Good Bike? Need some help

So I was at the local recycling store this afternoon, and found a Specialized Allez bike they have for $125.

A quick google search tells me that that name means not a whole lot- but the bike appears to be a fairly old frame. Not carbon or aluminum for sure. Shifters are on the lower part of the frame- not the handles (forgive me for not knowing the proper terminology)

The rear derailler is a Suntour GPX set up (didn't look at the front), and the brakes are Royal Compe II.

No seat, and the handle bars need re-wrapped. No pedals.

Seems as if it's a good bike- searching for the components- they are reviewed to be good.

I kind of want a road bike, and for the price, it seems hard to beat.

Thoughts?

It's a classic! These are the bikes they rode in that Kevin Costner/Rae Dawn Chong movie "American Flyers". The Suntour GPX dates it to about 1989.

Downtube shifters are what you're talking about. The sign of a "real" road bike.

Make sure it fits you before buying.

In reply to slowride:

Thanks- it does appear to be the one in the movie- but blue. A little more searching, finds me this picture- which is exactly what I found: According to the post that goes with it, it's an '86 Allez SE, but the components have been changed.

Hard to tell if it would fit, since there isn't a seat or pedals. But I have the latter that I can put on. The former- not sure where I'll find that, with post.

I'm just looking for a decent road bike to go with my decent '92 Bianci Mountain bike (which I bought back in '92)

So is $125 a good deal?

You should at least see if you can stand over it and still touch the ground. That will at least tell you if you're in the ballpark.

Seat and seatpost should be easy to find. It may need some work (tuneup etc) but it's a decent bike.

I'm honestly not sure if that's a good price or not. I suspect it's at least competitive.

It should be a great bike. If it's steel, I'd guess it's a '90s vintage frame, which were high quality Japanese or Taiwanese. Component-wise, Suntour stuff used a different index pattern than Shimano stuff, so it wouldn't be directly compatible. If it all works, no need to replace anything anyway, just re-lube, adjust, and go. Is GPX the triple?
Offer 100, get some decent cork bar tape and a new set of Panaracer Paselas.

In reply to XLR99: How do I tell if it's a GPX triple?

And I can't really offer- it's a recycling center. I guess I could offer less due to the missing parts- but I bet the price tries to reflect that.

Ah, didn't see the picture before, that's a double chainring. The rear derailleur for a triple would be longer to keep the chain tensioned over a wider gear range. That crank looks like a Shimano 600, which is a very nice forged crankset. Based on the head tube, it looks like its a 54cm/21" frame, which would fit 'most' people in the 5'5" to 5'9" range.

rear hardware

Brakes

Partial frame

These are my pictures- the one above is the same bike, but someone else's

I had a white one that I bought in 1987. Ended up selling it in '92 or so because I needed the cash. That was a good bike.

Original paint and stickers in-tact, looks to be in good condition. I'd buy that for $125.

Frame size would be the decider. If uncertain, measure along the top tube (centre to centre), and along the seat tube (from centre of bottom bracket). Knowing your height/in-seam measurement (or even the size of your current MTB), we could make a pretty accurate assessment of fit.

Someone somewhere would easily pay $125 for it as-is. From your standpoint - if it fits you - the gamble is how much $$ do you need to sink into it?

Check the cranks & sprockets closely, do the cranks appear true when rotated from above? Are the bearings smooth, but not loose? How much wear do the chainrings have? The spaces between the teeth should be semicircles, not ovaled out.

Is the chain rusty? Do the rear sprockets show any wear?

Are the wheels true and round? Are the tires in good condition? Do they still have any air in them?

Do the shifters and brakes work smoothly? Do the cables look frayed? Do the brakes seem to grab well?

How are the bearings in the head tube? Are they tight but smooth also?

Stand in front of the bike & sight straight down the top tube towards the rear wheel. Does it appear to be centered and straight in the frame? Does the whole rear triangle appear to be bent and/or shifted to the side?

Now stand over the bike looking forward over the front wheel. Is it centered between the crown of the fork? Look at the fork from the side, do the fork legs look bent backward at all?

If the frame & fork aren't bent it will make a very nice vintage ride. However, depending on what repairs/parts/maintenance are required it might not be a cheap ride.

For example, if it needs tires & tubes you're probably at $50 minimum and can quite easily go over $100. New shifter & derailure cables - $20-$30. If there's any problem with the crank or bottom bracket bearings...well you might find a good deal on some used parts, but you also might spend a couple hundred there.

If you can find a used seatpost that fits it may only be $10 or so, but seats of any quality/comfort usually aren't cheap. Same deal with pedals.

I'm not trying to steer you away by any means, just realize that you could end up with $400-$500 into this pretty quickly if it needs much and/or you don't find deals on any good used parts for it. Would it be worth putting that much into? If it fits you and you like it, absolutely!

For reference purposes, this forum is pretty active, kind of the vintage bicycle version of GRM: Bike Forums C&V

Here's the min I'm hoping to invest into the bike (I actually typed car- this is GRM afterall)- seat, seat post, bar tape, tires/tubes (might do clip in pedals depending on what direction this goes). But that's based on what I looked at yesterday. I'll look at it closer focusing on the stuff pete and the size that luke posted.

Which means I need to figure out my size, too.

If I do get it- I'll try to keep the look original- yellow bar tape for sure, tan side walls, and most ones that I've seen also have a yellow seat. That being said- I know the components are not original- just pretty good ones.

So if all goes well, I'll have it by noon. I have two places to try for used parts here- one pretty close to us, and one in the next town over. At least I can get it going.

alfadriver wrote: According to the post that goes with it, it's an '86 Allez SE, but the components have been changed. Hard to tell if it would fit, since there isn't a seat or pedals. But I have the latter that I can put on. The former- not sure where I'll find that, with post. I'm just looking for a decent road bike to go with my decent '92 Bianci Mountain bike (which I bought back in '92) So is $125 a good deal?

Ok, so a little more looking today- one thing that got me was the sticker on the seat tube- all of the pictures show a "racing" sticker, and the one I have says made in Taiwan.

More searching tells me that this is an '87 Specialized SE, which does have all of the same details that are on the bike I'm looking at- like this one- The BlogSpot has more detailed pictures showing the Royal Compe II brakes, and even Suntour components.

So I'm sure this is an 87 bike.

So I got it for $75.

It had some good corrosion- looked like it was outside for a while. Oddly enough- not the chain or gears.

Cleaned it up, and put the post/seat in from my mountain bike. A little odd- it's been a while since I rode a road bike. And the seat would need adjusting.

But it's fast. And other than the seat being a little forward- comfortable. Very. And it makes me want to have the feet strapped down- just nice.

Needs some more cleaning- the front derailleur is pretty sticky- I'm letting some penetrating oil do some work for now. I see that I can take it apart at some point. Rear works nice, but needs adjusted. Brakes are good- some adjustments got that right in line.

Still need to replace the bar tape. Still may go yellow, just to be interesting.

Also need to find the smallest amount of custom paint I can get.

Cool, that's quite a deal!
For paint, it sounds a bit odd, but you may be able to find a match in the nail polish section of Target.

In reply to XLR99:

Thanks. Sounds odd, sure, but does make total sense.

The name doesn't mean a whole lot? It's a Specialized! They make great bikes.

I have a '99 Rockhopper A1 FS Comp. I got it second hand from my BIL and it's been great.

If you fix it up it will probably last you a long time.

There's a tiny local shop that's open 3 times a week- going to them later this week.

Here's what's interesting, at least to me- this is one of the lesser bikes, being made it Taiwan vs Japan. It's hard to think how those would ride- this is that good to me.

Pretty cool.

SFB- I know of Specialized. I'm not a bike person, other than wanting to ride a road bike. I've been told my Bianci is a good bike, too- I just like how it rides.

In reply to alfadriver:

Bianci's are great bikes too. I think you'll be fine fixing up the Allez.

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:

I've got an old Rockhopper too. Mine has baskets & a rack on the back, I use it to run to the store for errands. I've had as much as 50lbs in it...when I stepped off the front wheel came off the ground! It's a pretty comfortable around-town bike for me(I've never been able to handle the typical road bike ergonomics).

Luke wrote: Original paint and stickers in-tact, looks to be in good condition. I'd buy that for $125. Frame size would be the decider. If uncertain, measure along the top tube (centre to centre), and along the seat tube (from centre of bottom bracket). Knowing your height/in-seam measurement (or even the size of your current MTB), we could make a pretty accurate assessment of fit.

Hey! Good to see you posting!

$75 is a felony of a steal. A decent lugged, double-butted steel frame would fetch quite a bit more than that around here. That's a $200 bike all day in this market as-is. Add maybe $100 more for it tuned up/re-greased and with fresh cables and brake pads.

In reply to gamby:

If I can do a rolling restoration, put on a lot of miles, and somehow manage to do a Triathalon- THEN sell it for even- I would be happy.

gamby wrote:

Luke wrote: Original paint and stickers in-tact, looks to be in good condition. I'd buy that for $125. Frame size would be the decider. If uncertain, measure along the top tube (centre to centre), and along the seat tube (from centre of bottom bracket). Knowing your height/in-seam measurement (or even the size of your current MTB), we could make a pretty accurate assessment of fit.

Hey! Good to see you posting! $75 is a felony of a steal. A decent lugged, double-butted steel frame would fetch quite a bit more than that around here. That's a $200 bike all day in this market as-is. Add maybe $100 more for it tuned up/re-greased and with fresh cables and brake pads.

Probably about a $200 bike here too. Because hipsters and fixed gear conversions

In reply to gamby:

Cheers Chris! Doing a lot more riding than driving these days, tbh.

$75! Nice, alfadriver