daveedd

Hello everybody.
I'm a student at VTech, and I want a bike. So I was thinking finding as cheap a good bike as I can on craigslist. I'm thinking road bike.

NISHIKI (SPORT SERIES 10 Speed Bicycle) - $125 (Christiansburg)
https://blacksburg.craigslist.org/bik/1973943343.html

Men's 27" 10 Speed Schwinn Bike - $125 (Roanoke)
https://roanoke.craigslist.org/bik/1977532921.html

I talked to both of these guys, and it seems like they'll bargain to 80.
1) Is that a reasonable price for these used ones?
2) Between the two, which should I go for?
3) If both these suck or something, where else can I look to get bargain prices?

I know there aren't many details about the bike in Christiansburg, but I tried googling the name and it seems to be okay to me.

Thanks everyone. I trust all of your opinions.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Between the two I'd go for the Nishiki, 80 is too much for a Varsity. The Schwinn will be surprisingly heavy. Its a good bike, many of us love them but they are known for their heft.

If you can afford to wait or spend a little more you might get something better. The market might be kind of expensive in a college town.

Virginia right? Thats awesome.

10 Wheels

I'd go for the Nishiki

I had one, good ride.

daveedd

Thanks for the response.
I talked to Rusty on the phone, and it was even awesomer to hear him speak. But he said he'll call me back, so I'm not sure if that's a yes.
The thing about the Schwinn bike is, he said he'll take 80 bucks cash, but he could cut the price if I barter him some video games. And I have a few Xbox games that I don't play anymore.

I guess there aren't many options around where I'm at. I'm assuming a bigger city would have more options. But due to higher demand, are prices not driven up? I was looking at the DC craigslist and people seemed to be selling at higher prices overall.
I'm possibly going to Philadelphia in two weeks if my sister is really trying to buy us playoff seats. Do you think I should look in that area and wait? I don't, because I'm impatient and I want to ride my bicycle, but if it really would pay off..

10 Wheels

Good bikes go fast on CL.

daveedd

While scanning the page, I noticed the Nishiki bike posted multiple times over the past month. It started out at 200 and dropped to 175, 150, 125.. maybe people were checking it out and didn't like what they saw.

10 Wheels

$125 is a fair price here.

Pars 

This would worry me a bit about the first one
10 speed bike made by Rally.

If he means Raleigh, probably a Record. The Nishiki if it's like the one pictured by 10 Wheels above would be good though.

BrianEugene

What size bike do you need? Fit is going to be one of the most important things. Probably more important than the difference between a nicer bike and a lower end one. With that said, if this one fits you, you'll probably be happier with it, and be glad you spent the extra money:

1987 Centurion LeMans RS - $175 (Christiansburg)
https://blacksburg.craigslist.org/bik/1965221582.html

It's the nicest bike I saw on either CL and it's at a very nice price. It would be gone within the day, maybe within a few hours on Atlanta CL.

daveedd

I'm not sure about size, but I'm 5'11 with kinda long arms. According to both the bike people I was talking to, the bikes should fit. Or I should fit.

But that Centurion bike looks cool. I was trying to spend as little money as was smart. And my friend was telling me it might be smart to invest a little more to get a better bike, since I'm planning on using this for two years at least. Does anyone else think so? Maybe I can try to get the seller to cut down the price?

Pars 

To me, the Centurion would be worth the extra money, and should last you quite a long time, assuming you remain in possession of it. Only negative is the 27" wheels with cross tires, but that might work out well for a commuter bike in your situation.

daveedd

I'll definitely look into it.

cycleheimer

The Varsity is pretty heavy, and not that good for long distance road trips...the Tour de France is definitely out of the question. It is, however, incredibly easy to work on, and it is virtually indestructable (you have to really work at it to wreck a Chicago Schwinn)...so it is great for every day use on relatively level terrain (it was easier to cover more mileage on them than the English 3-speeds that people were trading in for them). You can get new 27" tires for the bike, but don't expect to find a new bike in an LBS with 27" wheels (unless it was sitting in inventory for over 20 years). New road bikes typically come with 700c wheels. With that aside, Niagara Cycle Works can hook you up with new tires for as low as $6 a piece plus S&H. If you don't have to deal regularly with hills, the Varsity might not be too bad for the money...$50 to $60 would be a really sweet deal, IMHO. Just make sure the frame is the right size, and you feel comfortable riding it. If the frame is too big, or too small, keep looking. The bikes you are looking at are roughly for people about 5'9" to maybe 6'1".

The other bike might be a Nishike Ralle, which was an entry-level road bike most likely from the latter part of the '80s. When new they were easier to ride longer distances, but not as durable as the Varsity (The Rock of Gibralter is about as durable as a Chicago-built Varsity).

cycleheimer

That Centurion is really beautiful. It needs to be hung up nicely on the living room wall, taken down carefully for 50 mile rides, gently rubbed clean with a diaper, then carefully put back up on the living room wall to admire as artwork. If it was in awesome shape, I'd buy it for $100 to $125 in a second...and I'm a "frugal" kinda guy.

If you have an indoor place to safely store it, and can avoid getting it trashed or stolen in crowded campus bike racks...you can do some mileage on this bike. It will not take, however, the type of abuse the Varisty can handle.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Thats great advice. If you've gotta lock it up outside on campus a Varsity is pretty well suited for that. Low Key and Tough as Nails.

20grit

Hi Daveedd,

Like some of these people have said, where you plan to store the bike will be crucial. I'm sure you've already seen bikes around the Village, Pheasant Run, etc. that have been stomped on by some drunk on the weekends. I hope you can store yours at home in a place where that won't happen. I wouldn't worry as much on campus, especially if you can store your bike on one of the racks above Burchard Hall (underground architecture building with the glass pyramids and my home for 5 years.). It's open, plenty of other bikes are always stored there and anyone vandalizing/cutting a lock will probably be seen and stopped there.

That centurion would be my first choice. There is a Fuji with sti shifters that shows up on the Southwest Virginia Craigslist but I think it's a bit more than you're wanting to pay. Two weeks ago, a seller listed 3 very nice bikes on the Roanoke one. I would personally wait. That Rusty guy has been listing things for quite some time, he never includes a picture, and his ads always seem sketchy to me. Go investigate for yourself though.

To finish my rambling, call about that centurion first... try to talk them down. Then look elsewhere.

20grit

I also forgot to mention there is a Co-op in Blacksburg. I never had any dealings with them, but you could give that a try. I've seen them actually list bikes on craigslist a few times, not many though. https://www.bikeblacksburg.org/

Opposite the Kroger on south main they have the State Auction center. There they'll auction bikes seized on campus as well. Find the date for their next auction and you might find something worthy. (most of it is junk, but there are gems in there occasionally)

daveedd

Thanks for all the insight everybody.

I live in a relatively quiet apartment complex, but I could definitely store it in my place. I'll have to lock it in bike racks on campus, though. Thanks, 20grit, for mentioning that spot.

I'm going to try to get a discount on the Centurion. I'm going to tell him that I could pick it up today and all that.

20grit

Make sure it fits. Fit is key to you actually enjoying the ride.

daveedd

I talked to the Centurion guy, and he refuses to lower the price from 175. Is that still a good price? I'm considering spending more money if it's worth the value, I tend to get sucked into spending money on things I want.

I can always drive out to Roanoke and get the Schwinn for 80/50+(xbox games).
But I like the idea of a nicer bicycle.

USAZorro

There's a lot of hills around Blacksburg. If you're looking for a campus bike - the Varsity would serve you well. If you plan to go out for sightseeing rides, you will come to resent laboring to drag those extra 10-15 pounds up all those hills.

and yeah... $175 is a good deal on that Centurion.

Fasteryoufool

$175 is an ok price for that Centurion, but as has been mentioned a couple of times, fit is important and so is the conditions it's going to be secured under... frankly on a college campus I would NOT buy a Centurion to lock up there. College campuses are targets for bike thieves. For that, I'd really go for the Varsity. It IS heavy, but as has been said, it's virtually indestructible and is really an ok bike for riding. I wouldn't take it on a cross country tour, but for commute and errand duty it should do you nicely and will not attract the attention of bike thieves.

evanmontegarde

Echoing what everyone else has said - The Varsity is a great bike for a college campus, as it is indestructible and surprisingly easy to ride given the high weight. I got my Varsity from CL for $25, which was pretty good considering I live in a college town where any kind of classic road bike goes fast, but I would have definitely paid more.

My Varsity is my "spare bike" when my main commuter (which I've put around $200 in after buying it at a thrift store for $20) isn't an option or if I want to ride somewhere a little sketchy or a bar or something.

himespau 

make sure you post back here with pics after you've made up your mind.

20grit

Quoted for truth. I swear it was uphill both ways from my house to campus.