>>1910351>You are usually much better off buying a poor condition, high end, complete bike, fully stripping it, and rebuilding itThis.
The majority of p[eople have been conditioned to consoom, it really is a kind of illness that they have been infected with. i'll give an example, I mentioned to a lad at work that I liked his phone case, I still hasve an old nokia and have no desire to own a smartphone but he didn't know that, his reaction was to say 'Yeah, I really need to get a new phone, had this for nearly 2 years now'. He assumed my compliment was actually a judgement of his lapse in consooming.
With bikes it's even worse because a good old bike that had a relatively easy life and was looked after has years of use ahead of it, sure parts and components will eventually need to be replaced, but again, if you buy a decent old (30 years or more) bike that had an easy life then you are buying something that will outlast any mass produced consoomer model from the past decade.
Plus you are buying something that is a little different and individual, the process of stripping it down and rebuilding it will be more than an education, it will help form a bond between you and this old bike, a connection that will only get stronger with each ride. And you will be able to perform most maintenance jobs in the future now that you got to know it intimately.
There are millions of such bikes in the world and they appear on various auction and sale sites all the time. Look for a quality steel framed bike with mid range components in your size, one that has good teeth on all the cogs, that's it, don't worry about dirt or flat tyres or tatty saddles, the chainrings don't lie, as longf as there is minimal rust and no dents or cracks you are on to a winner.
Picrel cost me £80 to buy, about another £180 for cables, brake pads, bar tape, tyres etc and a few hours of work.
It mogs pretty much every modern bike except those from the very top tier.
