ignorant newbies new bike questions?

I just got a "new" road bike from a friend who is letting me try i
out to see how it fits, and will buy it later. Though I have no ide
as to what it would be worth, and dont want to be insulting whe
making an offer, however I am also a poor college student who can
afford to pay much

It is a Vitus 979 (guessing circa 85-88 aluminum
w/Shimano Dura-ace cranks,brakes,shift levers (on down tube), derailers
bottom bracket. Mallard 700 hubs? Matrix Anodic rims? Vittoria Rubin
kevlar tires? and a Selle San Marco racing seat

The bike appears to be like new, and rides incredibly smooth
though this is only in comparison to my previous 70'
MontogomeryWard road bike

I am mostly curious about what would be a fair price and have though
about upgrading to the brake levers that replace the shifting on th
down tubes. Thank


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In article ,
SARLizard wrote:
I just got a "new" road bike from a friend who is letting me try it
out to see how it fits, and will buy it later. Though I have no idea
as to what it would be worth, and dont want to be insulting when
making an offer, however I am also a poor college student who cant
afford to pay much.

It is a Vitus 979 (guessing circa 85-88 aluminum)
w/Shimano Dura-ace cranks,brakes,shift levers (on down tube), derailers,
bottom bracket. Mallard 700 hubs? Matrix Anodic rims? Vittoria Rubino
kevlar tires? and a Selle San Marco racing seat.

The bike appears to be like new, and rides incredibly smooth,
though this is only in comparison to my previous 70's
MontogomeryWard road bike.

I am mostly curious about what would be a fair price and have thought
about upgrading to the brake levers that replace the shifting on the
down tubes. Thanks

That will be an expensive upgrade so don't offer too much for the
bike. $300 would be a lot to pay if you're just going to rip it
apart and spend a couple hundred more on drivetrain parts. $200 would
be a great deal if you wanted to ride it as is for a while, it might
be worth a bit more than that depending on condition (my guess anyway).

You might be better off looking for something a little newer that
has parts more like what you want, unless the Vitus is super cheap.