nice bike from a rich neighborhood. I was out there for a service call and the husband was going to throw his old bike in the dumpster. It is a Cannondale with a Killer-V frame and road tires. I got it for free and am still riding it!

 

[cmitch46]

My first decent bike was a Fuji S12-S I bought new back in '81 when I first got into cycling. As I recall, it sold for 386 dollars and some odd cents brand new. I kept it for 4 years and those are still my fondest cycling memories (my first group rides, my first century etc.)
The Fuji had a steel lugged frame, and if price is an issue, steel is still the way to go. Forget about all the high tech frame materials.
In the final analysis, a good steel frame bike will be cheaper and better along all the parameters that are likely to matter to you.