Road Bikes are Back!!!!!

Why not check garage sales. I picked mine up fairly cheap (35-40
dollars canadian). Unfortunately I had to do a lot of replacement
(chain both wheels, chainring . . . .) But overall it was still
cheaper than buying a new bike. Especially with the prices of new road
bikes these days.

"Paladin 3000" wrote in message
ups.com...
Why not check garage sales. I

Indeed: I picked up my second-best best garage sale find of the year last
Saturday. A late 80's Nishiki Riviera GT touring bike. Complete with ESGE
fenders, a nice leather saddlebag and a rack. Tange Infinity double-butted
frameset with lots of rack and water bottle mounts. Canti brakes. I took
apart the headset and hubs and soon realized that further maintenance was
pointless - the bike was essentially off of the showroom floor. The tires
still had the rubber nubbies on them.

The 80's Japanese touring bikes were an outstanding value, and are still the
best commuter/ general use bikes going. These bikes are a better all-round
match for what most folks really need than any bikes being mass-marketed
these days. Bottom line: you do not want to travel on pavement for any
distance on a mountain bike. Or use a bike that has any suspension. Or on
anything that weighs more than 25 pounds. Or has knobby tires.

Cost: $25 Canadian dollars, or like about $5 in real currency. Downside: I
didn't even have a chance to dicker over the price. The sellers starting
offer completely deflated me.

Best yard sale find this year: A 90's era Guibulato road bike - complete
Dura-Ace - 8-speed STI.