FZ1Tom

All I really want to do is get a decent mid 80s to early 90s steel framed road bike. Hopefully for $250 or less.

It seems to be that either there isn't anything around (as is the case in my part of the country) or that people seem to think whatever I 'want' is worth a small gold mine. And of course the decent deals get snapped up PDQ. I feel like I'm competing, and losing badly, in part because of my very limited income.

So, then.

I'll still look around here n there, but I've pretty much decided that about the ONLY way I can get something is to go ahead and get my CAAD9 paid off (500) and then save up about that much on hand, if not more and THEN go looking for a certain bike.

Thing is, does looking for a certain bike seem like a good idea or not?

I'd love a Bridgestone RB-1, but so would everyone else. Ditto the RB-2.

Panasonics seem nice, but again, everyone else loves them too.

Miyata, Nishiki and Univega - I honestly don't really know what model to look for.

You get the idea, I think.

Mainly I'm just looking for input on tactics, because it seems whatever I'm doing isn't working

Tom

Tigerprawn

I can understand where you're coming from.

My strategy is this. Save some cash here and there by not spending on other things. Like a little kid saving for a new toy. I keep within what I have saved and don't go over. I have certain bikes that I constantly search the haystacks for, but alas it's like searching for a needle in... well you get it.

At the same time I also search out quality bikes. Things that I know are worth my cash and the time I'd invest into bringing it back to life.

There are plenty of bikes out there. Deals will come and go. You'll get beat on some great, awesome, unbelievable deals, but a bit of patience, some searching, cash, and maybe a bit of luck and you'll eventually find your dream bike.

One tip that I can provide is searching for misspelled names. Something that happens quite commonly on CL and Ebay alike. This brings down a lot of the competition because sometimes people just search for "Nishiki", but not may people think of searching for "Nikishi"... Campagnolo may be listed as Campy, Camapgnolo, Campognolo... Bridgestone may be listed as Bridge Stone. I've gotten a few slick deals by doing this .

yuyax

Tigerprawn! Shhhhh! :-)

On one hand, I am glad that prices are going up as I can justify my collecting. OTOH, it makes looking for stuff a little tougher.

Team Miyata or Pro Miyata are very nice bikes, if you can find one in the correct size and location.

kbjack

It's most likely the market's fault and not yours. I haven't been on the hunt for a while now, but I still check craigslist and etc from time to time. Around here (SE Michigan) there's actually a fairly decent flow of bikes--which may have been helped by the fact that people flush with cash a year ago are now scrambling to put a buffer in the bank account, and are selling off their garage 'luxury' goods.

Even still, the market's gotten tighter and more competitive without a doubt. C&V, and even 80s-90s stuff is no longer the obscure passion of a handful of dorks. Everyone's in on the hunt, because everyone wants a great bike for under $250.

Your best bet is to keep being patient and to stop being selective. Confining yourself to a decade or two is fine, but there's no reason to confine yourself to only a few marques--cast a wide net, catch more fish.

Look for chromoly rather than hi-ten, 3-piece rather than swaged cranks, aluminum rather than steel wheels, DT rather than stem shifters, etc: all the usual suspects when determining quality (not all sure-fire, but a good place to start).

Also, look at local ebay ads, goodwill online, police acutions online, etc. You'll find your bike, you just need to work harder to do it now than you might have 2-3 years ago.

Hope this helps.

JunkYardBike

What is your frame size, and why exactly do you want a steel bike?

jtgotsjets

Why wouldn't you want a steel bike?

JunkYardBike

Just part of the interview process, sort of like 'why do you want this job?'

cycleheimer

t-h-i-n-k f-u-j-i

tolfan

Heres on you might like. dont know your size. even with shiping it sould be under 250
https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/bik/1298871110.html

cycleheimer

Here's the link you really need:

https://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cg...&submit=++++go++++

I have it set for Fujis in Missouri, but you can navigate around with the website to other makes and locations.

Be prepared to check listings regularly, respond immediately when you see something you like, have cash in hand, and be prepared to travel a bit. This matter should be resolved pretty quickly. You can then post pix of your new road bike.

wrk101

I do not think it is your market, the harder you look, and the larger the geographic area you are willing to travel, the more success you have. I have driven 160 miles one way to get bikes. As far as Craigs List, you have to be lightning fast to get the best deals as chances are, others are looking too. I have seen bikes that would not last 5 minutes on C/L last all day at a garage sale (like the Nishiki I bought for ten dollars, at around 2PM of the sale). I picked up FOUR good bikes one Saturday a couple of weeks ago at garage sales.

The deals come from actively looking, hitting the garage sales, auctions, thrift stores, and more. I rarely get the great deals on Craigs List.

You also need to build up a fund for bikes. Then you can pounce when you see a smokin hot deal. I buy deals whether they are my size or not. The ones that are not my size, I clean up and resell. That's where the bike kitty comes from. Make enough on bikes that don't fit, and you can then pay full market price for a really nice bike that does fit.

I don't worry about models or brands (other than no Xmart stuff), I look at the frame: what is it made out of and its condition. If it has a decent frame, I then look at the components: alloy rims, alloy 3 piece crankset, cromoly frame, alloy seat post, stem and handlebars, QR hubs front and rear, DT shifters. I find bikes meeting this criteria just about every week.

treebound 

The right place at the right time means you've probably been to the wrong place at the wrong time 1,000 times. It's hit and miss, so just blend a casual search mode into your daily routine. Drive past a thrift shop on the way to someplace and stop in for a 2 minute lap. See a rummage sale sign so turn down the street and at least do a driveby looksee, but remember a bike might stuff/buried in a corner or hung up in the rafters where the home owners might not have wanted to pull it out "because nobody would want that old thing", and the old thing just might be grandpa's old Colnago from 1973.

As an example of being ready to go for CL postings:
Last night I was watching TV and browsing the web, opened up the CL Free section, saw a lawnmower posted less than 10 minutes earlier, threw on my shoes and jumped in the car at 10:00pm, got to the mailbox where it was supposed to be before 10:10pm and it was already gone. Less than 20 minutes in a small town at 10pm on a worknight. I didn't see another car on the street when I got there. Sometimes they go quick.

I've also been having lots of issues with sellers not responding to emails lately. Either their stuff went quick and they don't bother with replies, or my emails hit their spam bucket to to the CL redirection/aliasing of messages. But that's just part of the game these days.

You'll probably find a bike at a good price when you least expect to and at a time when you're least able to bring it home. At times I've brought along a multi-tool and minipump for times like those just in case I find something and have to ride it home - I keep hoping at least but it could lead to a long ride home.

Have faith, a decent bike will come your way eventually.

Ex Pres 

on ebay: to locate misspelled items the wild card search is the way to go - but even then the lister has to be able to put three correct letters together

JunkYardBike

Post an ISO ad in the C&V marketplace subforum.

mishmashmusic

Post ads locally (newspaper, bulletin boards, craigslist, etc), go to yard sales, tell all your friends & coworkers, go to thrift stores. Keep looking and be persistent, something is bound to show up sooner or later.

Like I've said before, if you think bikes are hard to find, try collecting jazz vinyl LPs.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Whats an LP?









just kidding.

+1 for garage sales. My tactic around here is to leave early for work on friday morning and scope out the garage sale signs around town. Many of them get an early start and start up Friday morning...thats when you can beat the masses to the punch. For the most part the only people out looking at garage sales on a friday morning are retirees with no interest in what you're interested in (save a few BF members).
Make a note of the others happening saturday and get out there by 9am. The early bird gets the worm in this case.

I scored a Miyata 110 (not high-end, but still Cr-Mo main tubes) with a perfect condition Brooks B.66 on it for 25 bux on a friday morning earlier this summer.

Also let the seller know you're looking for a bike for YOU, not just to flip. Many sellers are hip to that and will cut you some slack on the price.

sunburst

CL can be frustrating, but still, it seems like the best source. Garage sales are too hit or miss for me, and I can't get up early anyway. But I did find a decent Raleigh for $25 at the end of a garage sale some years ago. I'm almost certain that wouldn't happen today.

I was looking for "hard-to-find" mixtes this summer and the prices were outrageous. Then I found two in two weeks, and picked up both. I was the first buyer to one, and the 2nd to another (1st buyer flaked). But they both needed tons of work, and were priced as if they were decent, in other words, overpriced. Years ago (pre-vintage, pre-fixie craze), you wouldn't have been able to give them away.

I think winter is a better time to buy. Less bikes sure, but less competition and lower prices. Btw, I think your price target is reasonable.

I'd be open to any of the major Japanese brands, if I were you. Also, I wouldn't get completely hung up on chro-moly (like I used to be). I've got five Peugeots, none of them chro-moly, all of them very ridable. In fact, my son likes his (HLE tubing) better than my 531 Trek and his Alum Trek.

moleman76

set up an automatic ebay search with all of the various bike spellings you can think of, (inside,of,parentheses) and you'll hit on any of them .. may bring you more than you wanted. Fleabay sends out the notices of when the searches find something in the middle of the night, so check back on it first things in the morning

lsrose

I have been going through the same thing as you, soooo frustrating. I have spent countless days perusing ads, calling bike shops, and driving around hunting. One bike you didn't mention that fits what you are looking for is the Centurion Ironman from the late 80s. I know there were a couple in either Springfield or St Louis recently that were priced pretty cheap. One there now but it is $350 firm, top end of its value.

Some other decent ones from then that I have missed in my area are Trek 400 and similar ones, and Specialized Cirrus.

I know there are tons of others but those are some that have fit what I am looking for, which is pretty much the same as what you are looking for. I keep seeing different models that I'm not familiar with and by the time I research them they sell grrr.

noglider 

It's a tradeoff between time and money. The longer you shop patiently, the less you'll need to spend.

I still have that Schwinn Prelude you were interested in. Do you still want it?