Originally Posted by
madpogue
Ouch, I know the bike economy is in the stratosphere, but WOW! Tires on the level of those Bontragers, even 27s, shouldn't be hard to find in the $20-25 apiece range. I found one site with Paselas for $25 apiece. As for the overhaul / tune-up, that value depends on the buyer, whether he can DIY. And the $450 NJ bike has no information about what recent lubrication, etc. work was done. I would make no assumptions
But you raise a good point, with the tires. The OP's wheel/tire size restriction will have a big impact on what is available, and thusly, what prices to expect. Opening up the option of a 700C-equipped bike will make that issue go away, esp since a lot of the 27-inch bikes of that era have since been refitted with 700s. Finding good fresh tires for a 700C-equipped bike will be a lot less of a challenge. The old adage, "be careful what you ask for", comes to mind.
The bike shops near me don't carry 27", and all they seem to have access to is the cheapest gumwall tires. A few even want to charge 'shipping' to order a pair of tires they don't stock. There's a Trek store about an hour from me, the last time I was in there last fall they told me Trek/Bontrager dropped the 27" tires. I wasn't sure if that was true or if they just didn't want to be bothered ordering them. If you order tires online, there's shipping AND sales tax as well. then add in tubes and rim strips. Figure $50 for two tires, plus another $20 for tubes and rims strips, plus shipping and sales tax, and your right at the $80 mark anyhow, although maybe with a slightly better tire. I generally avoid bike shops these days, most don't keep anything I can afford and most don't sell parts these days and the few that do don't have anything of any use to me. Years ago, you could walk into a bike shop, take your old parts with you and walk out with what you came for. Now they tell you to go look on eBay.
To convert a bike like that Trek to 700C, it would mean having to hunt down a pair of vintage long reach calipers, which would likely mean paying top dollar to some eBay seller. If your lucky, you find something new old stock, if not, your looking at rebuilding a pair of old calipers.
The bike with two new wheels, of the right size is a lot more appealing to me than one with the wrong size wheels, and wrong calipers.