Originally Posted by
The Golden Boy
I don't know the thread you're talking about- but if it's like the people that buy out unsold entry level inventory and try to sell them for $600-$1000... I'm not up with selling prices, but historically, a decently set up Trek 410/412 has been worth a couple hundred bucks. It's not a $40 bike, but it's not made of gold- it's a respectable, utilitarian frame that makes for a solid mid-level bike. Trek's "entry level" in the late 70s early 80s was a CrMo main frame with HiTen stays and fork. They're not museum pieces, they're not prestigious racing models, they're not particularly rare- so even a pristine one just isn't worth a whole lot more than "a good bike with a Trek head badge on it."
As an interim measure, Saturday I bought a Trek 1000 for $200 at the local bike swap so I have time ride while I to fix or forget the Trek 412 (and the 1990s Cannondale fat tube touring bike). Of course, the wife pointed out when I got home that I bought a bike with an aneurysm in the rear tire (good catch, because when it blew out like a loud gunshot five minutes later, I wasn't actually riding the thing.) Hopefully, the 700c x 25 tires I just happened to have will fit in place of the 23s it came with, since I'm a lower pressure kind of person. I almost didn't buy it because I couldn't figure out how to shift - no downtube shifters, so I had to find a friend at the swap who showed me how to use the brake lever to shift (duh!)