emilywhou

Hi everyone,

I have been searching high and low for a used road bike on CL. Bicycle BlueBook has not proven to be extremely useful to me because it seems like the prices on there are just lower than what I can expect of the market in my area in general. I have narrowed my search down to 3 bikes, please let me know if these bikes are worth the prices and which one might fit my needs the most. I want a bike for commuting to/from work (6 miles roundtrip) and for casual rides on the weekends. I want to get into biking but I don't think I need anything serious yet:

1. Trek 1200. I believe it is the 2006 model. She is not the first owner, she bought it from her tri trainer and used it for a race. Now she doesn't have a need for it anymore so is selling it. The bike looks good. I am 5'4" so I think it would be a good fit for me. She is firm on the price of $300. I'm going to probably have to install some platform pedals for commuting. I want to make sure this is a worthwhile one since the drive is 2 hours away and I don't want to make that trip unless this bike is worth that price!

2. Merida Scultra 903. I can't find any information about this bike online since it is not sold in the U.S. This really is making it difficult for me to gauge this bike. It also looks like it is in great shape, and the guy who is selling says he brought the bike all the way from Asia. It is 50cm which I think will work for me, depending on how the brand sizes their bikes. He is willing to drop the price down to $300 but I think that is as low as he will go. Does anyone have experience with this brand? This drive is an hour away.

3. Fuji Newest 3.0. I am not sure what year this bike is from. The seller has also made a lot of weird spacing errors and typos on our text exchanges. Not sure how I feel about that, as it does seem a bit sketchy. I asked if he owned the bike and he just said of course. I can easily go take a look at it as I live close, but want to make sure this is a nice enough bike for $280, and if that price throws up any red flags due to being too low or too high. Would the 50cm fit me ok? I heard Fuji sizes their bikes differently.

Thanks in advance for your wisdom!

dweenk

If you only need to ride 6 miles round trip to work, and casual rides on weekends, I don't think these bikes are the best choices - but then you know what they say about opinions.

These are road bikes. If you are going to commute in traffic it would be better to have a more upright position for visibility. I think you should look at mountain bikes or hybrids. Either style will have gears to climb hills, and a more upright stance.

Just my $.02.

CroMo Mike 

I'm not certain but I have a feeling that each of those bikes sold for about $300 when new, about 10 years ago. They all look like they are in pretty good shape. The next big question is whether they fit you.

oddjob2

Definitely the above is not the case for a Trek 1200. More like double that amount.

Unless everyone else rides to work on an entry level racer, I would look for a bike more commuter friendly. Eyelets for racks and fenders, wider tires, etc.

Do you have a place to store it inside at work. The Trek or Fuji would be stolen quickly out on the street.

Since the Fuji is close by, ride it and then make a decision whether you want to travel to get/try the Trek. Both are priced about FMV for the Bay Area for an STI shifter, RSX or Sora.

emilywhou

Actually a lot of people ride their road bikes to work. I want to get into cycling, so that's why I wanted to buy a road bike and use it for both purposes rather than get a bike just for commuting and then drop more money on a road bike later. We have good storage options for our bikes in the work buildings, so it shouldn't be a big deal. I am also planning on storing it inside my home.

Glad to hear that the prices are within range of what is expected!

lostarchitect 

I really think this is a common misconception. I commute on bikes with drop bars in NYC and so do thousands of others. Drop bars give you lots of hand positions from very upright to way down in the drops, you don't need to limit yourself to a low position. I spend 90% of my time on the hoods, and even though I have some neck mobility issues, I have no problem seeing my surroundings just fine.

I do suggest a bike that will fit wide-ish tires, and can fit fenders and racks in case you decide you want them.

RoadGuy

I'm partial to Treks, so that would be my choice.

But, the first consideration is fit. If a bike doesn't fit, then it isn't a good buy no matter what the cost is.

Grab someone you know who knows bikes (not just rides bikes), and take her/him with you so they can evaluate the condition of the bikes, and your position when you mount the bikes and test ride them.

The Fuji looks like it is a larger size. It's has "compact" geometry so a 50cm rating means it's more like a 54-55cm frame. The Trek is supposed to be a 50cm frame, and it will fit a shorter person than the Fuji.

The Trek has the additional consideration that Trek bikes of that period with SL (superlight aluminum tubing) seem to crack occasionally in the area around the bottom bracket. You will want to examine the bike carefully around the bottom bracket on the down tube and the seat tube. Other manufacturer's bikes made of the same SL aluminum tubing that were made around the same time period also are having some cracking problems. On Felts, the cracks are usually found in the head tube. Cracks in/on an aluminum frame usually signal the end of the lifetime of the frame, so look closely.

Not all aluminum frames crack. I have Trek road bikes from an earlier generation/period, and while they are heavier (with heavier aluminum tubing), they are not known for cracking tubes. Frame materials go through design generations, with the earlier generations being heavier, as the Designers don't know that much about the strength of the materials, and as the Designers become more familiar with the material, they seek to thin and lighten frames, which unfortunately sometimes leads to going too far into what I call the "stupid light" phase, where the material is thinned/lightened to the popint where it is prone to fatique or failure. At this point we see frame failures like the Trek SL, and Felt SL frame failures. Not all of the bikes that were made during a particular period are going to fail, but to would pay you to inspect those bikes carefully when considering a purchase.

Clang

Way too big:


I think we're more likely to recommend older bikes than the Trek 1200 (well, I will at least).

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https://images.craigslist.org/00707_...Ba_600x450.jpg


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