Cheap & Green: Refurbish a Bicycle from Craigslist

Cheap & Green: A Refurbished Bicycle from Craigslist

If you are an avid biker or cyclist, then you probably enjoy owning multiple types of bikes. Recently I wanted to purchase a new road bike to go alongwith my hybrid bike. However I didn't want to fork over the $700 to $1000 that a decent new road bike commands. So I did the next most logical thing; searched by local Craigslist website for used bike options.

Before searching on Craigslist, I had to decide on two things;
1. Set a budget, In my case I was unwilling to spend over $100
2. Figure out my bike size

Once I had these figures in order, I began to search Craigslist. I typed in my bike size and searched only those ads that had photographs. After about a week of searching I came across a decent white Nishiki for sale. I contacted the seller and went to take a look at it.

A little history on the brand Nishiki; Nishiki doesn't exist anymore. The Nishiki brand name was purchased by Derby International to go along with the Raleigh and the Univega brands. Derby stopped manufacturing Nishiki in 2001. Originally Nishiki were quite popular, but they made a mistake by selling their bikes through chain stores. This action really ticked off the small bike stores and bike shops that sold the brand exclusively. These dealers dropped the Nishiki brand, and the brand never really recovered.

Anyway, the bike was in decent shape, it appeared to be a model from the early 80's. It needed new wheels, tubes, tires, and handlebar grip tape. On the plus side the bike had new metal pedals with the foot cages and a newer bike seat. The seller was asking $85 and I talked him down to $80. I then took the bike to a local bike shop and had the above mentioned items put on my bike for approximately $190. I then purchased a bike computer at a local bike trade show.

This spring, on the first warm day that we had, I took the Nishiki out for a ride. It handled great and offered a smooth ride. Hope this article will encourage you to be green and cheap and refurbish a bike from Craigslist instead of purchasing a new bike.