crankholio

I used to find a lot of good bike stuff on craigslist, but that's mostly died off. From what I've heard, people have moved to something called Facebook marketplace. I'm not on there, so I don't know, but I do know eBay is about all I have left for finding used parts. As for recent months, I imagine the pandemic is part of the short supply problem. I know bike shops have stayed busy and most have low inventory now. But I also think a lot of new bikes just offer a bad value. Prices have gone up and component quality on the same tier bikes have gone down. This is not pandemic-related either, but just the trend I've observed over the years. I did buy a new single speed bike this year, but that was my first new bike in probably 7 years. Most of the time I can make something I like with used/older parts for far less money that functions just as well as far as my uses are concerned. However, as you stated, supply is drying up, and I've seen prices go up and up on old beater bikes to the point where it's not worth it in many cases.

You've got to buy what makes you happy, but I haven't seen anything at a bike shop in the last two years for mountain bikes that's remotely appealing. An 8 speed drivetrain would suit me fine, but the component quality on those are crap now. Or I can spend $2000+ to get decent components and a whole lot of fancy that I care nothing about. I'd rather just find an old 8-speed from the days of yore and fix it up with new fork, new wheels, new derailleur, etc, and I'll typically end up with a much better bike for less money. Problem now, as we noted, is the supply is drying up, and prices are going up, so it's harder to even find a good deal for a starting point. I still feel used + upgrades is the best way to go, but eventually it's going to get to the point (at least for me) where the only thing that will make sense is buying a new frame and all new parts separately.