I want to buy a bike that I know is not stolen

Hey there fellow chainlinkers!
I have been looking for a new bike for a while now on craigslist. Some of the deals seem a little too good to be true and I do not want to buy a stolen bike. My options are slighty smaller because I am slightly smaller. What or where is the best way to buy a bike in the city? Also, and this adds another limitation, I do not want an old schwinn.

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Permalink Reply by Melanie K on February 10, 2011 at 11:07am

I have never had a problem on Craigslist, although I have heard of a lot who have had problems. I purchased a few nice bikes from some very nice people- They weren't shady people, they were very honest and open, and just had bikes hanging in the garage that they hadn't used in a while and were willing to sell them for a decent price because they wanted more room for their SUV. If the person on the phone or in the email seems shady or like he/she isn't on the up and up, it is pretty easy to tell. If you do go to see a bike from someone on Craigslist, I would bring a friend along for your own safety. Not all bikes sold on Craigslist are stolen and usually you can feel out the shady dealers from the general populace that is just trying to clean out their garage of stuff.

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Permalink Reply by Moc Artsy on February 10, 2011 at 11:28am

Good luck. You'll get lots of good advice from Chainlinkers. You should look around and then ask for opinions on the options you're considering.

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Permalink Reply by James BlackHeron on February 10, 2011 at 11:44am

I understand wanting something "newer" but about the only thing you'll get with a "newer" frame over this is a higher, more-uncomfortable bottom bracket, a stiff/wooden unyielding ride, and about 2-5 pounds of weight saved -none if you are wanting that "dutch bike" feel. These old ralieghs are better than anything you could buy today for under $1200 as they just can't afford to make them like they used to back in the day and still be competitive.

If you want a drop-bar road bike then this probably isn't what you are looking for anyhow. But anybody looking for "comfort bike" an old Raleigh will out-live/out-ride/out-comfort anything you can buy used or new up to that price point I mentioned before. 3 speeds are plenty enough in a flat town like Chicago although I'd recommend putting a bigger 20 or 22-tooth rear cog on it to get it geared down to reasonable/usable gears and maybe thinking of replacing the wheels with alloy in the future if you do a lot of rain riding (better wet braking).

Not only that, but riding genuine Nottingham steel is cool -never forget the style factor ;)

Molly Moon said:

So though the bike up top looks awesome, I think I am looking for a frame that is a little newer. I looked up the link for the basket and it is pretty freaking awesome! Thanks for the offer!!