Ripoff du jour

Craigslist is a useful place for getting a good deal on a used bike.

Unless the deal is no deal at all, and is a ripoff extraordinaire.

This week has seem some spectacularly bad deals such as:


Nakamura bike - $1000


What the ad doesn't say is that Nakamura is the house brand of Sports Experts store, and is unless the tubing is filled with diamonds, is worth about 25% of that price.  This seller needs to get a lot better grip on reality than he is now experiencing,

Vintage '88 Trek 560 Road Bike (55cm) - $450

What the ad doesn't say is this bike is 25 years old, was nothing special to begin with, and is worth about half that price if is going to be a good deal in the craigslist universe.

CCM corsa cream vintage men bike - late 70s -nice retro look - $250

What the ad doesn't say is that this bike cost $100 when it was new, was a crappy bike when it was new, has steel rims that don't work in the rain, and it would be a good deal at a price of $50.

Simplex SLJ 5500 Rear Derailleur - $45

The ad says "Considered by some to be the best derailleur ever made." But leaves out the "in 1975" part.

VINTAGE CCM HIS AND HERS HYBRIDS - $500

When you see the word "Vintage" in an ad, stop reading it and move on. Here are two five-speed cheap 1970s bikes, which cost about $100 each when new, and they sure didn't go up in price or value since then! 

Vintage style women cruiser bike - $160

Again with the "Vintage" which you should translate as "worth $50 tops."

Orange road bike - Peugeot - Vintage 1972 - $250

Ah, Peugeot, your super cheap 1970s bikes don't get better with age, but unfortunately don't ever die either. This bike was $100 in 1972, and is still worth 100 in 2012. 


Interesting how often we see the "image" word "vintage" and the reality "ripoff" go together.  There are lots of good deals on Craigslist, but none of these bikes is in that category.