Hello everybody! I was looking for a second hand bike on marketplace, and found a bottecchia. I'm not very experienced with bikes and a close friend recommended I post here for advice. I will post a picture here.
I plan to use the bike for commute from Home to campus and back, as well as a possibility of adding a basket for grocery shopping. The city I live in has lots of ups and downs, as well as many (many) potholes and unstable roads.
I tried doing some research and found out this bike is a bit more on the vintage side, but I wanted a second opinion.
by Mkeshti
4 Comments
How much?
Yes, it is vintage, but that is a good thing. Probably a steel frame, they last forever. It has enough gear range to cover hills. It has mudguards and luggage rack – all you need for commuting.
Hard to gauge if anything is worth it if there is no price associated. Not sure where you’re located but this bike should be under $400 in the US imo.
*also this will be heavy as sin. Doesn’t matter to most people but some need to carry their bike upstairs and things. So something to consider.
Bottecchia is an old Italian brand known for quite decent, but not exceptional bikes.
This particular bike seems to have a nice lugged steel frame. For 60€. As long as there are no obvious signs of head-on collisions, hard to do anything wrong at this prize point.
Be prepared to grease the wheel bearings and grease/replace the bottom bracket; measure chain wear and replace chain and drivetrain parts if necessary.
If shifting/braking is rough, replace the cables and cable “hoses”. New brake pads will greatly improve wet braking.
Absolute worst case is you’ll spent another 150-200€ on maintensnce, but then you’re good for the next several thousand kilometres. Best case you need to invest nothing and are good for several thousand km.
If the bike fits and the frame shows no signs of having been in a severe crash, go for it!
That’s a very nice paint job. Buy it.