Simonthebiker

daoswald

That bike was sold from 1993 to 2005 with various component configurations. And excellent quality to you might be mediocre to someone who really knows bikes. New tubes and decent tires are going to set the buyer back $70 to $140 for the pair, and they almost certainly will need replacing.

The bike blue book site puts a value of $147on the 2005 model in excellent condition. Yours could be much older, and without pics we can't know how much below excellent it really is (though needing new tires already knocks it out of the excellent category).Fortunately the bike blue book site seems to under-estimate street resale value by half. I've never found any bike worth owning for less than double the bicyclebluebook site's estimate. Maybe I'm just unlucky.

So if double is a correct high end, your bike is worth no more than $300, and probably less if it is older than 2005 or lower than excellent condition. If you do list it somewhere do be prepared to include the model year, groupset information, lots of pictures, a picture of the serial number, and the all important frame size (nobody should buy a road bike without knowing it's size, yet used postings often forget to mention it and sellers even sometimes get annoyed when asked).

If the bike has been rebuilt with an Ultegra or Dura-Ace groupset from the last five to seven years it would fetch more (considerably) than if it has its stock group set. If it's wheels are known high end in newer condition, that helps too. But these are unlikely upgrades.

MattTheHat 

Simonthebiker

How do I identify worn tires?

​​​​So like if it's gears say ultefra or durace it's worth more? Also I can't post any photos, Becuase I haven't made 10 posts. How do I get around this?

katsup

Make 10 posts. Visit the introductions section.

daoswald

The limitation is there to reduce abuse, and to also give newcomers time to learn what is and isn't acceptable here. I don't think that looking for ways to get around it will be well received.

This bike consists of a frame, wheels, tires, tubes, handlebars, a fork, and then the group-set. The group set's components are the pedals, brakes, cranks, chainrings, front derailleur, rear derailleur, shifters, rear cassette, bottom bracket, and chain. The hubs and rims may also be consided here, but lets just keep it simpler. Typically manufacturers will source these components from Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo. And market share in modern road bikes sort of seems to follow that order, though the order is not intended to be an indicator of quality. Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo all have fantastic components, and low end components within their lineups. There are other manufacturers too, but these are the most common.

Bike manufacturers may mix and match to some degree. My Shimano 105 equipped road bike has an SRAM TruVativ crankset, for example. My old 2001 Cannondale hybrid (which I no longer own) had Shimano mostly Shimano components, but SRAM shifters.

Let's assume (probably incorrectly) that your bike's components are all from the same manufacturer and the same groupset level from that manufacturer. Let's say the manufacturer is Shimano. In order of worst to best, here are Shimano's current groupsets:
Claris, Sora, Tiagra, 105, Ultegra, Ultegra DI2, Dura Ace, and Dura Ace Di2. There are some finer distinctions within some of those, but we'll just go with those.

Claris is a budget groupset. Sora is a little better. Tiagra is getting into the entry-level enthusiast range; very durable but heavier and fewer features than higher end groupsets. 105 is generally considered the big bang for the buck groupset; heavier than Ultegra and Dura Ace, but very durable, and often with features that trickled down from previous model years of Ultegra and Dura Ace. I prefer not to purchase lower end than 105 for a bike I'm going to ride most days. But after 105, prices go up considerably and mostly the difference will be in weight and pro-level features. (My hybrid bike has the lower-end MTB-oriented Alivio groupset but it's my causal ride bike.)

So if your bike has a Tiagra or Sora groupset, it's going to be of lower value than if it has 105. And if it has Ultegra, it will have a higher value. If it has Dura Ace, the value will still be higher.

But remember this is at LEAST a 14-15 year old bike, and could be as many as 26 years old. A bike with 26 year old Ultegra hardware will have fewer gears, and less reason to be excited than a bike with 14 year old 105. But even newer hardware would be a nice find on a used bike, if it's higher-end stuff. So if the bike has 2012-era 105 components, for example, that would be pretty cool versus a bike with 1999 Sora.

But really, you're not onto a gold mine here unless you discover the previous owner who threw the bike out, leaving it on the street for you to reclaim happened to have upgraded it to really new Ultegra or Dura Ace hardware. The odds of this being the case are so low, I wouldn't suggest getting your hopes up. Anyone who would do that wouldn't abandon the bike in a junk heap. We can't know without you telling us a model year what the bike may originally have come with, and we have no way of knowing without you looking and telling us what components the bike has. Most likely, it has whatever the stock components were for that model year's R500 build. Stuff in the Sora, Tiagra, or maybe 105 range would be the least unexpected, along with a smattering of other stuff like maybe an in-house crankset or a lower end front derailleur compared to the rear derailleur.

Please don't get me wrong. This may be a great bike. It could be in really good shape, and with a lot of life left in it. If I were looking for a used bike to steer a less enthusiastic riding friend into picking up, I wouldn't shy away from something like this assuming it were priced right and wouldn't require a bunch of work getting it into nice riding shape. A couple hundred bucks, maybe. Someone looking to regain their glory days, carrying around fond memories of riding a 2001 R500 might pay up to $300. Someone just looking for a used bike to ride would be more in the $200 market if it didn't need work.

You mentioned that the rear outer tube was worn. I don't know what an outer tube is, so I took that to mean the rear tire. But any bike tire more than ten years old, even if it hasn't been ridden on, is going to need to be replaced. Frankly, people shouldn't be driving around with automobile or trailer tires older than five years because the rubber gets old and degraded. Bikes are not so dissimilar. This is why I assumed tires would need replacing; because you suggested as much, and because without evidence to the contrary, I'm going to assume that tires on a 14-26 year old bike found in a junk heap are well past their prime.

Do keep in mind that on Bikeforums you're not allowed to advertise bikes for sale or even hint that you are going to sell it (this is covered in the FAQ for the valuation section of the forum) unless you've paid for the privilege of posting in the for sale section. From what I can tell reading the forum rules there's nothing wrong with asking about a value, but it's that next logical step that is could run afoul of the rules. Stay safe!

JasonD67

My old bike is a R1000 CAAD 4 from 1999...while it's a good bike I wouldn't say "its worth a pretty penny". My bike has a mix of Ultegra and 105, so I suspect the R500 has lower level Shimano components stock. The R500 is a nice bike, but nothing special. Not worth more than a couple hundred dollars at best unless it has been greatly updated with new components and wheels, and it really doesn't make much sense to put a couple grand in updates into a $200 frame.

cb400bill

Thread moved from General Cycling to Classic & Vintage Appraisals.

If you would like to post pictures of your bike, you'll need to make 10 acceptable posts. As suggested above, go to our Introductions forum and introduce yourself. Then greet other new members. Doing this you can get to 10 posts in two days.

Simonthebiker

Thanks, what year is your bike?

Homebrew01

If the rubber is so worn that the cord fibers are starting to show, or about to show.
Old tires with good rubber may still need replacing if the sidewalls are dried and cracking, which may allow the tube to pop out the side.

JasonD67

I bought it new in '99. Not sure if its a '99 or '00. It's old...

Simonthebiker

Mine aren't that bad, but thanks.

Simonthebiker

How do I identify, by the serialnumber?

Simonthebiker

Do you want me to show serial?
​​​​

Simonthebiker

Here's the serial.

Simonthebiker

Here is a other pic

coolkat

Around 200-250 in Seattle

voyager1

Simonthebiker

It runs perfectly, I don't why they threw it out all it had was a blown out back tire, can you tell the size by the serial code? Or find the year?

tmh657

It's a small frame, guessing about a 50cm by looking at the head tube. Meant for folks of small stature, ridden by someone not so short as the saddle has been raised up for longer legs.