itaa

Well I got another road bike I have no idea about, at least this one is a real road bike
It's a bit beat up from the pics ( well not masivly but not pristine- but I'm up for a challenge to rebuild it and freshen it up) $48 in auction and I'm picking it up tomorrow.


It's some - PRIMO brand, Have never heard of such bike brand nor can find anything about it so it was a gamble, it wasn't described really good however and I doubt the owner knew anything about it ... I saw 105 markings on derailleurs and near the pedals ,possibly Ultegra marking on front brake lever ( its not good picture but you can see theres a word that ends with- RA on it, what else can end in -ra? ) oh and it has Carbon fork I think from the ''ITM millennium Carbon'' marking? Also it has a shimano 600 marking on front stem.

I know nothing about bikes, but from my few days general research I know thats the stuff you should get.


Anyone maybe knows what is this Primo brand and is it any good? And from what year do you think this bike would be? The seller told he thinks its from 1990 but I doubt that it's that old,maybe 2000? Also if it's as well speced as it seems from those markings would the stuff on it would still be good today after giving it a bit of tune-up? I know the technology moves so fast so just wondering how good it still would be today?
This would be my first road bike and I just wanted something to try out all the ''road bike'' thing and see what's it about.

Thanks.

tagaproject6

Nice find! I would check deeper on that headset. I hope it's just paint that's deteriorated and cracking and not in the metal itself.

itaa

yes that funny looking stuff with the headset was one thing I was kinda worrying about and hoped it would be just peeling paint.

a77impala

If the headtube is cracked I hope the parts are worth what you paid for the bike! I
guess you could reinforce it with a clamp of some kind. By the size of the tubing must be aluminum so welding not possible.

itaa

How would you check if the headtube is actually cracked on it ? I'm picking it up tomorrow myself so haven't really seen it.
Well it's $48 for the bike so not a lot of money for learning experience

a77impala

Scape the paint off down to the metal, if crack is still there the metal is cracked! It looks like there are several, the most serious would be the one at the bottom of headtube. Any crack is bad, a lot of stress there!

a77impala

It looks 8 speed, that would be Tiagra. If headtube is bad I would not take it, the bike should not have been sold without a warning. If you think the parts are worth the money that's up to you.

WhyFi

Looks like there's a chunk of paint missing in the lower right of the HT pic, and it looks like some bad oxidation going on inside of that.

itaa

Thanks Buddy you might have just saved my ass!
I will ask the seller if he's ok with me sanding that stuff off from the headtube and see if there are any actual cracks, if there are any Not going to take it..not really interested in parting it out, wanted a first road bike I can play with

a77impala

Good Luck!

noodle soup

The shifters look like 9spd(probably 105 because of the rear derailleur and crankset).

Depending on you skills as a mechanic(and the condition of the components), it could be worth $48. Even if the frame is bad, replacement aluminum frames are cheap.

Check the wheels closely for damage. New wheels, and a new frame, would suddenly make this an expensive reclamation project.

dirtydozen

what else can end with -ra ?

sora
tiagra

noodle soup

probably not the right bike for you.

On the other hand, I'd bet you could sell those shifters for a profit if they work and the rubber is in good shape.

itaa

oh yeah lol there is a soRA as well
Sora, Tiagra, Ultegra maybe something else as well..

a77impala

I just recounted gears, there are 9, my mistake, parts are worth more than $48, if the shifters are good I'd buy it just for them.

noodle soup

The brakes are Sora. Color and font is a match.

itaa

Thank you noodle soup and a77impala You have been really helpful and showed me some things I didn't even thought about
Just checked how to check for bad wheels and will check that as well.

ha I bet you must go through at least few bikes to learn all this and to be able to spot everything , have to start somewhere myself. What can be better than a cheapo local bike where you need to put work in?

I guess if there are no problems with the frame but a light corrosion and need a bit of paint in places + the wheels are fine + gears work decently I'm taking it and trying to bring it back to life

( btw it should be aluminium frame, but where is the rust bubbling from on the headset since Aluminium doesn't rusts?)

dirtydozen

Don't forget to check on youtube, there are few videos very well made so you can make sure to think about everything before buying second hand.

this bike is old (105 with 9speed was made in 1999) and i wouldn't be surprised if parts of the drive train need to be changed, and when you need to change one you often gotta change everything

itaa

well i just did that
just spent good 2hours on Youtube watching videos on how to inspect 2nd hand bikes,
all in all made a full A4 sheet Checklist with about 30points I should check, I'm not sure if the seller of the $48 bike will be too pleased when I pull out my paper and go through all the points But still.. I don't want to waste my time buying something that might be a dud whatever price it costs.

Went through that list on my cheap MTB which I know very well in about 20minutes and discovered that I have a bit loose bottom bracket and my chain isn't the freshest anymore as well.
So I'm well armed and a bit smarter now to go and inspect that bike tomorrow

If anyone got any info about the PRIMO brand or on the bike it would be really appreciated.
Thanks all.

MikeOK

The bike isn't aluminum. And the fork is carbon fiber. I would be most concered about the head tube- best case is there's alot of corrosion there, worst case it is cracked. Either way I wouldn't buy it because of the head tube. You probably won't get $48 for the parts.

exmechanic89

I agree. This would work for someone who wanted the parts for a specific project, but selling the parts to recoup the money or for profit is unlikely.

Also to the OP: You might wanna do some more research on bikes and get a better idea of what you want before just randomly buying whatever comes up cheap. It'll save you a lot of hassle, believe me.

itaa

off to search for another bike Went to see that bike, and.... It was a bit of a junk
wheels would soon need to be changed, tyres were old and cracked up, the gears weren't really shifting perfectly, I did the chain test and it was seriously loose as well.
The seller seemed unresponsive and didn't really allowed me to sand that stuff up to see if there are any cracks in frame..

I guess I have to thank all for the advice and new things I learned,probably would have bought an old junk which would still be an old bike after you change so many parts on it.. not worth it indeed....

Brandonyatessr

So why is it that you can't weld aluminum? And welding shop will have a guy that can Tig aluminum.

a77impala

noodle soup

this is true of 6061 aluminum, but not 7005.