Lewis Yelin

After years of biking on a hybrid, my buddy ruined me with a long-term loan of his Giant TCR road bike.

I'm looking to get a road bike of my own, and I'm considering a 2003 Fuji Roubaix Pro Reynolds 853. The owner is asking $475. Is that a reasonable price? The bike has a number of upgrades: Ultegra brakes, shifters, and drive train. Shimano 105 rims. It seems to be in good condition. (I'm looking at it today.) I'm a newbie here so can't post a link to the Craigslist, Washington DC ad, so I appreciate feedback will be limited because you can't see the pictures.

I appreciate any advice!

veganbikes

Does the bike fit you? If not move on doesn't matter. If it does fit, is the bike in really good condition? If you are not sure skip it and check out your local shop for a new bike, which will have warranties and support behind it. Bikes are tough to get right now but if you are unsure of a bike and aren't confident in your used bike appraisal skills which is totally fine I wouldn't go used as that can end poorly. Unless you are buying from someone you know and trust or you have some actual knowledgable help with you that isn't suggesting riding a bike with no hands to see if it has issues, the used bike market can be riddled with over valued stuff or bikes with issues or stolen bikes or something like that. Craigslist can be used to find bikes if you know what to look for and how to look but it can also be a great place for thieves to unload stolen bikes and unsuspecting people to dump their broken bikes for you to fix while they charge good money for them.

blacknbluebikes 

second the motion on fit. of course it can be adjusted a bit, but if it's really off, you'll never be happy on that bike. otherwise, bikes are tough to find these days, so I wouldn't squabble too much on price. A bike that age (18yrs) should probably sell at less than 20% of original 'sticker' price, in normal times, that is. but if you like the bike, it's unlikely that you'll have any buyer's remorse over paying up in these 'short supply' market conditions.

imakecircles

Yeah, if you could bring your friend along who loaned you the bike, or someone else knowledgable that would be an asset. Don't buy a bike that won't fit.

10 Wheels

Link:
48 CM FUJI ROUBAIX PRO REYNOLDS 853 ULTEGRA 9 SPEED - bicycles - by... (craigslist.org)

Lewis Yelin

Thanks everyone for the really helpful advice, and thanks 10 Wheels for posting the Craigslist ad.

My biking buddy went with me to check out the bike. It fits well and is in decent condition. The seller was willing to part with it for $400 (about 25% of it's 2003 list price), so I bought it. It's not a dream bike, but it's a big step up from what I have. I think it will do well until I'm ready for a fancier bike.

Thanks again, everyone!

veganbikes

This is the one with flat tires and no brake pads...I hope you didn't get in trouble with this one? The frame is decent and the parts shown in the ad are Ultegra which is decent so if they all work $400 might not be the worst but I always worry seeing a bike with no pads and flat tires what else is lying beneath that the seller didn't SCREAM at you in the ad or in person.

Enjoy the bike and I would get it overhauled soon and get everything pulled and reinstalled and just check over the whole thing. I made that mistake once and had a seized Dura-Ace 7400 French Threaded B.B. that got seized in the frame and had to be cut out.

Lewis Yelin

Thanks, Clark! So far so good. The seller had just moved to DC, and I think he did a half hearted job of assembling the bike before selling it. After replacing the inner tubes, brake hardware, and pads, adjusting the shifters on the handlebar and re-taping, and tuning the front derailleur, I took it for a spin today. It rode quite nicely, so I think it was a good gamble.

veganbikes

That's good. Hopefully it was. Reynolds 853 is decent steel and was quite popular in that era so hopefully no other problems or anything lurking.