rustbelt

My daily commuter is a fixed gear track bike. I love it. However, I'm starting to enjoy longer rides with more hills so I'm looking for some gears. I have a tight budget.

I found a Miyata 312 in excellent condition in my size for $125. It has new tubes and tires and the derailleur was just serviced.

Do I go for it or buy one of the cheapo bikesdirect.com road bikes?

I know the Miyata is a low-mid level bike but is it a good entry point or will I just be frustrated?

Thanks.

jrobe

Neither. For a low budget, I would rather have a 3 year old lightly used bike with a modern frame and components than a vintage relic with outdated components or an internet generic special.

schloot

I'm happy with my bikesdirect purchase, but I'll be the first to admit that you can get better bikes for the money if you buy used. That's especially true for lower priced offerings. The used market in my area is terrible, so I went with the next cheapest option.

If you're in an area with a reasonable selection of used stuff, definitely go that route. If not, nothing wrong with bikesdirect as long as you know what to expect.

sced

It's hard to see how you can wrong with a nice Miyata for $125. I'd go for it. You can always sell it later if you want to move up.

rustbelt

So not to complicate things but a Bridgestone Synergy RB2 just came up for sale in my area as well for the same price. Anyone have any experience with these?

I'm leaning towards the vintage bike over a bikes direct bike at this point. My thought is drop $100 now and ride the old steel frame for a while as I save decent money for something new.

powermatt99

I have two vintage treks. If you're looking to enjoy some longer rides, a vintage bike is a good place to start. If you pick your vintage bike correctly you can always flip it if you're not into it. Good luck getting much of anything for a Bikes Direct bike if you try to resell. With that said, Bikes Direct seems to be on point with pricing, especially as you move into some of their high-end offerings.

zazenzach

hate to tell you this mister bike snob but unless you're a professional racer, you really won't benefit from all this astounding new technology.

an 80's lugged steel bike is the best value out there

rustbelt

I'm definitely going with the vintage bike.

Any preference for the Miyata or the Bridgestone?

sced

You might questions about the older bikes on the Classic & Vintage forum. There are quite a few experts over there that know about Japanese bikes.

rustbelt

Good Call. Thanks.