EdgewaterDude

Holy Cow,

If that Free Spirit is even ride-able I'd drive up from Chicago to get it. :O

dedhed

You Chicago guys could come up with a pocket full of $20's and leave with a trunk full of deals.

muzpuf

there was a guy a while back trying to sell a red bianchi for 9000.00

gsk3

I can't even sell my late-90's MTB (mostly XT + some nice commuterizations) for $150 locally (Philly). Go figure.

I've mostly given up and fallen in love with it all over again.

unterhausen

the thing that is shocking to me is the price people around here want for their welding torches. More than retail prices on stuff that's too old to rebuild. I figure that it's so old that people don't have any idea how much it cost their grandpa. The bikes are actually priced fairly reasonably. You almost never see a bike for $300 unless it cost much more than that originally

kc0yef 

I know right...

I find myself sometimes for the sake(intended) of the deal actually going to a store on occasion and see new and used prices for things I want... then I am reminded how yardsales and CL rocks even ebay if you know exactly what you want and are willing to wait... I wanted a SR Sakae/Ringyo chainring set to go with all my other SR components. LBS $50 and there are a few on ebay for $50-$60 shipped but then I saw an SR apex chainring only on ebay today for $80. I picked up a set with BB for $20 used online... you simply have to know the market where you are people will pay for what they want... even a ford escort

Ratchet

Treebound,
I SO want your pink girls' bike (in my adult size, of course), it was my first bike! I would love to build a single-speed that looks just like it now, but am having a hard time finding the chopper bars...
Thanks for the smile,
ratchet

stonefree

This looks like a good opportunity to thank all you haters of old aluminum bikes, because you've made my enjoyment of my 18 yr old Trek 1100 possible for such a low price. Having a blast with it, and glad you're not here.

clayton c

Seattle Forrest

Here's a used, 2007 frameset for $950: https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/bik/2660500482.html

Sundance89

The one exception to all of this is a "size thing" with the tall frame bikes of the 80's that are no longer in production. You simply cannot-will not find a 27" (almost 69 cm) frame without going custom today, and if a seller knows that, they have way more leverage in their asking price. It's a different ballgame.

sauerwald

+1

For $300, I could buy a bike on Craigslist that would get me to work and back for the next 10 years. Very few new bikes, at any price point will still be on the road 10 years from now.

mikeybikes

Disagree. Almost all the bikes you purchase new will still be rideable ten years from now.

Look, I understand you like steel bikes with simple components. That doesn't mean that new bikes fall apart.

Seattle Forrest

It's true, because we all know the world is going to end on my birthday next year.

dedhed

Very small and large frames, and to a certain extent mixtes are certainly worth more although it may take longer for a buyer to come forth.

I ride a 25 year old steel bike that had everything I wanted in a quality steel frame. I paid $125 for it but have considerably more invested in paint and upgraded drivetrain. Still much less than a comparable new bike equipped the same.

Schwinnrider

True. The bike industry hasn't built planned obsolescence into their products just yet. I don't know how I would feel about buying a 30 year old Madone, though.

HardyWeinberg

If you would buy something leading edge today but wouldn't rebuy the same thing later because it won't be leading edge then, that is what planned obsolescence is.

My wife's Schwinn cost her almost $300 new at her then-LBS in the late 80s, and she could probably sell it for $300 now, with some spiffing-up. A comparable frame is probably a salsa casseroll (steel road bike, horizontal dropouts) and that would cost >$400. And then you need parts. But you don't get lugs. A lot of what makes an old frame desirable is a style preference, not anything truly objective.

I don't know what the lesson is. My Huffy Santa Fe from the late 70s is definitely not a $300 bike, now or then.

mikeybikes

You don't mention when in the 80s, or what Schwinn, but $300 spent in 1985 is equivalent to $630 today.

For less than $630, you can get some really decent commuter bikes.

Sure, you don't always get lugs or even steel, but you do get reliable, comfortable bikes perfect for commuting on.

What I don't get is the belief from some that anything modern is complete crap... or that modern bikes don't have the same value.

sauerwald

Not everything modern is complete crap but...

STI shifters, which are common on todays mass marketed bikes, are disposable - for example, read this . Many of the higher end bikes being made today use carbon-fiber which is easier to damage than steel, and harder to repair, with the net effect being that the expected lifetime of a carbon fiber frame is far less than what would be expected of a steel frame. Many, if not most road bikes being sold today have STI shifters and/or carbon fiber frames, which to my thinking, means that this is not a bike which you will be able to depend on over the long term. Similarly, look at the chains in common use - if you bought a '10 speed' in 1980, it would have a rear cluster of 5 sprockets, and would use a 7.2 mm wide chain (internal measurement). You could probably expect to get 10,000 miles out of that chain and cluster with lubrication being the only maintenence needed. If you buy a '10 speed' bike today, it will have a cassette with 10 sprockets on it, and will take a chain which is 6.2mm in width, and you will probably only be able to expect to get 2,000 miles out of it before it needs replacement.

It's not that everything that is being built today is crap, but the vast majority of it is either crap, or has been designed and built for racing, not for daily riding. This is the commuting forum, and I still contend that you can buy a good reliable commute bike from craigslist which will stand up to commuting better than almost any new bike that you can buy. - There are exceptions, but they are just that, exceptions, not the rule.

Seattle Forrest

So you're saying that if she puts in enough work ("spiffing-up") she'll only lose about $200 when she sells the bike?

https://www.1soft.com/todaysdollars.htm

squirtdad

depends on the bike..... todays lowend bikes fall apart a lot faster then the lowend bikes of 40 years ago...... My neighbors are good examples they and there kids have been through about 8 bikes in the 15 years I have known them allmost all lowend target or Costco. i know because I have wrenched on them, mostly futily. The are now down to 2 working bikes and electra coaster brake cruiser and an 80's trek hybrid. The basic component quality of the trek was so much higher (and hey are not high end components) that they still work now.....

The 10 speeds of the 70's liike the scwhinn did not have what we would call light and high end components....but the worked and lasted.

ymmv

Snydermann

I thought the same thing, but the last four household items I sold on craigslist sold for asking price, no questions. I almost felt bad because I listed the items a bit high anticipating some negotiation. We're talking items priced 100 to 400 dollars too.

mikeybikes

I don't think a whole lot of citizen commuters are going out and buying modern 10 speed road racers to commute on.

Most new commuters I see are buying flat bar bikes with 7-8 speeds and basic, reliable components and not from Wal-Mart. Somewhere in the $400-$500 range. They come in to our co-op all the time. These bikes, if they continue riding, will definitely be on the road ten years from now. Maybe thirty years. Sure, you' might have to replace some components, but on these basic bikes, the components are inexpensive.

You can't tell me a classic ten speed would survive thirty years of riding without having to replace a few components. Simplex Prestige, anyone?

Neurocyclist

To clarify, I see bikes on my local craigslist get reposted week after week for the same 250-350 price tag for pre-1990 bikes that I personally don't think have anything unique to offer for that price mark. I only have to assume that their asking prices are making for difficult sells and don't understand the logic. Luckily this is a forum off in internet-land where I can just ask random questions and see if anyone has insight.

Agreed, a nice lugged frame old touring bike with loads of braze ons for 250 is a way better deal that a 250 dollar new bike. But those people with decently maintained steel frames usually know what they have and don't sell them for 250. Of course there are exceptions.

What I am talking about is a steel framed Schwinn Varsity or the like with about 15% of it showing visible rust and components that are only mildly functional isn't a good investment for 200+ dollars. If it's for sentimental value, that's different. I own both old bikes and new bikes and do see value in the technology and style of old. But low end bikes will always be low end bikes and only are worth low end prices.

old's'cool

Ahem, that's the exception that proves the rule!