What Jim says is well worth considering. I don't know how much I have in mine but I know it would be way north of $800 if I would have bought everything new (might be anyhow). I had it repainted and had used parts I on hand that I used and it still cost me a fair amount of money . The used parts cost me something at some point in time and new cables,chain, tire,tubes,ect. all add up. I also have enough parts that I knew if I didn't like the setup I could always change it's hairdo That being said it's still one of my favorite bikes but then again it fits me and I like the ride. If I were fiscally responsible when it comes to bicycles. I probably would have never pursued it. But I'm not. On Tuesday, April 9, 2013 7:01:07 AM UTC-5, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery wrote:
> No comment particular to the RB-T, but of old, used bikes in general. IME, > you can spend a load of $$$ on a used bike chasing an unattainable dream. > At a minimum: unless the bike is a garage-queen formerly owned by an OCD > type, or you happen to be a decent wrench yourself and have a garage full > of good parts, you're probably going to have to spend a small fortune at > the LBS replacing things that are worn out. Chain, cassette, > crank/chainring(s), brake pads, bar-tape, cables, tires, and who knows what > else, along with a tune-up/overhaul...could easily run to $300 or even $500 > (even with mediocre replacement parts) at a LBS. As a "best-case" scenario, > I'm not including stuff like cracked/bent rims or screwed up hubs or a > stuck seatpost or a handlebar/stem that Nitto says you should replace every > 5 years (or when your GF needs a different bar/stem for comfort)...things > that can run into big money. So, let's say that, with this basic > maintenance, the bike actually costs you $800 total. Even for that $800, > most of the "good" parts that were not replaced (including the frame) are > still 20 years old, and have an unknown history. And besides that, unless > your GF really has her heart set on a RB-T, you've just spent $800 on a > bike that you settled for because it was one of very few suitable options > available on the local used market. If she doesn't like it after going > through all that trouble, you'll be lucky to recoup even a fraction of the > extra $$$ you put into fixing it up. > > For that $800 or a bit more, you could buy a NEW bike with all new parts > and a warranty and a LBS that wants you and your GF to be happy customers. > Most importantly, the new bike world allows a person to shop around a bit > to find a bike he/she really likes, rather than settling for whatever > happens to make it to Craigslist. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
