Old 2nd Hand Bike Buying

sonny73

I'm thinking of getting an old school bike mainly for a bit of fun, to pimp it up and for when we have friends over or mates round; as they often want to come out for a ride or I'm trying to preach the good word of road cycling to them and trying to get them to have a go and I'm not buying another bloomin mustard bike just for that purpose

I'm looking specifically at this bad boy for £45, a Sun Bike:




or for £65 a MBK Super Sport 12:


Now my question as I am not a knowledge on buying old school bikes, that assuming these are in good nick, not falling apart with rust and the wheels turn are these good prices?

ridieboy

Now my question as I am not a knowledge on buying old school bikes, that assuming these are in good nick, not falling apart with rust and the wheels turn are these good prices

Well they look rideable to me.

I'd say those bikes are comparable to £300-£400 bikes in todays market. What you should look for are bikes equipped with Campag Super Record...

Monty Dog

Vintage IMO indicates something of intrinsic quality and value worth preserving, in which case those two examples are strong incentives for a scrappage policy for old bikes! The MBK is the better of two examples but not so sure about the late-80s fluoro paintjob. As OP states, find yourself a decent quality frame and seek out good quality contemporary parts

sonny73

Monty Dog wrote:

Vintage IMO indicates something of intrinsic quality and value worth preserving, in which case those two examples are strong incentives for a scrappage policy for old bikes!

Yes fair point, I was using the term rather loosely I grant you.

sonny73

I light of your accurate and fair comment I have changed the name of the thread
I would buy a frame and do it the right way if it was for me alone, but I'm being a cheapskate due to who will be using it

Monty Dog

In which case make sure that the frame is made from good quality tubing and the shape and finish of the lugs will give a good indication of the quality of the frame - look at a few old frames to familiarise yourself with the important details e.g. Classic Rendezvous to get some ideas. Scouring your local ads and even municipal dump might turn up a bargain find.

sonny73

Monty Dog wrote:

In which case make sure that the frame is made from good quality tubing and the shape and finish of the lugs will give a good indication of the quality of the frame - look at a few old frames to familiarise yourself with the important details e.g. Classic Rendezvous to get some ideas. Scouring your local ads and even municipal dump might turn up a bargain find.

That's great thanks for the info, most helpful.