mnimx

I've been thinking about riding more seriously now that I've moved to a new place. I've found two bikes. One is a blue ladies trek 400 (with rack), no rust, $175. The other is a 2006 raleigh cadent one zero with shimano parts, serfas saddle. previous owner rode it for 2 years, she's selling for $450 (and I plan to negotiate a little).
For someone looking to ride more seriously, which would be a better investment? The Raleigh is entry-level, so maybe the return on investment won't be as high? I have also heard good things about early treks.
I think the basic question is whether an expensive 2006 entry-level is truly a different beast (and worth the money) than an old Trek bike.
Thanks a lot for your help.

brian3069

The Raleigh is too much, you can do far better with a $450 budget. There's not enough information on the Trek, is it ready to ride, or does it need work. Need at least some good pictures, the year and what components it has would be helpful.

wrk101

Information is far too sketchy. I am going to guess by your description, that you are really talking about a Trek 420 mixte, since you described it as a women's bike. There is no such thing as a Trek 400 ladies bike. The 420 was the only mixte Trek made, was only made for one year, really hard to find, a pretty nice bike of that type. Its one of their touring bikes from that year (1984), much different than that Raleigh. Mixtes are hard to find, a mid grade, touring mixte is even harder to find. But that is so very different than the Raleigh.

But if you want a modern bike, then I would just shop around for modern bikes instead. If so, you can do better than that Raleigh.

By the way, "Shimano parts" means nothing. Go to Walmart, many of their bikes have Shimano parts. Shimano makes a full line of parts, from bottom of the barrel to top of the line.

Here's an $88 bike brand new at Walmart, with Shimano parts. This one is a real turd.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/NEXT-Power...-Bike/16504692

mnimx

@wrk101, you're right, it was a trek 420. The frame looked fine, but if I were to get that bike, I would probably have to get new brakes and possibly new handlebar and wheels, which would rack up a bill...

In other news, the Raleigh price went down to $350.

I'll have to give this some more thought, but thanks to both of you for your expertise.

mnimx

One more question for you, wrk101: when you say this frame is hard to find, does that mean it's a good frame, or just rare? I'm not a collector, but I'd like a good frame, and a touring frame would be very suitable for what I plan to put my bike through.

wrk101

Its rare and unusual. Only made one year, only mixte Trek made. Was it great? No. It was the bottom of their touring line (decent, but nothing special in that regard). Realize that vintage touring bikes sell for a premium over vintage racing bikes, vintage mixtes sell for a premium, and vintage steel Treks enjoy a premium as well. So to the right person, this is a desirable bike.

And if you want one, you are not going to find another one for a while, probably a long while. Read this forum enough, and you will routinely see postings from people looking for higher end mixtes (almost all were bottom of the barrel, much, much lower end than this Trek). I buy bikes all the time, I have found two mid grade or better mixtes in the last THREE years, and quite a few lower end ones.

Whereas bikes like the Raleigh are available all the time, its an entry level racing bike. All the major bike companies made something equivalent.

That's a lot of stuff you will need on the Trek. Unless you have an ample parts bin, and the time/tools/aptitude/knowledge/interest in doing the work yourself, you probably should pass. Does it really need brakes and wheels? That's unusual. The stuff that came with that bike was pretty decent.

In a good market, in pristine, ready to ride condition, the Trek will be worth as much and probably more than the Raleigh. And in the years to come, the Raleigh will continue to decline in value, and the Trek will go up. I would gladly buy back every Trek I sold a year ago or more for the same or more than what I sold them for.