Nkpodi

Hi,

I'm looking to get into the sport and decided to search for a used road bike online to help learn more about bikes and my likes/dislikes before making a bigger more permanent purchase. I found a Raleigh Pursuit Road Bike online for $200. Is this a good price point for this vintage bike? Is the Raleigh Pursuit a good entry level bike? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

shelbyfv

There have been several different bikes with that name. Maybe you can provide approximate year and frame material for a start.

Nkpodi

I believe its a Raleigh Pursuit 502 from the mid 1980s. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what material the frame is made out of. Here are some pictures:

probe1957

If you like it and it fits $200 isn’t a lot of money. I would offer $100 for this bike tho.

Russ Roth

The first road bike I ever really rode was a raleigh pursuit a year or two older then that one. It was a great bike that I rode thousands of miles wearing out all manner of items on it and would happily get another the exact same for occasional rides around the neighborhood. But if I was buying it as an introduction to road bikes I'd be inclined to pass on it now a days. The wheels are 27" which are annoying to get decent tires for but not worth upgrading and attempting to fit 700c wheels to, the brakes won't reach on it either. The brakes don't stop that well and it is heavier and outdated. I would look for something at least a decade newer with brake/shift levers and at least 14sp, preferably new enough to be 18sp. I'd also offer 100 if you go for it.

cb400bill

Thread moved from General Cycling to Classic & Vintage Appraisals.

randyjawa 

Pretty much an entry level steed but that is not, necessarily, bad. The $200 price is out of line in just about every market that I am aware of. That said...

The virus pandemic has impacted the used bicycle market dramatically. In Thunder Bay, of all places, used bikes are now tough to find and once found, they are pricey (unless you get them from the dump, like I often do) to buy and sell in less than a day (Kijiji). So, that being said, the $200 mark might be a bit more realistic, particularly in a strong market area (hard to evaluate a price without know where the bike is located). However...

I bet that there is a forum member, who frequents these pages, in your area who just might have something more worth while. You might want to give out For Sale forum a shot. Trust me (I know, I know, I know), this is a pretty darn good place to find many of the vintage things, including bikes, that you might need or simply want.

ramzilla

Those Raleigh Pursuits were mass produced in Taiwan at one of the Giant factories. They were very well made fully lugged high tensile steel frames and, were equipped with nice Araya alloy wheels. That is some smooth rolling stuff right there. If it was me, I'd try & snag it for less. Then, I'd put upright handlebars on it & turn it into a "city bike" with racks & fenders. Those old Raleighs make for really beautiful city bikes.

CyclingFool95 

Unless your goal is to get into the sport in the mid 1980s, why not look for something a bit more modern. For sub-$300, you can find a mid-2010s aluminum bike with something like Tiagra components. Again, unless you're looking for the L'Eroica experience, there's little comparison between that bike and one with STI levers, dual-pivot brakes, compact crankset, and all the other tech that's trickled in since the early 1990s.