SL2 Tarmac – worth it?

If the geometry works for you, then it’s a good deal. The cassette doesn’t look worn, so even though the chain is a bit rusty, it probably wasn’t ridden unlubricated.

The bike looks almost entirely stock, like it has been sitting in that dank basement for most of its life. The tires don’t match, the rear was replaced at some point. The chain doesn’t look too serious to me, it might still be ok if there aren’t any stiff links. I’d check the condition of the front tire (possibly original) as it’s quite old. Check the bar tape, the hoods (the rubber on the brake levers), and the saddle. These can get nasty when stored improperly. The cassette looks fine, just some dust.

This is a good bike, I had an ’07 which was the previous version of this frame and I loved it. If this were me, I’d go to look at and poke at a couple things and talk about how they are deteriorated from storage in a humid environment. Say you will need to replace the chain, cassette, tires, bar tape, and get a tune up which could be $500-600 easily with all that stuff. Offer $450-500 cash and see where things go from there.

You probably don’t need to replace all that stuff, but you aren’t going to want an 18 year old front tire. And if the hoods are sticky, that is gross. Mechanically it is probably sound. Check the rear derailleur for proper installation, it looks like it isn’t threaded into the hanger fully in the photo.

Is that a 56cm? Make sure it will fit you properly. Spin the rear and make sure it is click-clicking. The lubricant in the freehub can get sticky with age.

The reason everybody here always says these older bikes are priced too high is because they can potentially be full of problems and a full service could easily be more expensive than you pay for it. If you can get it back on the road for minimal investment it’s worth pursuing. Make sure you get the cleats for those pedals from the guy. They are ~$40-50. If he doesn’t have them take it off the price.