I watch craigslist for bikes, and see mostly overpriced junk. People listing old recreational bikes as “race bikes”. Yeah, most race bikes have safety brake levers, shifters on the stem, and foam covered handle bars. Idiots! But every now and then somethings pops up.
Last night I saw a Trek bike on Craigs List for $349. The seller didn’t list the model, but had a picture. I did some quick research and figured out it was probably a Trek 5200 carbon fiber bike. The guy mentioned it had Ultegra components. So I knew it wasn’t a Trek 5500 which had the same frame, but had Dura Ace Componants. This is like the bike that Lance Armstrong rode in the Tour De France a few years ago. $349 was a steal. Not sure what year the bike was made, but likely 2001-2006.
The listing was time stamped at 9:30pm, and I emailed the guy at about 10pm. I would have been willing to go see it last night. 3am? No problem. I would have had to go through an ATM to get the cash. I checked my email before going to bed. And even in the middle of the night. No reply. I finally got a reply this morning. The guy said the bike was tentatively sold. Grumble. He changed the listing later in the day to say the bike was sold. I would have loved to have had a Trek 5200! A carbon fiber in general with be cool. Or one with sti shifters.
I guess I am stuck with my 1990 Trek 1000. It’s a good bike, but not a Trek 5200. Somebody got a steal!
Trek 5200
In 2006 the list price for a 5200 was more than $3000. (As you note, Trek only made the 5200 from 2001 to 2006.) If this bike is in good condition that really is an amazing great price. I think the modern equivalent would be something like the Madone 5.1 (http://www.brightspoke.com/b/2009/trek/madone-5.1.html).
Funny, I kept reading your post expecting you to say the bike actually was stolen before being sold on Craigslist. Undervalued bike, seller doesn’t know (or doesn’t know the importance of) the technical details, these are usually clues that the bike was stolen.
Comment by RodW — December 9, 2009 @ 7:41 am
I was just talking about stolen goods on a South African forum I frequent… you have no idea how many expensive kids bicycles are stolen there! Weird coincidence that I stumbled onto this post…
Comment by Gemma — October 27, 2010 @ 8:43 pm