Used Bikes - What to Watch For

Matt O'Toole wrote:

Ebay is fine, but IME it's a sellers' market due to
auction fever,
especially at the low end. Shipping charges make up too
big a
percentage of low cost items too. So keep an eye on the
local
classifieds.

rec.bicycles.marketplace is a great resource -- you might
try a WTB
ad there.

Craig's List can be a good local classified source.
For example, here's what's currently available in Chicago:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/bik/

My height is 5'10" (double checked it and got that) and my inseam is 32
1/2". A sizing chart says I would fit a 56-58cm frame, is that about
right?

wrote in message
ups.com...
My height is 5'10" (double checked it and got that) and my inseam is 32
1/2". A sizing chart says I would fit a 56-58cm frame, is that about
right?

I have the same inseam, but am 5' 9", and I think my bike is a 54 or a 55.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Ok hopefully I'll be ending this thread soon - hate to keep posting
over and over to my own thread (been flamed elsewhere for that :P).

I'm seriously considering the Windsor Leeds bike (new) on ebay. I
spent a considerable amount of time comparing the geometry of that bike
to all of the measurements of the bike I have been riding, and it looks
like it should fit just fine.

The only thing that concerns me are the shimano-sora derailleurs. I
hear from the reviews they are low-quality and mostly every review says
they -will- break after awhile. Are the Shimano 105 rear derailleaurs
any better than the soras? I see them on ebay (listed as being 6/7/8
speed compatible) around $25. Just wondering if I should pick one for
8 spd up and swap it out if I get that bike or just stick with the sora
until it breaks (if it does).

Lots of hilly terrain in this area (SE Mass.), so I do a lot of
shifting.

On 3 Dec 2004 21:47:54 -0800, wrote:

What about steel frames? I've seen some of the (cheaper) bikes on ebay
with steel frames. These are heavier than aluminum, right?

Steel's not a bad thing. They ride nice and the weight difference is trivial, a
complete bike you might find at your price weighs 22-25 pounds, the difference
between a very heavy frame and a very light one is about 3.5 pounds.You're
better off with a quality steel frame than crap aluminum.

I would suggest buying local if possible. The more experience, spare parts and /
or money you have the less difficulty a surprise will cause.

Ron

On 4 Dec 2004 16:43:38 -0800, wrote:

My height is 5'10" (double checked it and got that) and my inseam is 32
1/2". A sizing chart says I would fit a 56-58cm frame, is that about
right?

Hi, I'm 5'10" and I think my inseam is about 32". I ride a 53cm
LeMond. My other bike is an older bike that was considered a 23"
frame, which is 57.5cm. Well I am comfortable on it, I much prefer the
smaller frame.
I wouldn't go bigger than the 56cm, but remember, that is my opinion.


Life is Good!
Jeff

wrote in message
oups.com...
Ok hopefully I'll be ending this thread soon

Who says you get to end it, huh huh huh? Who made you King of Usenet?

:-D

- hate to keep posting
over and over to my own thread (been flamed elsewhere for that :P).

We're pretty laid back here in rbm. Avoid words like "helmet", "huffy", or
"Fabrizio", and you'll be fine.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm seriously considering the Windsor Leeds bike (new) on ebay....

i was also considering that model. the only reason i went up to the Dover
was that i felt some of the components (like wheels) were a little sturdier,
and i like to do some light trail riding as well as the road riding.

The only thing that concerns me are the shimano-sora derailleurs. I
hear from the reviews they are low-quality and mostly every review says
they -will- break after awhile.

i guess *anything* will break after awhile, but i used a 2001 Lemond Poprad
($900 when new) which had Sora derailleurs. after 14500 miles the cassette
and chainrings needed to be replaced, but the derailleurs were fine. (the
cassette and chainrings got ruined because i never replaced the chain in
14500 miles. i now know that's not recommended.)

Lots of hilly terrain in this area (SE Mass.), so I do a lot of
shifting.

i mostly ride flat but am now starting to try hills and the gearing on the
Dover (and Leeds) is a decent range for me. chainrings are 30-42-52 and
cassette is 11-28. lest this sound like an ad for the Windsors, i will say
that i've had to adjust the derailleurs a bit. i presume this is due to the
cables settling in. i've only got about 500 miles on it, but i've tweaked
the adjustments a bit when the chain slipped off the inner chanring the
other day. also, shifting from the smallest chainring to the middle
chainring takes a good hard twist of the shift lever to get a clean shift.
it may be that this is a characteristic of Sora, or it may be that things
still aren't adjusted correctly, or it may be that i'm just not used to
shifting with the brake lever because my old bike had bar-end shifters.

if you have any specific questions, let me know and we can take this to
email.

I think i'm going to get it. I mean, sora is better than what i've
been using the past summer, so it can't be that terribly bad. 14k
miles would be a few years considering the amount of riding I do - a 5
mile or so ride each day and during the summer I do some trips down
into RI on the bike paths (paved). No trail riding here so the tires
should be fine. Worst case scenario I just swap it out. Overall looks
like a nice bike and I like the brifters compared to the downtube
shifters i've seen on other bikes. Thanks for everyones input, will
let you know how it turns out.