Used road bike price?

March 4, 2009 4:05 PM

bicycle filter: What's a reasonable offer for a used fuji road bike?

http://tallahassee.craigslist.org/bik/1060670156.html

I'm looking to buy my first bicycle and do not want to pay too much.

Thanks in advance for your help!

posted by dunderwood to health & fitness (15 comments total)

This would perhaps be better asked at Bike Forums.

It would also be helpful to know the components and the condition of the bike.
posted by clearly at 4:11 PM on March 4

I can't tell if it comes with pedals, and I can't tell what components it has. What wheels are on it, and what condition are they in?

Assuming the best, I'd offer $300. It's running 8spd. A friend just found a flawless steel Lemond frame with full Ultegra components for $550 (the bike was probably $1500 new). Another friend found a used Specialized Allez Elite with full 105 for $650 (not as good of a deal as the Lemond, but about half price).

I think there are better deals out there. That said, $400 isn't getting ripped off here, and there's nothing wrong with 8spd (modern racing bikes are 10spd now). I would wait for something a little newer and then drop $500-$600 to get a better bang for the buck. But if $400 is your absolute limit, it's ok. Sorry to sound a little ambivalent about it.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 4:13 PM on March 4

Hard to tell, because the pictures are pretty crappy and I'm more of a mountain than a road bike guy, but it looks like a mid-to-late-'90s (16-speed means 8-speed cassette, which is also a clue) cyclocross bike with a Dura-Ace (?) rear derailleur and a carbon (?) fork. That looks like a nut on the rear wheel, so there might be some aftermarket parts on there too. That's mostly conjecture and educated guesses--it's even harder to tell from the photos and description what kind of condition it's in, and 'needs tubes' suggests an owner who doesn't do a lot of their own maintenance. Don't make the seller any promises until you see the bike in person.

It appears that it was listed before at $500 and didn't sell. Now the owner has it listed at $400. Offer $250 cash and see if he bites, but be willing to go up some from there.
posted by box at 4:23 PM on March 4

Bikes are difficult to price -- and the prices can vary wildly.

As box points out; this is a hybrid bike -- so it loses any 'vintage' original value it had. If the bike truely is Dura-Ace I would caution you to review exactly what replacement part options you have for that era. Shinamo's top of the line setups usually require special tools and configurations that are unique to a few years lines, and not shared with other lines. The XTR and Dura-Ace are notorious for this.

I'd prefer a 2008 105 setup over this 1990's Dura Ace. I paid $500 for my K2 - Shimano 105/Tiagra 27 speed setup.

If you want this bike for some reason -- its probably worth more than if you "just want a bike". The seller wants extra for this because of the name and parts. It may very well be worth it.
posted by SirStan at 4:40 PM on March 4

Nerdy clarification: it's a cyclocross bike, not a hybrid. 99.9% of the time, cross bikes have 700c wheels with medium-width (that is, not 29er) knobby tires, cantilever brakes and drop bars. A cross bike is a road bike made to be ridden off road. Kinda. Hybrids also often have 700c knobbies, but almost always have upright bars, and are more likely to have v-brakes. A hybrid is supposed to be a sort of best-of-all-worlds bike, especially for beginning and casual (read: non-racer) riders. Kinda.

(Hybrids don't have a great reputation among serious cyclists. There are some good reasons for this, and some bad ones, but now's not really the time to get into it.)
posted by box at 4:46 PM on March 4

Did you notice that the same seller posted another ad for that same bike a few weeks ago, but asked for $100 more?

I am a bit concerned about the "needs tubes" thing. The lack of tubes makes it impossible to give the bike a test ride. The bike might lack the tubes for a bad reason. A seller should put some cheap tubes in there before selling.
posted by profwhat at 4:47 PM on March 4

Nerdy cross-clarification -- I meant "hybrid" of parts, not a "hybrid" style bicycle.
posted by SirStan at 4:48 PM on March 4

Also, it appears that Tallahassee has a bike co-op. If you haven't been in touch with these people already, you should look 'em up.
posted by box at 4:49 PM on March 4

Also also, the more I look at this ad, the more I kinda want to buy the bike. Stop it, you fool, you've got too many bikes already!
posted by box at 4:50 PM on March 4

i buy and refurbish bikes a lot. 400 is a bit much for that bike, unless there's something extra on it--such as the carbon fork listed above. otherwise, i'd pay about 200 for it if it had 700c wheels, and 100 or so if it had 27 inch wheels. if it's like most other used bikes, it will most likely need a new chain and rear cassette.
posted by lester's sock puppet at 5:01 PM on March 4

i offered him $250 cash we'll see how that goes. Thanks for your guys help!
posted by dunderwood at 5:06 PM on March 4

yeah, i'm with box. $250 max.
posted by rhizome at 5:23 PM on March 4

That aftermarket (carbon fiber?) fork could just be a nice upgrade or it could mean the original steel fork got mashed. Look for damage in the head tube and down tube areas.
posted by ArgentineBlonde at 5:50 PM on March 4

Sorry, if this is your first bike you might not know what those terms mean.

The head tube and down tube are parts of the frame. The head tube is the short tube at the front of the bike through which the fork is attached. The down tube is the tube that runs diagonally between the head tube and the pedals. If the original fork was badly damaged in a crash, there may have been enough force to damage the frame. This damage usually shows up as a kink or other irregularity on the bottom of the down tube.

All that said, there is nothing sweeter than a good steel road (or cross) frame.
posted by ArgentineBlonde at 6:07 PM on March 4

I think you need better pictures for us to judge. Also, you need to run through this used bike buying checklist.

In the mountain/hybrid world, 8-speeds are a lot cheaper to maintain. Replacement cassettes are half the price or less, and you can get away with a $9 6/7 speed chain instead of a $35 9 speed chain. Both of those probably apply equally in the road bike world. Replacement shifters for an 8-speed road bike are probably pretty hard to find though.
posted by Chuckles at 9:23 PM on March 4