mmmc

Hi all:

New to this forum and not much of a cyclist, so I appreciate any words of advice.

My goal: purchase a bike for early morning riding along the boardwalk in Miami Beach. Not interested in a cruiser. Maybe some street riding, but at this time, not really considering anything more for trails, etc. I live two blocks from the beach so it's something that will not be transported by car. Maybe another bike in the future better designated to trails, etc if I choose I want to take up those activities.

I live in a luxury building with a large garage where my car and motorcycle sits, but the bike area is a maybe a 40 foot x 20 foot fenced in area and there doesn't seem to be any order to the bikes, so the bike will probably live in my apartment. I have the space, but the bike will need to be slightly attractive too so I'm not looking at something ugly either. Despite function. Probably stupid logic, I know, but again, I'm not looking at an ugly bike sitting in my apt.

I came across this beautiful vintage Vetta bike in excellent condition. Usually I am good at researching most subjects on my own, but there is very little on the internet about these bikes. Considering everything I already own is Italian made (motorcycle), it immediately appealed to me. I am 5'9" and 165lbs in very good shape so I figure that's valuable context for you to know to see if I can even ride this thing. On paper, it all looks great, just want to make sure I am not missing anything and you all can help with that.

7020 Aluminum Internal cable routing frame, (55cm c-c), 650C SPINERGY Carbon fiber wheelset, SHIMANO Ultegra crankset and derailleur, 105 brakes. 9x2 speed.
___

I do have the option of looking into this bike also. Lots of different parts I know little about, but it seems like it's pretty good quality. Definitely appears more used, but it's matte black, which I like too. Any thoughts? Full carbon 54 cm road bike, Dura Ace 10 speed, Mavic Ksyrium SL SSC wheels, Reynolds Ouzo Pro fork (carbon steering tube), Conti Grand Prix 4000s tires, new Prologo saddle.

Apparently you can't post photos of your question until you have a certain amount of posts. I'm not sure this is the best way to encourage new members to your forum. We all have to start somewhere and most of us newbies only have one or two questions. They encourage you make posts to build up your count, so by this logic, they are stemming off spam, but encouraging spamming. I hope this isn't a testament to the overall approach of this site. Anyway, your help answering the above question is greatly appreciated and I have no idea how to get you images otherwise to receive any input.

I-Like-To-Bike

Can you ride the bicycle?
Sure, why not?

mmmc

Some one please help me with 8 more questions I can answer, so I can get my post count up to 10 to post these photos.

mmmc

Most likely, and I'll test it. I just want to know it's even worth it to go check them out first. I know nothing about bikes.

delbiker1 

Welcome, getting an attitude is not going to help. There is a valid reason. Both bikes sound decent. Get your 10 posts and post pix. No big deal.

mmmc

I hear you and I don't want to take an attitude, but there has to be a better way to vet new members. Self policing can be very effective. Anyway I guess I'll just have to wait. Thank you.

dedhed

https://www.facebook.com/pg/ciclivet...=page_internal

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...s-italian.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...frame-set.html

mmmc

Thank you

alcjphil

There is not. Previously there have been "new members" who have flooded the site with pure junk incomprehensible multiple posts that were unbelievably annoying to the point where I avoided this site. The current method that has been taken has been very efficient in separating the wheat from the chaff.

mmmc

Ok. I'm going to post another question anyone outside of this thread. Thanks.

BobbyG

Welcome to bikeforums. There are some nice, road-ish folding bikes out there. You could probably stick one in a closet or under a bed.

Phil_gretz

^ this. Don't discount the possibility of a mini-velo or a nano-velo type road bicycle either. They are just small enough to store indoors, and will ride just fine for your purposes.

BTW, if I lived in Miami, I'd be dreaming of riding down in the Keys every weekend, and the full length down and back at least once a year. But that's me...

mmmc

Thanks. I am not interesting in folding bikes. I rode in Key West last August. It was a fun time and would be better on non rented bikes I imagine. A bit humid in August as you would expect.

mmmc

Sorry but still want opinions on this and still trying to get up to 10 posts. Don't shoot me..

mmmc

And one more...sorry again

mmmc

https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/bik...053463131.html

Opinions would be helpful. It's such a nice looking bike and such cool design. Question is, is it functional and anything stand out that I don't have the experience to spot?

Thank you!

Wilfred Laurier

Looks like an approx. 60 cm frame, a good fit for someone ~5'10 to 6'2 or so. Everyone is different so my range is very loose. But if you are significantly outside this range, the bike won't fit well and it will be difficult to be comfortable for all but the shortest rides.

It's an aluminum frame without a replaceable derailleur hanger, so if you have a finite number of times you can crash or drop it on its right hand side before the hanger snaps off and the bike is (not quite worthless, but definitely) worth less.

Also the wheels (Spinergy?) might as well have decals reading 'STEAL THIS BIKE' on each spoke blade. If you get that bike, make sure you have a good lock and use it whenever the bike is unsupervised.

Also it has down-tube shift levers, which were made basically obsolete in the early '90s with the introduction of integrated brake-shift levers ('brifters'). Down tube levers are light and simple and robust, but far inferior in terms of ergonomics.

mmmc

Excellent info, Wilfred. It does say 55CM so it should be ok in that respect, but I do share that same concern about older components.

I might just go with this Specialized Sirrus SL brand new that I can get from a seller who has it had it for two months and for whatever reason it doesn't work for her. I'm a guy so maybe that its. I might be able to pick it up for $350-$375 for a bike that was $750 just a couple months ago. I would like to get something one peg higher, but there seems to be not much of quality in that $600-$1k range. I'm seeing lots of used crap in the mid $200's and $300's and then a jump to about $1200 even for quality used. Can't understand that much, but that's what drew my attention to this Vetta bike.

Thanks

mmmc

I mean I've owned motorcycles, I have a Vespa too. My Audi there is always some value in every price point, but that doesn't seem to exist with Bikes I guess. I mean The Sirrus is universally considered that bike based on my research. Maybe a couple others. Good on Specialized to provide that value.

I was going to order a Tribe and ship it down from NYC, but not many people seem to care for their quality. So I am really at a loss. I'm just hoping one of these rich folks near me in Miami decides they want to sell their $1500 bike for $750 and I'll jump on it.

Wilfred Laurier

Sorry for misestimating the frame size. I forgot you said it was 650c wheels - I was basing my frame size guess on how long the head tube is, and on a smaller wheeled bike, the headtube will be longer to reach down to the top of the smaller wheel.

Road Fan

Getting 10 posts should be easy - just keep chatting, but on-topic.