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Old brands to look for on the cheap?

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ProjectRider

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Kind of an odd question but it was suggested on another portion of the forum to look for an old used bike. I do not have much of a budget at this time, and I tried to borrow a friends Pacific brand bike but it is one pothole from falling apart on me. My budget is roughly $200 +/- but the cheaper the better. I know that is a super tight budget but that's why I'm asking this.

What are some good brands to look for used from the 80's or 90's, maybe even early 00's? Doesn't have to be pretty, just needs to be solid and being 'upgradeable' or atleast easy-ish to find parts for would be a huge plus. I will measure myself to make sure the bike fits me when I find one.

Thanks for any suggestions for this newbie :p
 
#2 ·
Craigslist or tag sales would be your best bet.

I'd stick with the major brands from the era. Trek, Specialized, Giant, Cannondale.


What size are you? I've got an old aluminum 51cm Trek with downtube shifter's that would fit in your budget.
 
#3 ·
Nishiki, Bridgestone, Miyata, Panasonic, Univega, Centuriun and all the big brands that are still around. The brands I listed were mostly Japanese production, and really nicely made lugged bikes or aluminum.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
9.8m/s/s said:
Craigslist or tag sales would be your best bet.

I'd stick with the major brands from the era. Trek, Specialized, Giant, Cannondale.


What size are you? I've got an old aluminum 51cm Trek with downtube shifter's that would fit in your budget.
Click to expand...
I am a hair under 6'1", so I believe the frame size I need in CM is 50 - 54 CM or so.

rx-79g said:
Nishiki, Bridgestone, Miyata, Panasonic, Univega, Centuriun and all the big brands that are still around. The brands I listed were mostly Japanese production, and really nicely made lugged bikes or aluminum.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I'll see if I can turn anything up on local Craigslist.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
RJohn said:
Don't overlook the old Schwinn Columbus Tenax steel tubed bikes. At 6'1", a 58 would be a better choice I think.
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Found one Columbus and one Tempo, both with 105's slapped everywhere you can on them apparently. Both claim to be of pre-crap Schwinn era and so forth. Tempo and Columbus the same/similar? Columbus is a 62CM and the Tempo is a 57CM.

In my area the easiest to find is Nishiki, Miyata and Centuriun. These come within my price range. Should I be looking for a certain set of componenets from that era that are bullet-proof on these bikes? I did find the 105's on the Schwinn, I'm assuming 105's from any time are a good bet?

By the way, thanks for the help everybody, it's helping this roadbike newb out a ton :)
 
Discussion starter · #9 · (Edited)
So here's a question...found a local 10-speed Schwinn on Craigslist for $35, needs new tires and tubes. I am waiting to hear back from the seller on frame size and other info, but it is listed as a mid 80's bike so I'm assuming it's a decent frame? I'm also wondering if I can put more modern hardware on? While liveable, I wouldn't mind being spoiled by handlebar shifters...

EDIT: Also, is a frame limited a certain size cassette?

EDIT#2:
Image


Maybe a Schwinn Le Tour?
 
#10 ·
Schwinns are pretty variable. That one looks like it has stem-mounted shifters, a chainring guard, and sissy bars on the brakes - none of those are good signs. 10-speed is also going to have a fairly annoying upgrade path to modern components.

I think indexed downtube shifters are pretty nice. It would also be nice to have 700C wheels, 130mm dropout spacing, and at least an 8-speed cassette. However, that stuff's not necessarily going to overlap with the nice older Japanese bikes, many of which are a little bit older and more likely to be 12-speeds (2x6 drivetrain.)

My utility bike is a mid-80s Raleigh 12-speed. It's been relatively easy to maintain, and with a change of brake I have a 700C rear wheel now; I'll replace the front wheel with a 700C too when it comes up. There are some pretty nice bikes out there, but the less stuff you have to strip off or replace, the better.

Make some calls around your area and see if there are shops specializing in used bikes near you. It can save you a lot of time, give you the opportunity to test ride a few sizes, and reputable shops will likely offer a 30-day guarantee or something similar, although I imagine that depends where you are.
 
#11 ·
rx-79g said:
Nishiki, Bridgestone, Miyata, Panasonic, Univega, Centuriun and all the big brands that are still around. The brands I listed were mostly Japanese production, and really nicely made lugged bikes or aluminum.
Click to expand...
If you're a C&V, classic & vintage, rider you'll know those bikes are rising in price fast. You can still find some deals. But they're getting a lot harder to find. Good luck and good riding.
 
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#14 ·
dsc2j@comcast.net said:
was just on Ebay found alot for 150 to 300 some would be a good start
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Don't forget shipping. Five years ago you could ship a whole bike for $35 - $50. Now it's more like $85 $100 for a complete. That's kind of ebays not too hidden cost. Sometimes your local CL, Craigs list, has some good deals.
 
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#15 ·
Forget brands for a minute. The first thing you need to do is figure out the size of bike you need. Fit is more important than brand, and you seem to be all over the place on size. Here's a good reference: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

Second step is to decide what type of bike you need---gear range, tire width, room for fenders?, do you need a rack? seating position

Then you can start looking for a bike. Once you avoid departmetn store junk, condition is more important than brand. There were a lot of good brands from the 80's and 90's.

I think that the simplest intitial indicator of quality is forged dropouts instead of stamped dropouts. I've never seen a low quality bike with forged dropouts.
 
#18 ·
Someone got a great deal around my part of town recently from CL. Further inspection of the pictures shows a nice SR800 full aluminum race oriented bike.

1988 vintage cannondale road bike - $120 (sunland)

mostly stock 58 cm 1988 cannondale road bike with ultegra components. the rear deraileur is the only missing piece. i have a short cage MTB deraileur on it now. it has to go, make a reasonable offer, it wont be refused.

Like with any brand (look @ Sheldon Brown's site for advice), any brand has dogs as well as cherries.

Lookout for DT shifters, 700C rims. These would indicate a nice bike in the 80's.

tk
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
I hear BD.com is the scourge of the earth on here lol. I think I can get a better deal used as well, and because I live next to the Trexlertown Velodrome in Pennsylvania, there are plenty of respectable and high end bikes on craigslist and local stores. Unfortunately, most of them I cannot afford :p

Sorry for not being on yesterday to answer questions, I spent most of the day at the hospital with a dead cell phone and a family member so I was unable to check online.

The good thing is that one of my family members knows a church-goer who has 2 race bikes he no longer will use. Now I don't know more information besides that as she didn't think much of it when she was told, but she said she'd try to call today and get more information. I'm crossing my fingers that I fell ontop of a deal and that they are still available. I haven't heard anything about that craigslist bike I inquired about either.

I do need to get my measurements though, I agree. All I've got at this point is a general rule of thumb sizing I read online. I'll have the SO get my exact measurements tonight or tomorrow so I can atleast have the info available.
 
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