Chrisp72

Hi Russ Roth...It sounds like you can get some pretty good deals by shopping at Amazon warehouse deals. I'm personally trying to steer clear of Jeff Bezos until he starts to treat his employees better. He doesn't need my money and I try to keep shopping local as much as possible or at least help out Canadian businesses.

It's a small thing but I'm a bit of a Leftist. I don't hold a persons choices against them so if shopping there is working for you then continue by all means. It's just not for me.

djb

A Kuwa Caravan, that's funny. I bought mine new and still own it, rode it the other day inn fact. Don't see them around, pretty rare.
what colour is yours? That will show its year. , 7 speed ? Show a photo when you can.

re used stuff, you know the deal, you have to be informed about products and technology and changes to evaluate cost value, and then obviously have the mechanical skills to evaluate stuff, whether its a used bike or a car.
just be aware of new product prices for panniers and use proper judgement, and yes of course luck comes into play big time.
good luck finding stuff and trying touring.
oh, it's easy to change the granny gear on the crankset, stock is 50/40/28. You can put a 24, if an established bike store has one in a drawer. But we don't know what tools you have or mechanical knowledge.

Tourist in MSN

I suspect you have see frequent references to Ortliebs on this forum.

I am aware that you are looking for used to save the money. But if you are ever in USA and wanted to order a pair of Ortliebs, Sierra Trading Post has them at a good price. They are mostly mail order but they have some physical stores and can ship a mail order order to a store for pickup.

They do not always have them, it is hit and miss. And right now they appear to be temporarily shut down.

I bought my Raleigh Grand Prix from Amazon. It was listed as used, very good condition. And was selling for less than half of the sale prices elsewhere. I assumed it was a customer return for bad fit or something like that. But it was new in new Raleigh box, but the box had been badly damaged. Before I opened the box, I called Amazon and said I had not opened the box yet, but the box was damaged, if I opened the box and the bike was damaged could I return it? They said yes, that was when I opened it and found NO damage to bike. Much more detail to my story here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/20298529-post78.html

Russ Roth

I remember seeing that one, it was just before I bought my Blue and I really wanted one but I needed the next size down; I was really wanting that with the break-apart function and the color is really nice.

I get it, its why I don't shop walmart. Amazon can be bad though the stories around here is that they've stepped up a lot with higher wages, face masks and slower packing/shipping rates; the workers have a situation they can take advantage of by being "essential" and good for them for pushing for all they can it is what allowed unions to make advances too.

Chrisp72

Russ Roth...I worked in a small bike shop while living on the West Coast and I liked the job, although I wasn't good at it. Good mechanics are a dying breed and small shops need help, especially now. I'm guilty of shopping at Walmart before the Covid 19 epidemic but I'm staying away from there now...it's too crowded when it's not deemed an essential service.

I've bought many bikes in the past, mostly used and mostly through online classifieds. I don't have the storage space now that I'm living in an apartment so it's only three bikes now. I'm enjoying fixing one bike up at a time now and I really want to cycle and camp. This forum has been a blessing now that I've found it. So much info!

Miele Man

SAIL is another good store for camping gear.

I bought a rectangular dome tent at Canadian Tire. It was on sale. It's a 3-person tent and has enough room in it that I can bring the bicycle inside at night if I'm in a public campground or at a conservation area.

I have an old Blackburn low-rider front rack on it as well as the regular rear rack. With the front low-rider rack I can remove the front wheel and the bike rests on the low-rider rack when in the tent. Heck, I don't even have to remove the panniers to do it.

Tent and sleeping bag are the two items I'd be most likely to buy new if starting out touring. Too many used sleeping bags have filling that's bunched up or otherwise not optimal. A tent can be weak and you don't fing out until camped and a strong wind comes along. Not the time to have your tent tear.

Cheers

Chrisp72

Miele Man...I like SAIL and they're a Canadian company. I plan on buying my fuel for my stove there as it's the cheapest price I could find. Canadian Tire is an all right place for things but other than fishing gear I haven't bought much from them for cycling or camping. MEC has got some good product and I've shopped there in the past; REI too but then you have to consider the exchange rate. For classifieds I like Kijiji and Pinkbike. I'm sourcing a 36 hole rear hub to build a solid wheel.

Thankfully I have a sleeping bag that I use that's been with me for decades. Bought that at MEC.

Miele Man

I like SAIL too. I find that MEC has become very expensive lately and I don't buy from them as often as I used to.

Cheers

staehpj1

I have had coated nylon fabrics go bad with age or with UV exposure. The worst is the ones that go bad with age. Some develop a bad smell and delaminate even if always put away dry. I'd never buy an old tent, maybe a used one that was fairly new, but probably not. I have bought used stoves and would again.

That said I tend to prefer to just buy my gear new. My gear gets a lot of use and it isn't really all that expensive when you figure how much use I get out of it. That is unless I impulse buy stuff and don't use it. I have been guilty of that at times, both with new and used stuff.

Chrisp72

Staehpj1...I think new would be a good idea now that almost everyone is suggesting it to me. I wanted to test things out to see if I do enjoy the combination of activities...cycling and camping. Honestly I haven't gone camping since I was in high school so it's been a while. I think I would enjoy this hobby but the proof is in the pudding.

djb

That's certainly a good idea, buying some used stuff is a great idea to see if you like the activity. Here in Montreal, used panniers come up fairly regularly, usually non waterproof ones, but that's ok too see if you like bike touring.
Again, keeping a sharp eye on the used sites is key.

staehpj1

On another note... If you do buy any used gear I'd advise not paying too much. I think prices can sometimes be a little inflated.for used stuff. I personally tend to try not to pay much more than half of what I could get an identical item for new. There may actually be cases where some favorite item of mine is no longer made. In that case I have bent that rule at times to get something I could no longer buy new.

One advantage of used gear is that if you pay a reasonable price you might be able to resell it for what you paid. That isn't something I typically worry about, but it may be important to you.

Chrisp72

staehpj1...That's a good point about used items. I get a little bit worried whenever someone who is selling uses the term 'vintage'. I'm a big fan of donating my goods to the Salvation Army once I have used them or it they don't work for my intended purpose. Selling on classifieds can be a barrage of people trying to low ball your price...sometimes that's more of a headache than it's worth. I figure if it's a well used item I will just recycle it somehow if possible.

This thread has given me a lot to think about when it comes to buying new or used. I'll stop my mindless consumption from here on in and triple think about what I am wanting to buy. I've already started a list of items I need and try to work from that. I've got time in spades now so I can take my time to locate items.

thumpism 

You might also ask around to borrow certain pieces of equipment, or check at a local bike co-op or maybe a local outdoor group, if any. But it sounds like you're already accumulating stuff at an admirable pace.

Chrisp72

thumpism...Thats something I hadn't considered...MEC would be the nearest outdoor co op. They might rent out tents but I would have to look into it. There's no bike co op that I know about close to where I live so getting anything bike related that I could rent might be difficult. There's a place called Bikesauce in downtown Toronto that might do something but from my experience with them they just assist with wrenching on bicycles and selling some new but mostly used bikes and components... I'm too far from REI to use their rental services...if they provide it.

I think the pace I'm going may get me the results I am looking for. Who knows, I might be ready to roll once the pandemic subsides.

djb

I may be wrong, but given that people have more time now at home, and it's very much in spring cleaning mentality time, maybe more stuff will show up on kijiji, Craig's list and local ad services, as people start cleaning out basements and closets....

​​​​​​

Chrisp72

djb...I'm looking now on Kijiji, which is more popular here in the GTA. I'm not seeing too much so far but people are still posting items; some are offering shipping. For the time being I'm using Pinkbike classifieds and having things shipped in the mail...so far I have a B and W rear light for my Tubus rack coming in from Montreal and some Arkel panniers coming in from Vancouver.

I'll keep looking and budget accordingly. As long as I have some money to spend I'll continue within reason.

djb

well again, good luck with the picking through the overpriced junk for reasonable things.
Oh, and post a photo of your bike, Im curious to see which one it is colour wise and parts wise. I dont think they were sold many years.

Chrisp72

djb...Sure, I'll post a pic once I figure out how to.

I'm not sure trusting people in the descriptions is the way to go but I'm willing to try, at least once. A purchase before the quarantine was an MSR stove; a whisperlite and it was brand new. All I have to think about now is making sure it works.

I'll describe my bike now until I can get some photos from in the parking garage...It's black and from the graphics I think it's from the late 80's early 90's. I checked it over for rust and damage and so far so good. It's got a Shimano 7sp drivetrain, and it's Deore CX for most of it's parts. I'm not one hundred percent sure of the name so I'll have to double check once I'm nearer to the bike.

djb

I have an ancient whisperlite that still works fine, chances are extremely good that that one will be good. Just be prepared for the flames that are a bit disconcerting to some when you do the preheat burn of liquid fuel in that little bowl to heat up the transfer tubes or whatever they are called, so that when you open the valve to ignite it, the fuel gets vaporized properly. And dont forget, use a proper fuel bottle that is made for the pressure. O ring kits and stuff are probably still available, but if it wasnt used much, its probably fine.

Chrisp72

djb...Will do.
I have an MSR bottle that is brand new that came with the purchase. Thankfully the instructions came with it too and I'm hoping to watch a video to see what goes into lighting. I'm looking at the stove and I think I see the bowl you're mentioning. The stove I have even came with a little tube of either fuel or oil that I can easily pour into it without spilling anything. I was pleasantly surprised to see it came with malleable aluminum baffles to block the wind when the stove is on.

djb

ya, these probably came with these stoves, both of our whisperlites have them. They are very handy, and I've been using a diff stove for bike trips the last bunch of years, a simple alcohol type stove called a Trangia. I use the whisperlite thick aluminum screen with this, as it packs up small and flat and is really handy with my small trangia and base that doesnt have a wind screen.

Chrisp72

djb...Just looked at the Trangia website. They look good to me and I appreciate the pedigree. They look to have everything one would need in a complete package and they're only a click away. I know this might sound corny but I really can't grasp all the doors the internet opens up. I'm still getting used to my phone being able to do almost everything I need...this truly is a marvelous age...

If I may ask why did you stop using your MSR stove? Why did you switch over to the Trangia?

djb

inadvertently answered all these questions in the other thread....hadnt seen this.

Chrisp72

djb...