Viich

that's a beaut. You may end up wearing that old rubber quickly or find you get flats, but I would try them first as well.
Enjoy!

GeezyRider 

Good find!!

mstateglfr 

Oxymoron.


I am not ripping on the level of drivetrain, only saying those two words dont belong together.

Gorrister

I finally had a chance to take her out for her first real ride yesterday hoping to suss out any hidden issues. After 30 fun miles, the verdict: she needs new tires and a new left crank arm. And DAMN what a ride! I love my old miyata, but this bike zips! Very stiff, I can really feel the power through the pedals, and the 9 speed cassette makes the “get up and go” and ascending so much more efficient. The crank arm issue was a surprise, but for a used 10 year old bicycle the thing felt amazing, obviously stored indoors and never ridden. I can’t wait to get my clipless mtb pedals on there and really fly.

dedhed

Be aware these come in different lengths.

What's wrong with it?

Gorrister

Yeah, I’m gonna be super sure I get a match. I have a couple friends who work at bike shops so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The bozo I bought the bike from (jk, he was a nice guy, even gave me a bag of homegrown jersey tomatoes) installed platform pedals and cross threaded that one, which I found out after 30 miles when the damn thing pretty much just fell out of the crank. As soon as I found that out I carefully removed the other pedal and thankfully that side is good.

ps: I love the dead!

dedhed

A well equipped shop can insert a helicoil to repair that, usually cheaper than a new/used arm.
https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...-kit-procedure

Gorrister

Funny that you mention that! I use helicoils at my studio to retap stripped drum hardware (much smaller size), I was literally just asking my LBS buddy if that was a possibility for the crank.

Brocephus

The above advice about "buyer beware" on Craigslist is accurate, but there are also lots of perfectly good, low-miles bikes on there, often at good prices. My current road bike was only a few years old, a 56cm Fuji, original tires,chain and cassette still good, with Shimano 105, that retailed for $1200, that I snagged on Craigslist early last summer, for $350!
Obviously, it helps if you have enough knowledge to know what to look for, but the used market is full of good bikes that the owner bought, barely rode, then parked in the garage for a couple years. The Bikes Direct route is fine, but personally, I'd first have my cash in-hand, and be ready to pounce on a Craigslist deal (and I've noticed the better deals get scarfed pretty quick, so don't waffle around when you spot a good one.)

Gorrister

That’s exactly what I did, good advice! I was able to find a barely ridden garage stored specialized allez expert with Ultegra groupset on Facebook marketplace for $200, checked it out right away and it was exactly what I was looking for

Brocephus

Killer score ! Beats the hell outa my deal !

guachi

Looks like a nice bike. And the fixes shouldn't be too much. Tires and bar tape are wear items, anyway. And replacing the pedals shouldn't be that expensive.

Good find!

Gorrister

Thank you! My buddy quoted me $35 to retap the crank with a helicoil. So all I need are some mtb shoes to go with my double sided clipless pedals and she will be complete 😎

cyccommute 

I agree but for very different reasons. Forget the shift levers, there is a distinct difference in the derailer mechanisms. The Tourney has a soft hanger that bends easily and the pivot points are very sloppy. Index shifting requires precise movement and positioning of the derailer and Tourney simply can’t do that well. I spend a lot of time trying to straighten Tourneys on HelMart bikes at my local co-op. I can get them to work but it takes a lot of effort and they never work that well. Even Acera or Claris are far better derailers.

Kapusta

I would base your sizing decision on the measurements of your old bike and how well (or not) it fits.

I’m 5’10”, and my best fit always ends up being on frames no bigger than 50 (my Soma Fog Cutter is a 48). I am clearly an outlier, but it happens. I spent many years, and several bikes, that were too big (long) for me until I figured this out.

Regarding BD: My wife had a CF Windsor a while back. It was a fine bike, but you really need to go over the build on these bikes as the assembly can be lacking. Both of the wheels had bearings that wear too tightly pre-loaded, and the cable/housing was sloppy.

And while they are a good value for the money, they are not as spectacular as they lead you to believe. They cut corners where it is less obvious..

But still, if you can wrench your own stuff, they can work out great.

EDIT: sorry, I see you’ve already gotten a bike. Guess I should’ve read the thread before responding.

wphamilton

That's true enough, but I've had Tourney derailleurs that lasted pretty well and were never a problem for shifting, so that's a little over-stated IME. For the small price difference I wouldn't choose Tourney for a replacement however.

cyccommute 

Perhaps older ones were a bit better but ones made within the last 3 to 5 years are universally poorly made...but that is true for all HelMart bikes. I see a lot of Tourneys that will move up and down in a perpendicular motion 2 to 3mm around the parallelogram pivots. Derailers don’t usually move in the direction at all.

Gorrister

No worries, the advice is still very much appreciated! Of course I’ll hopefully get years of enjoyment out of my new bike, but it certainly won’t be the last one I ever buy, so it’s good to have perspective on the BD route

wphamilton

Speaking again for myself, I haven't bought a Tourney DR in over 5 years so I couldn't argue that and for $25 Tourney and $30 Claris I couldn't see much reason to cheap out so it may be kind of mute. It just wouldn't be a deal-killer for me on a used bike or inexpensive BD bike.

BTW congrats to OP on his Ultegra bike!