Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Performance M505 Steel MTB ~ For Sale

For Sale
Performance M505
MTB
This is a great little bike in excellent condition, it looks good and mechanically it's just about perfect, everything works as it should, and it's ready to ride. It dates to the late 1990's before the introduction of shocks and the extensive use of aluminum for bicycle frames. This one is made with Easton AVR Steel Tubing. All the bearing are smooth and the 8 speed Shimano Derailleurs shift perfectly. It is set up for street use with Ritchey slick tires. The frame size is 18 1/4" (46 cm) measured to the top of the seat lug and the stand over height is about 29". The components are a mixture of Shimano STX, LX and XT. A very decent quality bike that rides great and makes a great commuter or grocery store bike. It has eyelets for a rear rack. It was never ridden off road but if you want that option I have off road tires available for you. $239 will do it.


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Monday, January 18, 2010

Posting Bicycle Ad's on Craigs List .... How NOT to

I don't know who wrote this but I think it's exceptional, insightful and very much to the point. It appeared on the Inland Empire, Ca. Craigs List in 2009.


PLEASE NOTE: This may or may not apply to you. But some of you that are selling need to have a good look.

1. Just because your bike was made in Europe doesn't mean you've got a winner. They made a lot of junk, too.
2. A low end bike that was $97.00 in 1976 is not magically worth $400 now.
3. Adult bikes do not have goosenecks.
4. If the chain is conspicuously rusty and kinked in the picture, nobody is going to fall for your claims of "mint condition".
5. If you get asked how many speeds it has and do not know nor care, pull your ad. Immediately.
6. Telling us that you found it in a barn is not a rationale for overpricing it.
7. Take OFF the $10 price tag from Goodwill before you take your Craigslist picture and ask $250 for it.
8. "Light and FAST!" . . . Ok, if you say so.
9. Not everything with those kooky, curvy handlebars is a race bike.
10. Neither is a race bike "improved" by flipping those curvy handlebars upside down.
11. Don't be offended if someone offers you an insulting amount that is far less than you want for your bike - they're just smarter than you.
12. Don't get ticked off if someone low-balls you when you state "make offer" in your ad. You asked for it.
13. Tires are tires, wheels are wheels and rims are rims. These terms are not interchangeable.
14. Breaks should be referred to as "brakes", petles or petals as "pedals".
15. Your bike was not made by Shimano, Suntour, or Campagnolo. I know you saw that name somewhere on it, but just trust me on this one.
16. Vintage implies it was worth something when it was new, otherwise it's just OLD.
17. High tensile steel - yeah, they put a sticker on the bike that says it but I wouldn't be bragging about it.
18. Go ahead and repost that 10 speed Huffy every week - no one will tire of its charm. If you're willing to endure the humiliation, we'll be there for you until you reach your target market.
19. ALL CAPS DOES NOT MAKE IT A BETTER BIKE.
20. Pictures of the LEFT side of the bike aren't worth much of anything, nobody can see the drivetrain. All things considered, perhaps you'd rather want to hide it anyway.
21. Blurry pictures add a negative symbol to your price tag.
22. If you steal someone else's photos (not the manufacturer's) from the web and use them to represent your own bike, you are absolute scum.
23. "Suitable for fixie conversion" doesn't make a POS frame any more valuable. For that matter...WHAT makes it suitable?
24. If you think your bicycle is worth a four figure sum ($x,xxx), the LEAST you could do is to spell the brand and component names correctly. (eg. Trek, not treck; Schwinn, not shwin; Campagnolo, not Campagnola; and Shimano - not shmano, shimono, or shamano)
25. Include the size of the bicycle! Measured from the center of the cranks (the big sprocket) to the top of the seat tube (before the silver or black post that holds the seat [saddle].) It needs to be in either inches or centimeters... both if you are nice.
26. NEXT, Magna, Huffy, Roadmaster, and Murray are NOT highly-respected brands. Get over it.
27. Taking a nice multispeed road bike that was posted here two days ago for a reasonable price, raping it of all good derailleur parts, and making it a single speed with a $22 Chinese bmx cog from performancebike.com does not double or triple its value or make it a "race bike" or "fixie"
28. There is no such thing as a road mountain bike.
29. Just because you are selling it for a friend doesn't make you an expert if you are not.
30. If you don't list the brand and it is unreadable in the photos, we will assume it is a POS.
31. Research the going price of your bike before posting.
32. Just because it cost a lot 10 years ago when it was brand new and you have barely ridden it, doesn't mean it is worth 50% + of new price. (see above.)
33. Just because you bought it within the past year doesn't mean someone is going to pay close to what you paid, especially if the new model years are coming out and yours is now discounted.
34. Don't use terms you do not understand - if it does not have rear suspension, it is not full suspension.
35. Spellcheck is your friend, use it.
36. Proofread - I have never seen a bike measured in feet but I've seen a lot of 26' bikes posted.
37. If it is an X-mart bike, and you just paid to have it "tuned up", you probably just wasted your money as the tune up was probably more than the bike is worth.
38. No one wants to call for basic information you should have posted or to have you send pictures.
39. Don't sell a used helmet unless you really did just buy it, otherwise it may have been crashed and is a safety hazard.
40. Chrome Schwinn Paramounts are not "rare." Desired by collectors, perhaps; but there's at least one on eBay every week, if not two.
41. A road bike is a road bike, a mountain bike is a mountain bike, a mountain bike with smooth tread tires does not make it a road bike.

Some Thoughts on the FIXIE

Some Thoughts on the FIXIE
I think that the FIXIE conversion is the best thing that has happened to the bicycle industry in a very long time. It started as a grass roots movement and my hat's off to the Messengers that started it and the Hipsters that made it flourish. It went from the people up not from the industry down, and that folks is significant. It demonstrates that an industry that lacks imagination and is fixated on "racing" can be influenced. So ..... If you have been thinking about building a Fixie do yourself a big favor and start with a decent frame. A frame that's made of quality seemless bicycle specific tubing like Reynolds, Columbus, Tange and others. I'm seeing a lot of toy quality crap being touted as "perfect for a Fixie conversion" it's not perfect for anything except the metal recycler. Toy Quality bicycles are poorly designed and poorly constructed with sub standard seemed tubing that was never intended to be a bicycle frame. They are heavy and will never ride well. There are a few other considerations like a long horizontal rear dropout, the Campagnolo 1010 or 1010a is perfect, track ends are even better. Vertical drops present potential problems with gearing and chain tension. Also it's nice to find a frame that doesn't have a lot of braze-on fitments, you're not going to be using them and they look a little out of place. But those are cosmetic considerations a quality frame is critical to the overall success of your conversion. But like all things that can be commercialized the FIXIE has been co opted by the industry which has introduced some really stupid stuff like "foot long" handlebars. WTF? And Deep V's the bearing quality on those is poor, and that doesn't improve your ride. Just some thoughts ........ But whatever you do don't cut off the derailleur hanger OR RUN YOUR CHAIN TO TIGHT.

Stumpjumper FSR

Here are some pictures of a
Specialized M4 S-Works FSR
Stumpjumper
that I would like to find a new home. It's mechanically just about perfect but It's just to big for me to ride comfortably. This is a 17" frame with a Thomson Seatpost, Easton Carbon Bars and a Chris King Headset. The XT Shifters are brand new so are the tires, chain and cassette, as are the two bigger chainrings along with the brake pads, cables and cable housing . It looks good and there is no damage to the frame. The derailleurs are XTR and so are the brakes. I would consider a trade for a vintage steel road bike or just a trade for a M4 or M2 S-Works Hardtail frame that's smaller. That would be my frame for your frame. I completely, rebuilt this bike, bearings and all, a year ago and rode it once at Fantasy Island in Tucson. I'm a Rodie so I don't get off road much but when I do I prefer a hardtail. Would consider a trade for vintage steel, carbon road bikes are nice too. BTW I have the original paperwork on this bike. I think it's worth around $800, email me alvan66@cox.net if you think this might work for you.

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Introduction


Welcome
to


Al Van Varick's

Velo Esoterica



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It's all about the bicycle,
which for me is a passion, a hobby and a business. But you may encounter some
other things here, from time to time, that I find interesting. The primary
focus is on "High End Road Bikes" of professional quality and the
components that put them in that class. Mostly "vintage" (steel) but
also "current" (carbon) or modern bikes.

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I'm one of eBay's "Top Rated Sellers" eBay Top Rated Seller
under the monikers velo-ideale
and al_van_varick.
I started in 2003 and it just keeps getting better. I'm also a big fan of
Craig's List and the
Classic Rendezvous.