LifeNovice1

An old Italian road bike has a lot of appeal to me? Is this one worth $250? Should I get it? I'll just post the link for now because I want some quick advice.

https://chattanooga.craigslist.org/bik/d/chattanooga-56cm-miele-gara-road-bike/7369890024.html

ClydeClydeson

This sould hold you over until you find an Italian bike, I guess.

If you weren't aware, Miele was a Canadian make of bikes, company started by an Italian-Canadian named Jim Miele.
They are very good bikes.

https://pedalmag.com/tribute-to-jim-miele/

LifeNovice1

Trying to research. Seems like it was a German company then the brand was bought by Procycle or something out of Quebec. So why does it say Italy on the wheels?

Trakhak

No German connection; see post no. 2 above.

Italian companies were once major suppliers of various components, including rims, to bike manufacturers, especially in the 1980s.

If the wheels are good (no dents interfering with smooth braking), $250 is a good price.

LifeNovice1

Ok. Thanks! Guess I added the comment right before you posted. What's a fair price?
Only thing in not a fan of is the neon green paint trim. Oh the late 80s ands their neon colors....

Trakhak

To clarify regarding the rims, the photos in the Craigslist ad show Ambrosio and Miele decals. Ambrosio was the rim manufacturer.

That seems to have been either the top-of-the-line Miele model for the year of manufacture or just below it.

Warning: the tires are apparently sew-ups, also known as tubulars, sprint tires, etc. They're glued to the rims. Such tires are still the standard for professional bike racing, but most non-pros prefer the simplicity of non-glued tires, such as clincher tires (the vast majority of road bikes) or tubeless tires (a newer type that is gaining popularity).

Research tubular tires if you're not familiar with them. The seller might be willing to drop the price on the bike a little if you express concern about dealing with gluing tires. That's a very high quality bike, though, so I personally wouldn't feel right about asking him to go lower than $200, and even that feels a bit wrong for such a fine bike.

Finally, pay attention to the recommended rider height range provided in the ad. A height of 5' 10" would probably be ideal, but 5' 8" to 6' can be made to work for most people.

Trakhak

Miele bike decal set

But I'd have no problem with the neon green decals on that bike. Younger people into vintage bikes and other vintage stuff such as vinyl LPs would probably think the neon green is cool, especially compared to all the black-on-black bikes most companies push these days.

LifeNovice1

Thanks for the heads up on the tires! I had no idea.

I'm 5'10 so the size is perfect
IM a bit intimidated by the tires. I know nothing about those

Trakhak

I looked at the pictures again, and those may not be tubulars after all. Hard to be sure. I'd suggest asking the seller whether they're sew-ups/tubulars or conventional clinchers. Either way, you'll probably need to replace them, given the sidewall discoloration, but clinchers would be much easier to work with for a person who hasn't dealt with tubulars.

alcjphil

The German Miele company makes these:

LifeNovice1

I'd probably be about as fast riding the vacuum

randyjawa 

Speaking from experience, they are very nice bicycles. If the price is acceptable, get it!

Mr. 66

Nice chain, I use one that heavy for my bike lock.

Ex Pres 

My 1990 Gara had Ambrosio wheels - clinchers.

Nice bike until I crashed it.

T-Mar

As noted, Miele was a well respeted Canadian brand with Italian heritage and styling. This one pre-dates the Procycle acquisition by about a decade, as it is circa 1990. The Gara was a mid-range model and in 1990 was 4th in a 10 model road line, with an MSRP of $875 US. It appears to be in very good condition and fairly priced for a Cromor and Shimano Ultegra bicycle. The tyres are wired-on, not tubulars. The only things that appear to be non-OEM are the pedals, which would replacements for the clipless Samapsons. Also, 56cm is an appropriate for an average proportioned male of 5'- 10". There's very little not to like, outside of the graphics, which may not be to everybody's taste. If you don't like them, more traditional Miele decals are readily available.

blakcloud

Yes the bike is worth it. At that price I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. I once owned that bike and it was a great bike. Great value during these pandemic times.

DMC707

nice bike. criterium bend bars

LanterneRouge14

I'm late to the party, but chiming in just the same.

I owned a 1986 Miele Gara Triathlon model (52 cm frame), for about 12 years as my only road bike, after buying it new in San Diego in the fall of 1988 for ~$699, which was about $200 less than retail price because the shop needed to make room for incoming '89 models.

I'm not sure how the Triathlon frame differed from the regular Gara frame. Mine had a similar pearly light pale green paint job with chromed fork, but my rear triangle was chromed as well--it was a pretty classy paint and chrome scheme that would look good today, if it weren't for the Miele decals in their 80's font and fluorescent tones.

My frame had lugged construction, and was made with Columbus SL tubing; the fork had a sloping aero or semi-aero crown. And the bike was spec'd with a complete Shimano 600 6 speed group, w downtube indexed shifters, and Sella Italia Turbo saddle; I can't recall if bar & stem were Cinelli or not. The wheels were built with some kind of Ambrosio dark anodyzed "semi-aero" rim (very similar to Mavic's Open 4 CD), w 32 spokes laced around 600 hubs, and 6 speed thread-on freewheel (Uniglide?), gearing was 52-42 x 13-24 (or 26?) if I recall correctly. And there was only enough clearance in both the fork and the rear triangle for 25 mm tires.

As far as riding, the bike had a great road feel--it was lively, responsive, and nimble (my chainstays were so short that I'd have to deflate the 25mm wide rear tire to slide the rear hub forward in the semihorizontal dropouts, in order to remove the rear wheel). It was definitely the frame that felt the best to me, after comparing it to other bikes I test rode that were in that similar ~$800 price range. And I bought that Miele in '88 to upgrade from my first road bike, an '86 Centurion LeMans RS (Japanese lugged frame built w Tange #2 tubes, Shimano 6-speed indexed "Light Action" 525 group, and 36-spoke wheelset), that had relaxed sport-touring geometry and a much less responsive feel than the Miele. I have a lot of great memories of that Miele, including the Davis Double Century when I was in college.

What's amazing to me is that I've seen those 30+ year old LeMans RS bikes (they were the model just beneath the Dave Scott Ironman bikes on Centurion's hierarchy) recently listed on CL in SoCal for $400, which is actually more than what I paid for mine when it was brand new in '86 (I'm pretty sure I paid ~$375)!

So, yeah, I agree with Blakcloud: if you paid $250 for the Gara, then I think you got a helluva good deal for a great bike, especially since I've seen complete Shimano Tri-Color 600/Ultegra groups recently listed on eBay for ~$200.