Hey all. I’m in the market for a bicycle and came across this listing. Owner describes it as a 53cm “vintage,” but with “brand new tyres (700c), tubes, and saddle.”
This seems reasonable, but I cannot stress how less than nothing I know about bikes. Shopping around for one actually feels like it leeched knowledge out of my brain. For reference, I haven’t touched a bicycle since I was an elementary school kid (so ~20 years now). I’m about 162 cm/5’4″ish and mainly do Olympic lifting and bodybuilding for exercise, so the bike is largely for fun and general aerobic fitness. Is this a decent choice for my purposes or am I overlooking anything?
It’s a perfectly average road bike from that time period, probably would have been considered low-mid range, Centurion is a reputable bike builder but this was one of their cheaper bikes. It will work just fine for your purposes, although it may be slightly on the tall side for you, you’ll have to determine that in person.
The steel tubing it’s made of is nothing special, but not bad either. The Shimano parts are also, kinda on the lower end of the spectrum, but not bad either, they’ll work. 700c wheels is a good thing if you are in the States, otherwise I think that’s normal? The quick releases on the wheels are in the wrong spot, should be on the left side of the bike- but no biggie, that’s a five minute fix.
Also, if you go to check it out, bring along some Allen wrenches, loosen up the seat and make sure it can move up and down. Sometimes they get stuck, and it’s a lot of work to get them unstuck and is not worth buying. Stand over the top tube with both feet on the ground, the top tube shouldn’t be uncomfortably digging into your groin, or it’s too big for you. The seat, when set at the right height, will be too high to stop and put both feet down, you’ll have to lean over onto one foot or the other. This will feel really weird at first if you haven’t ridden in a while. At the bottom of the pedal stroke, your leg should have a slight bend, and shouldn’t be all the way extended. It’s a good idea to watch some bike-fit videos for more info on this.
The price- what is that, $185 USD? or $205? In any case, I think that’s a bit towards the high end for a bike like this, at least based on the current market in my area. It may fetch that in a hot market, I’m not sure. I’d try to bargain more around $100, but again, check that post I linked for more opinions, and be aware that the market for used bikes is good for buyers right now, current prices for that bike are easily twenty bucks less than they would be a year or two ago.
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Hey all. I’m in the market for a bicycle and came across this listing. Owner describes it as a 53cm “vintage,” but with “brand new tyres (700c), tubes, and saddle.”
This seems reasonable, but I cannot stress how less than nothing I know about bikes. Shopping around for one actually feels like it leeched knowledge out of my brain. For reference, I haven’t touched a bicycle since I was an elementary school kid (so ~20 years now). I’m about 162 cm/5’4″ish and mainly do Olympic lifting and bodybuilding for exercise, so the bike is largely for fun and general aerobic fitness. Is this a decent choice for my purposes or am I overlooking anything?
Looks to be from the late eighties, and you can find more opinions on [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Vintage_bicycles/s/wI1m2v4FfJ) (although that bike is an Accord “RS” and is probably slightly nicer.)
It’s a perfectly average road bike from that time period, probably would have been considered low-mid range, Centurion is a reputable bike builder but this was one of their cheaper bikes. It will work just fine for your purposes, although it may be slightly on the tall side for you, you’ll have to determine that in person.
The steel tubing it’s made of is nothing special, but not bad either. The Shimano parts are also, kinda on the lower end of the spectrum, but not bad either, they’ll work. 700c wheels is a good thing if you are in the States, otherwise I think that’s normal? The quick releases on the wheels are in the wrong spot, should be on the left side of the bike- but no biggie, that’s a five minute fix.
Also, if you go to check it out, bring along some Allen wrenches, loosen up the seat and make sure it can move up and down. Sometimes they get stuck, and it’s a lot of work to get them unstuck and is not worth buying. Stand over the top tube with both feet on the ground, the top tube shouldn’t be uncomfortably digging into your groin, or it’s too big for you. The seat, when set at the right height, will be too high to stop and put both feet down, you’ll have to lean over onto one foot or the other. This will feel really weird at first if you haven’t ridden in a while. At the bottom of the pedal stroke, your leg should have a slight bend, and shouldn’t be all the way extended. It’s a good idea to watch some bike-fit videos for more info on this.
The price- what is that, $185 USD? or $205? In any case, I think that’s a bit towards the high end for a bike like this, at least based on the current market in my area. It may fetch that in a hot market, I’m not sure. I’d try to bargain more around $100, but again, check that post I linked for more opinions, and be aware that the market for used bikes is good for buyers right now, current prices for that bike are easily twenty bucks less than they would be a year or two ago.
these are decent listings
https://houston.craigslist.org/bik/d/sugar-land-cannondale-400-road-bike/7743749396.html
https://houston.craigslist.org/bik/d/pearland-58-cm-lemans-centurian-road/7739785328.html