Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Classic and Vintage Bicycles: Whats it Worth? Appraisals.
Reload this Page >

Looking for a used (vintage?) road bike to commute on in Boston

Notices
Classic and Vintage Bicycles: Whats it Worth? Appraisals. Use this subforum for all requests as to "How much is this vintage bike worth?"Do NOT try to sell it in here, use the Marketplaces.

Looking for a used (vintage?) road bike to commute on in Boston

Old 09-05-22, 07:42 AM
  #26  
wrk101
Thrifty Bill
 
wrk101's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mountains of Western NC
Posts: 23,570

Bikes: 86 Katakura Silk, 87 Prologue X2, 88 Cimarron LE, 1975 Sekai 4000 Professional, 73 Paramount, plus more

Mentioned: 96 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1236 Post(s)
Liked 957 Times in 624 Posts
Better brakes, room for fenders, braze ons for racks, can handle almost any width tire, affordable = rigid frame MTB. In my area, I can find high end MTBs from the 1980s, with XT level components, for $150 or less. Nuff said.
wrk101 is offline  
Old 09-05-22, 07:49 AM
  #27  
bikemig 
Senior Member
 
bikemig's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Middle Earth (aka IA)
Posts: 20,505

Bikes: A bunch of old bikes and a few new ones

Mentioned: 178 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5877 Post(s)
Liked 3,445 Times in 2,066 Posts
Originally Posted by wrk101
Better brakes, room for fenders, braze ons for racks, can handle almost any width tire, affordable = rigid frame MTB. In my area, I can find high end MTBs from the 1980s, with XT level components, for $150 or less. Nuff said.
+1. Vintage mtb or hybrid will make a better commuter than a vintage road bike for Boston roads at a lower price.
bikemig is offline  
Old 09-05-22, 09:23 AM
  #28  
StarBiker
Senior Member
 
StarBiker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 2,045

Bikes: Bianchi Grizzly, Cannondale F700,

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 807 Post(s)
Liked 153 Times in 122 Posts
Originally Posted by wrk101
Better brakes, room for fenders, braze ons for racks, can handle almost any width tire, affordable = rigid frame MTB. In my area, I can find high end MTBs from the 1980s, with XT level components, for $150 or less. Nuff said.
OP stated that was not what they wanted. Read his response to mine.

I would pay less than $50 unless it was amazing. Vintage steel hybrid, ATB's are not easy to find unless you want to drive all over the place. Or jump on CL and give one of the local flippers $300......

I rarely saw any when bikes were plentiful, and the flip value was low.

There was a seller of vintage bikes around Cumberland who had hoards of them and when the pandemic hit he nearly sold out.......
StarBiker is offline  
Old 09-05-22, 11:07 AM
  #29  
elcraft
elcraft
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Greater Boston
Posts: 819
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 144 Post(s)
Liked 103 Times in 72 Posts
While I only scanned the replies, I didn’t notice a mention of BikesNotBombs CoOp in Jamaica Plain. They specialize in
“Commuter “ bikes , mostly from recycled road bikes. The difference for the money is you start with a fully overhauled bike with fresh tires, cables and Brake pads (I.e., consumables.). They will probably swap out flat bars or drop bars as you desire. Their work is solid and they include a guarantee/warranty for their work and free tune ups for a specified period of time. I find that they tend to set up road bikes for this purpose. Since they accept donations, they are a source for used parts and accessories .
BnB will have you up and running in no time!
see:
https://bikesnotbombs.org/
elcraft is offline  
Likes For elcraft:
Old 09-05-22, 03:39 PM
  #30  
3alarmer 
Friendship is Magic
 
3alarmer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 22,930

Bikes: old ones

Mentioned: 304 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26243 Post(s)
Liked 10,227 Times in 7,097 Posts
...if you are still reading this thread, gideo8 , after a night of not thinking about it very much, I finally realized what was bothering me about that Fuji Roubaix. I don't know exactly what year it is, but if you look here, at the '88 catalog, you'll see the sort of wheels and rims that were typical for a better quality, speed oriented road bike in that time period.




If you look at the wheels pictured in your CL ad, they appear to be replacements, probably taken from another bicycle. I'm only guessing, but the combination of that very wide range rear cluster, that ginormous spoke protector, and the nutted rear axle says to me they are not of the same quality as the originals. Wheels are a whole other topic, and I urge you to learn as much as you can about them. But those are not the wheels I would choose to put on a Fuji Roubaix of that era.
__________________
3alarmer is offline  
Old 09-06-22, 07:15 AM
  #31  
fishboat
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: SE Wisconsin
Posts: 1,888

Bikes: Lemond '01 Maillot Jaune, Lemond '02 Victoire, Lemond '03 Poprad, Lemond '03 Wayzata DB conv(Poprad), '79 AcerMex Windsor Carrera Professional(pur new), '88 GT Tequesta(pur new), '01 Bianchi Grizzly, 1993 Trek 970 DB conv, Trek 8900 DB conv

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 750 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 799 Times in 467 Posts
Originally Posted by wrk101
Better brakes, room for fenders, braze ons for racks, can handle almost any width tire, affordable = rigid frame MTB. In my area, I can find high end MTBs from the 1980s, with XT level components, for $150 or less. Nuff said.
+2..or 3.. For 4 (or 7) miles..this is a no-brainer. People keep mentioning it's an option "but slower". With a good set of fast 2 inch tires, there ain't nuthin slow about a rigid mtb on a commute. It'll bomb along at 15-20mph just as well as any older roadie with 32-35mm tires, and in much greater comfort. The older roadie will feel faster though as you'll bounce around a lot more on bumps.
fishboat is offline  
Old 09-06-22, 10:50 AM
  #32  
WGB 
WGB
 
WGB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Niagara Region
Posts: 5,655

Bikes: Panasonic PT-4500

Mentioned: 45 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1783 Post(s)
Liked 2,304 Times in 1,364 Posts
Click on the C&V forum.

Go to the Craigslist thread.
Sold frame mountain bike in Brighton Massachusetts for $80.

Replace flat bars with drop bars.

Buy fenders and a basket.

It'll take everything Boston roads can throw at it
WGB is offline  
Old 09-06-22, 11:28 AM
  #33  
3alarmer 
Friendship is Magic
 
3alarmer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 22,930

Bikes: old ones

Mentioned: 304 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26243 Post(s)
Liked 10,227 Times in 7,097 Posts
....French touring bikes, off the sort that is exemplified by that Peugeot, were the product of a long development in that country, and they came about on pretty crummy roads.
It is true that the ones for use on the worst of those roads usually had tires on the order of 650b's , but it appears that this commute will be done primarily on pavement.

I'm not disputing the idea that old 80's mountain bikes are very useful. Only trying to make the point that given the OP's stated preferences, there's no discernable reason he shouldn't be happy with a bike that comes from a long tradition of riding in all sorts of weather and road conditions, in order to travel around France, in a time when bicycles were a popular transportation mode there. And the sorts of changes suggested, while pretty simple to perform, are still beyond what he wants to do. That complicates the idea of finding something serviceable and cheap. Not everyone is excited about working on bicycles.
__________________
3alarmer is offline  
Old 09-06-22, 05:56 PM
  #34  
fishboat
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: SE Wisconsin
Posts: 1,888

Bikes: Lemond '01 Maillot Jaune, Lemond '02 Victoire, Lemond '03 Poprad, Lemond '03 Wayzata DB conv(Poprad), '79 AcerMex Windsor Carrera Professional(pur new), '88 GT Tequesta(pur new), '01 Bianchi Grizzly, 1993 Trek 970 DB conv, Trek 8900 DB conv

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 750 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 799 Times in 467 Posts
Originally Posted by 3alarmer
...given the OP's stated preferences, there's no discernable reason he shouldn't be happy with a bike that comes from a long tradition of riding in all sorts of weather and road conditions,...Not everyone is excited about working on bicycles.
Sure, understandable. That said, the OP is expecting quite a bit to find something that's in good condition, local, the right size, sporty, with a rack(and frame eyelets to attach it with), that can handle larger tires and fenders(with eyelets and fork/frame attaching points for these also?), with drop bars only, in a vintage road bike for <$300-$400(tops)...that doesn't require the new owner updating and/or doing routine maintenance on cables, housings, brakes, wheels, bearings........ While there may be something out there, combining all these conditions tends to become mutually exclusive after a while...all for a 4 mile ride 2x a day.

BF is full of folks stumbling onto unicorn finds of great, rare bikes in good condition and the right size, but in the everyday world, such bikes can be pretty hard to find, on a national scale let alone local. It might be a worthwhile exercise to assemble a list of needs and wants, prioritize them(must have vs like to have), and then consider bike-types that can best fill the needs. Then target manufacturers (the big three, most likely) that made models of whatever type will work best. High production manufacturers and models greatly increase the odds of finding an older used bike. Identifying the perfect bike made by smaller manufacturers or boutique builders doesn't help much if you can't actually find one for sale.

...just additional thoughts for the OP to chew on..
fishboat is offline  
Old 09-07-22, 11:27 AM
  #35  
StarBiker
Senior Member
 
StarBiker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 2,045

Bikes: Bianchi Grizzly, Cannondale F700,

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 807 Post(s)
Liked 153 Times in 122 Posts
Old steel mountain bikes, or hybrid type bikes from 96-ish back are the bomb. I wish I knew the market better 18 years ago when I first started digging. I was just a damn amature.....

There are bikes out there for very little money but the OP buys things like most people so they will pay.
StarBiker is offline  
Old 09-07-22, 05:10 PM
  #36  
nlerner
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,127
Mentioned: 480 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3788 Post(s)
Liked 6,572 Times in 2,580 Posts
For something ready to ride, the OP might check out https://www.cambridgeusedbicycles.com.
nlerner is offline  
Likes For nlerner:
Old 09-10-22, 10:29 AM
  #37  
PhilFo 
Tinker-er
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Posts: 404

Bikes: 1956 Rudge Sports; 1983 Univega Alpina Uno; 1981 Miyata 610; 1973 Raleigh Twenty; 1994 Breezer Lightning XTR; V4 Yuba Mundo aka "The Schlepper"; 1987 Raleigh "The Edge" Mountain Trials; 1952 R.O. Harrison "Madison"

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 152 Post(s)
Liked 243 Times in 165 Posts
The problem with the Peugeot besides looking like the form factor of what the OP wants is that it's FRENCH. Nothing wrong with esoteric French standards for those collectors who want to have a special ride for the nice weather weekend, but I wouldn't want one for a reliable commuting machine. As a mechanic since 2007 here in Philly, I've seen a lot of Peugeots come and go because their owners find out about the little peccadilloes built into the tube sizes and the threading, once they need a real repair and overhaul done. Most simply choose to buy a better Japanese bike built to a more common standard.
I know it's not what is wanted but the recommendation for a pre-1996 MTB with a tall frame then have a stem and bar swap done is just about the perfect commuter rig, especially for New England roads and New England weather.
PhilFo is offline  
Old 09-10-22, 12:19 PM
  #38  
StarBiker
Senior Member
 
StarBiker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 2,045

Bikes: Bianchi Grizzly, Cannondale F700,

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 807 Post(s)
Liked 153 Times in 122 Posts
I don't think I would change anything on that Innova. But yeah, gotta have the drops I guess for the OP.

Hopefully they went out maybe with a friend who has a car and poked around in garage sales, and thrifts. Even putting something on FB that you need an inexpensive bike would yield results.

Peugeot, and Fuji have a cult following. With Peugeot it's always been a mystery (I have flipped a few including a PX 10)
StarBiker is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.