Really enjoyed watching Jim work. As a bike mechanic myself, I enjoyed his no-nonsense practical style. He saw an issue, and he told you the reason/hypothesis why it happened, how to mitigate it in the future, and the options going forward. I didn't hear him complain like a lot of mechanics/RU-vid personalities that a chain is worn out or a BB needs replaced, and the bike industry is here to ruin all our lives. Just a person doing his job well. That was refreshing.
Being overdramatic gets clicks. But yeah. Everything on the bike, except the tires basically, is what you should expect on a used bike that's had some miles put on it. Way too many people selling their used bikes too high. And way too many people looking for perfection in a used bike they are looking to buy. Neither are realistic. Its a used bike. And everything except the structural parts are basically consumables.
@@cjohnson3836yea probably. but the longer I think this kinda youtube channel get clicks and people start watch other channels less. All videos with Arthur is a pure joy to watch over the years. Tubeless install is one of my favorite
Hey David, Jim is a great guy to have in your videos. Great personality, well spoken, clear and good advice, and very satisfying to watch him work his magic. I still go back to his front and rear mech adjustment videos if I have an issue. Legend! More pre-owned bike rescue and resurrection videos, please!
Even at a full restore at EUR 700,- you still get an excellent carbon race bike. What can you get from the stores at €700? A low-end alu bike with 8spd Claris. Even Decathlon can't produce anything at this price point.
@@TYSuggested As per some of the recent GCN videos, the Chinese knock offs are getting pretty good (in terms of performance), the part yet to see is durability. So depending on circumstances, they seem worth considering.
Hardly the end of the world that the chain, cassette and chainrings +BB bearings need changing. Kind of what I would expect on a cheap second hand bike.
Not a popular opinion, but when all three are worn (chain, chain ring and cassette) then the urgency to replace them decreases. It's not like you're trying to replace the chain before the rest is worn out. The worst you'll face is general gear change gremlins, or a chain snap, so as long as you have a masterlink in your kit you can still get home. Obviously it's best to change these items out when you can, but because they're all knackered it eliminates the rush.
I pick up bikes like this all the time. First thing I do is take it completely apart usually new headset, new BB, cables good tune up! Need to be handy to save a lot of money on these older bikes.
I'm doing cable outers through the frame for years on all my bikes (over or under the bottom bracket). jimthebikeguy is absolutely right: you'll get a super maintenance-free setup that runs smooth and improves shifting.
Lots of insight from Jim. Pretty much standard service items to be honest, albeit with a headache bottom bracket. There are still loads of rim brake wheels for sale new and used. So, I would not worry for ten years.
I realized a while ago that when you buy a used bike you’re basically buying a frame set. It’s still a great deal but on my current bike, which I bought used, I have replaced pretty much everything at this point.
I found an abandoned 90s road bike in a park a while back. It had quite good Shimano rx100 parts on it so I thought it might make a fun project. I stripped everything down to it's base, cleaned and lubed them and put it back together. Works absolutely perfectly. The only things I replaced were the chain, cables, bar tape and jockey wheels. (It didn't have wheels) The rest will go on for at least another 30 years.
Doesn't this logic apply to new bikes as well? Every part of a bike has a finite lifespan and is eventually going to need replacement. That's just life.
@@FlourescentPotato No, not really. I bought a brand new bike a few years ago and still replaced most of the parts. Most people upgrade their parts as time goes on unless they bought a $16,000 bike that needs Zero upgrades.
Oh boy that David is just about the most helpful bike video you have ever uploaded IMHO,thank you very much indeed.Jim really is the man when it comes to bike mechanics,I found this so helpful and and so fascinating well done,bravo.Also thank you very much Jim I would love you to service my bike sir,total respect👍
Jim is terrific and a great addition to your videos whenever he is on. His input made for a terrific video. That being said the core takeaway from the walk through is that what you purchased is a great foundation for a low cost, high performance, everyday rim brake bike. It can be reconditioned and kept on the ride at moderate cost surely for 2-3 years, possibly even 5-6, but eventually parts will become difficult to source. So before embarking on this reconditioning project, the question to ask is what level of disk brake bike could you buy for a reasonably comparable price and would that offer a better riding experience that the reconditioned tarmac.
Without a doubt give it life! Shimano just sponsored a video on gcn that did exactly the same thing;135mm QR rear wheel and rim brakes. Even though everybody online has moved on to disc brakes the real world is still on rim brakes and bike that don't have thru axles, Awesome video!
The Real World? You mean the one that doesnt want real brakes? Like a car with drum brakes. Or hand crank start. Rim brake bikes can be had cheap, I'll say that for them. With crappy rims and pads it barely slows down.
I think you should go for the 'restomod' angle and put some newer components on the bike like wider tyres/inner width wheels and a tubeless/tpu set up, just to prove how good these bikes were and still are. I've recently done the same on a 10 year old S-Works Allez and the difference is amazing. Failing that you can always review it to see for yourself 🙂
I fitted 28mm tyres to the Allez, I bet the fork is the same as the SL4 too. It can actually be down to the caliper, but most of the newer generation rim brake calipers take 28mm
This seems pretty reasonable. In the case of my last two used bikes (a 1994 C40 and a 2004 Lemond Tete de Course) I figured that the cassette, chain and tires would need replacing as standard wear items. Taking a mid-spec Tarmac up to 800 GBP+ makes sense if you plan to ride it for some years as none of these bicycles will have much in the way of future collector value.
I’m sorry - the suggestion not to keep the bike because its rim brake is a bit silly. In ten years time you’ll still be able to get brake pads and rim brake wheels. Just like you can still get mtb v brake pads and 26inch rim wheels and tyres! Although thinking about it is the mechanic just being a wum
Sneezing at aliexpress was rather dumb and a show of lack of information too. You get what you pay for there. Even the monopolist doesn't shy away from selling there. In fact sometimes it's the only place where unique parts are readily available.
"this is the braking surface, and by definition the pads destroy the rims, which is probably why I would get discs." Well, if you look over the lifetime of a bike (like this one), you would still end spending *much* more money on rotors, pads and fluid then you could ever spend on brakepads, cables and even rims should that be neccesary. Disc brakes are very expensive to run if you add it all up. There is a lot to say for disc brakes, but costs is not a good argument.
If you don't go for hydro discs then it isn't much more expensive than equivalent rim brakes. That said, I don't feel that cable discs are that big of an upgrade over rims, but it's nice that a puddle doesn't end up effecting your brakes.
If it's in good knick, value is determined by the buyer and seller. If the owner enjoys it, there's a lot of value. If it doesn't fit their purposes, there is very little value.
I pretty much look at a second hand bike as merely a frame purchase to up -grade. I bought a £225.00, 2013 Giant tcr alu rim brake bike 2 years ago, decked out in tiagra 9 spd. Binned everything apart from frame and now sporting Ultegra 11spd mechanical drivetrain, new Mavic wheels, new stem/handlebars, giant carbon seatpost, lightweight 3d printed saddle and finally 28mm contis. This bike was only intended as a spare bike whilst in England and has served me well. Mostly everything was sourced off Ebay new or slightly used and only the wheels were a non Ebay buy. Nothing wrong with doing a project, but this then led me to buy a brand new Carbon pro TCR and Defy shortly after as i was impressed by alu TCR ride quality. I haven't been disappointed in any of these bikes!😁😁😁👍👍👍
This is a classic bike. Quite honestly, David…You should do a bulk of the work…Brake pads, brake set up, tires, headset bearings, drive train, cleaning…You can do this for cost. I would use bike shop JIm to do the things you need specialty tools. If you have 2-4 bike with similar tools…Buy it. Wheel and Bottom bracket…Leave that to Jim. If you take the tires out…300 quid…Not that much…New bike. However, like Jim stated…Rim brake, mechanical…If you love it, restore it. PS. When you replace the bar tape, replace the rubber hoods on the levers…It would bring back the new bike feel.
Excellent video, save the bike! Many of us still ride old rim brake bikes. £400 isn’t much really, most of the new bikes you review would lose that in depreciation after the first ride.
Here’s a tip for buying second hand “I’ll pay full price, I’m not going to low ball you, but you must pay for a major service to ensure the bike is safe” Works every time, and honestly beats trying to save a little money otherwise with the typical negotiation.
I bet that some niche manufacturers out there will keep making rims. In the US, Boyd and Astral are still selling rim brake rims, both carbon and aluminum. There are almost certainly going to be the Taiwanese companies like Kinlin that I think mainly do OEM but will sell to wheelbuilders as well. The issue is that those hubs may be proprietary to Fulcrum and hard to rebuild. I have a feeling that someone will keep making decent quality 11s chains and cassettes, if not Shimano. The issue will be if any of the groupset parts fail ten years down the road, because I somehow doubt Shimano will be making replacement 105 and Ultegra rim brake stuff.
I make a point of using top gear on the flat or slight downhill roads to even out the wear on the cassette. I have recently fitted a set of salmon brake blocks with the wet weather coming. They seem fantastic and are apparently easy on the rims . Be interesting to hear any comments on them
Great mechanic talk, actually learnt something after lifetime cycling. There's been a resurgence in rim brakes, and a kick back against disc braking. So if you got dual pull rim, yea
Great watch, thanks guys! I just bought a 2007 €400 Specialized Tarmac and have done 400km so far. It's an older bike, and I haven't yet done much to it, but I'm happy with it as a decent daily ride that can perform well. Changing the tyres to Michelin POWER CUP 700x28C Competition made a huge difference and boosted my times massively, not to mention the comfort gain, and the frame takes 28C tyres fine. The 23's on it were gone, but super uncomfortable anyway. The main disadvantage is that as you showed in the video, everything is getting old and worn. It's probably not too economic to fix much of it, so I'll just run it into the ground over the next couple of years, replacing only what needs to be done to keep it safe. Overall, unless you like working on bikes, and I don't, what seemed like a bargain was actually fairly priced. The lesson is really to keep saving for a new bike. I'm not disappointed, you can't be really for that price/value, more sanguine, but yeah, bikes do wear out!
Definitely keep it and go forward nip down to bristol to buy a set of lovely rim brake wheels off Ryan builds wheels give him some exposure David if you support local cycle businesses.
I think this was a fair assessment as he went though the bike and the conclusion. But a few things to consider: 1) What do you end up with vs what can you buy elsewhere. So not the value of the same model in restored. But if you like the bike, can you get something similar for a better value? If you want a lightweight CF bike and are ok with rim brakes, you can't come close to what that will be when fixed for 700-800 pounds. 2) If you can do your own work, older bikes become a much better economic value. Your time is hobby time not wages and you're only buying parts. Chain, cassette, cables and BB aren't that much. But if you have to pay to have it all done, it gets problematic. 3) Some of the wear items on old bikes are just that: Wear items. So obviously tires that are cracking and dangerous have to go now. But if they are just somewhat worn, that replacement in a few months would happen on a new bike too so not a factor. Similar on deferable repairs like cable housings.
Kudos for tackling it but with a bit more production planning and forethought this vid could have delivered considerably more. I came away with the impression the video brief was basically ‘chat through the worn componentry’ with a sideline but less than full mention of the frame. Jim is clearly used to familiar wear patterns. However in the 44.51 minutes suggest: 1. A FULL M safety check . 2. ID immediately obvious worn components through physical inspection and operation (chain; chainrings; cassette- use a pick for physical confirmation). Check hanger alignment at this early stage to eliminate it as a factor in any poor shifting 3. Drop that headset out and physically check the fork steerer for damage / previous over tightening, Steerer clamping area, (Ditto Seat tube clamp area). 4. Strip the frame and clean it so in detail physical inspection possible (any micro cracks /impact damage ?). Care around the usual points HT, BB, ST clusters, SS and CS, dropouts. 5. Change headset bearings ….start off with a fully serviced headset. 6. Drop that BB out and change bearings …start off fresh………new bearings and if it’s still not spinning clean …..there’s a deeper issue. 7. Check proper shifter operation now unconnected from the derailleurs as these can be expensive to replace (count the cable take up and clicks). 8. Service and re-grease, FD, RD , brake calipers. 9. Re-fit and re-torq to manufacturers spec, no exceptions carbon frames. (I appreciate a full breakdown of the RD /FD are individual topics …….but worth a general ref) The point is ( as many informed commentators point out) the value in 2nd hand is weighted towards the frame set (unless it’s a mint bike) so it needs the greatest attention. Decent level part worn components are always replaceable and that’s where the economic choices come in about whether to buy at all, what to pay and what to budget for replacement components. Equally important to check metal frames for frame tracking and alignment / stress cracking / alu and steel oxidisation (including internal inspection). Final thought just because it’s 2nd hand doesn’t mean it’s been right from new. Ask if the BB has been problematic or needed multiple replacements ………… Overall decent frame and typical wear issues………keep it Dave ……..treat it nice
"we don't have time to take the fork out"... haha, that's done in no time at all... you undo the stem and the other screw and you can take the fork out at least a few centimeters... he should check for ring of death anyway.
I think it's a great bike at a great price. Buying compareble new is easily more than what you'll end up investing in this beauty. Then there's the satisfaction of keeping it from the bin. Great video!
Both my bikes I have now had to have the following done: 1. Full service including suspension, hubs, groupset. 2. New groupset on the MTB. 3. New wheels after around 2000kms after a rim cracked. 4. BB on the MTB was okay but the crankset was almost impossible to get off because it was a hack job. 5. New bearings on everything for the gravel bike. 6. Seat post area was FILTHY. 7. New tubeless fluid on both. I'm not surprised how much you had to spend on new parts.
Hey David, your friend mentioned all the myths regarding the shelf life of carbon. I think this would be a great idea for an informative video on the myths and truths about the life of a carbon frame. Some people say they last forever and some people say that over time carbon becomes dilapidated. Which is true?
There is no reason for a carbon composite layup to delaminate, epoxy resin is very stable, all that happens with older resins are that they may not be UV stabilised, and may yellow a little. Older carbon racecars show this, but structurally are fine.
@@patrickparisienne1917 "Older carbon racecars show this, but structurally are fine." Is the carbon in older racecars actually structural though, or is it just an aero shell.
I done 50k km on tarmac sl4 combined road and direct drive trainer and it became very soft at rear end. Really no response on a high speed. I moved to tcr advaned pro 0 rim brake and it's a lot stiffer and faster bike. Tarmac now is permanently an indoor bike.
I've noticed jockey wheels on old derailleurs can also rob an absolute buttload of power if they get gunked up super sticky, but it only seems to happen with the ones with bushings, not bearings.
So I'm selling an SL4 bike at the moment. £1000 Dura Ace, Ultegra, carbon/alloy wheels etc. £1k old race bike. It's interesting to see this from the other side. I've been very transparent on my ad. listing components that are worn or approaching end of life and priced accordingly. The bike rides extremely well and the frame including bearings etc are all in good nick. So £400 is a steal for that whole bike, essentially you are buying a frameset that has old components on it that are bound to be worn otherwise the owner wouldn't be selling it off. Even if it wasn't judged 'safe to ride' by the mechanic I wouldn't care. As long as the carbon appears in good condition, it hasn't been in a crash then I'd take it! Spend another £800 and build it up into an awesome rig.
Great information here. I ride a 2016 Tarmac that I bought new and still love it. Mine has an FSA 52/36 crankset that has been trouble free. I upgraded the wheels when I got it and everything else is stock. It’s easy to work on and very reliable.
On the question at the end as to whether buying a rim braked bike is worth it any more. Well, of course it is. In this case you get 95% of the performance of a modern bike for £400. Spend a few hundred on maintenance and then you are saving yourself about £5000 over an equivalent new model. It’s a no brainer. Spares will be available for decades, btw.
I’ve got my S-Works SL4 frame since 2013 same colour as this frame. What a Lovely bike! Shimano Ultegra 10sp group set 53-39 25-11 . From 2019 it getting harder and harder to find new chain which is Shimano CN7901 .Likely find last 3 new pcs. in Latvia and get that with discount of 30% .Shop assistant says nobody buy such a chain anymore as people moved to 11 or 12 speed cassettes. Have been spending nearly £6k on this bike and now 11 years later I can’t get parts for it to make simple service. All bike selling shops saying to me if you want to keep and use your bike in future, the only suggestion to purchase new kind of 11 or 12 speed group set.. Which is again not cheap stuff. But again it’s V brakes frame not a disc one. That means you have to spend another +2k or simply put your bike on the wall so that will remind you of those wonderful days of your life. Unbelievable marketing. No words….
This was a great watch. Love seeing an expert talk through his/her domain. If only I’d watched it before buying a secondhand road bike! 🤦 I’m also going to be adding ‘chalky’ to my commonly used vocabulary.
Just been through a similar exercise with a dirty “commuter used” Merida cyclocross bike scored for £275. All cables, inner and outer, replaced. Chain replaced. Headset bearings replaced. Disc brakes freed off and pads replaced. All wheel bearings replaced. Left brake lever front derailleur mechanism freed & index pin straightened. Bottom bracket was sound. Tyres replaced. Old bar tape refitted, saddle changed for an old favourite. A little grease squished into key places to keep water out. Hey presto, a reliable and serviceable cyclocross bike just in time for the season for less than £450. Should last a few years even if it gets thrown on the floor & mud regularly. All my bikes have been rescued from neglect and have cost buttons compared to well maintained bikes of the same age. A warm garage and the right tools help 😂
It's really interesting seeing the pricing, so its starts becoming about £750-£800 all in which is the cost of a £1300-£1400 bike on cyclescheme (less 35-40%), which could get you a Carbon Van Rysel NCR (tiagra, but hydraulic brakes). The difference being than on cycle scheme, you can pay for it monthly over a year rather than this big lump of £400 plus another lump of £350-£400 for the repairs which you have to find all in one go. Plus no warranty on the second hand bike.
I pretty much came to a similar conclusion. Luckily a few mechanics near me take in a bunch of second hand bikes (I think via the council) chuck the bits together and get you something pretty decent for not a lot of money. So I ended up with Alu frame Tiagra 10 speed for like £300. Its a bit big, but at least I know its safe and I have the bug before splashing out on something more expensive in future. (I can probably make it my turbo trainer bike in the future no problem). The only thing that put me off cyclescheme is that I wasn't particularly secure in my job, and if anything happens, getting laid off and having to pay the lump sum remaining would be devastating, I suppose it would be sensible to keep the full amount stashed away until its paid off just in case.
Of course it's worth every penny! I would make it a cherry. Personally, the only thing wrong in this bike is that freaking funeral black color. As for the rim brake wheels - they will last as long as there are people buying these. I'm in this pond myself. May this year I built a rim / aero frame based bike. Earlier (to learn building wheels) I made DT240 based rim-brake wheel-set for yet another bike. This month, I bought ICAN (again) DT240 based rim-brake carbon wheels. Must admit rim brakes is all my road bikes need.
ive bought two used bikes in past and both times ive gone in expecting a cassatte, chain, chainring and brakes will be needed. thankfully has just been break blocks and handlebar tape. But as said once big tick items ok im happy.
If you buy a few years old bike you'll be very lucky if you don't have to spend a few hundred quid on it, most probably that's why it's for sale. The way i see it is if that bike costs you £800 quid to get into top condition what's the cost of the new equivalent of it? Probably over £3000 and you've got a bike which will go just as fast as a new one and last you years.
Anybody that rides regularly should know how to do this inspection. What this guy really did was pay 400 for a sweet frame. Some careful shopping and a Saturday afternoon should have that bike as good new.
Consumable drive train parts consumed. Everything else in pretty good shape. Seems like a really nice pickup. These rim brake/qr bikes seem like a nice value play. Get a couple of good years out of it for cheap. Don't feel too bad if you have to pitch it after a few years because of declining parts availability.
That was a really easy to watch informative video on the basics of everything bike maintenance beyond the front side basics. It was just a nice easy open convo about the bike/bikes in general. Just a shame in such a short time frame, the bike industry has moved on so much, that a lot of the parts are now requiring NOS just to keep it usable. And its not that old, and is probably, for a lot of people as much as they could afford to spend on a bike.
That was a really good video. Just wish the lighting was better (or camera). I learned a lot. I have to admit I tighten my quick release skewers too tightly. 😂
Really educational video. I'm in a similar quandary with my 2013 Specialized Secteur claris which I've had from new. Mechanic's advice is to flog it and buy something better. And after a sketchy moment with the rim brakes going downhill in the rain I'm thinking newer with discs. Kind of sad though.
I definitely think that bike has some years left. I don't think rim brakes (and wheels) will disappear. Personally I think that the used and vintage/retro bike markets will continue to grow, especially as an alternative to the super high priced new bikes. I could see a whole section of the market going low-tech, and as basic as possible. I love seeing and learning about new tech, but a lot is really not necessary, and tends to make previous tech obsolete before it's time.
Your best video, ever! You will always be able to get rim brake wheels. I have a rod brake 1935 Dawes Popular lightweight, and you can still buy wheels and rims for that, at 90 years old!
Definitely keep it, it’s too nice to bin. There will always be spares available for rim brake bikes, you can still get campagnolo delta brake blocks! Worth spending the £400 to get from cassette etc 👍🏼
You can get 28's in there, but IMO It's too tight, especially with Ally rims. Some people seem to have done it without issue, some experience rub out of the stand when they put power through the bike, probably a rim tyre combo thing and a bit of a coin toss. I can confirm 100% that 12 speed Shimano Crank-sets shift on 11 speed flawlessly and for some reason are often cheaper than the older generation ones (105 are dirt cheap ATM for some reason sub £100 from some places). If you want to keep the Praxis cranks I can very much recommend STONE or PassQuest chain-rings from Ali-Ex they are several cuts above the usual Chinese offerings and would give the likes of WolfTooth or ROTOR a run for their money all day long and will match with Praxis's style very well.
What an interesting video to watch after I decided to replace my 14 yr old carbon fiber bike yesterday. I wondered if I fell victim to the carbon fiber myth. I have actually seen the results of a failed carbon frame during a century ride. I know carbon frames can fail. The shifters were becoming problematic and I didn't think parts and labor was worth it on a nearly 15 year old frame with over 60K miles on it. It was hard decision to part with rim brakes, quick release dropouts, and shifter cables because they were always good enough for me. I liked the bike inspection especially the detail to the carbon frame. I would say if you like the bike to fix it up if it fits you well. Maybe store some components like brake pads and tires in the event that those components become impossible to replace. I wish you well, David Arthor.
Nothing wrong with rim braked bikes and they will be around for a few more years to come. I've got 2 rim roadies and I'm actually thinking of buying another new one from Ribble. They are down in price both new and used which is great for me! 😁 Saying all that, I am thinking of maybe getting a disc braked roadie to see what they are like. But I don't really need strong brakes where I live on the Fylde coast in the UK where it's pretty flat. I have had numerous MTBs the last 17 years (got 2 of the latest in my garage now), all with disc brakes and you do need them with all the dirt, steep rough descents, etc. I do hate the squealing at times but can live with it but not too sure about it on the road although it would be like sounding a horn when dealing with the tourists on the prom 👍
You could get away with an initial replacement of the chain, cassette (use 105) and tyres. The rest is in need of a good service, clean, lube and adjustment, to give you a very reasonable second bike / winter bike / ride to work bike. The rest can be replaced as you use it. That spreads out of the cost to make it a more reasonable. Good DIY bike.
Re Rim wheelsets it’s not that you can’t get them but not the very high end ones, after plenty of cheaper rim road bikes being sold, in fact I’ve just bought one for the commute!
Honestly, ~ £900 for this bike in good working condition is still quite a good bargain compared to a new bike. You have to go quite a ways up to get similarly performing new bike. Downside, of course, are tyre width limitations and to a lesser extent rim brake performance (since you've got alloy wheels anyway). It's worth talking about longevity. I'm just about to buy a pair of DT Swiss allloy rim brake wheels to replace my old wheels. I'm having to wait 6 months (!) for delivery. 5-10 years down the road, it's not going to be easy. One thing I think is overlooked here is the upside for buying a ~ £500 used bike and spending ~ £500 on a mechanic *of your choice* to get it into very good working order. One can complain that you are doubling your cost, but you are getting a very highly skilled and experienced person setting up the bike properly and spending *way* more time than would be done on a new bike set up. How much money would it take to make it run better than an similarly priced new bike? I think this is the key. You probably shouldn't be planning to run a sub £1K bike for more than 10 years -- it's not going to be economically feasible anyway. I think you need to think of this as a "I want a good bike in very good working condition at a reasonable price point, now" option. For that, I can't really imagine a better option. As for what *you* should do with this bike? I don't know. It's not like you lack bikes to ride ;-) Is there still an interesting experiment to be had to see what would happen if you spend new bike money on this used bike? Personally, I think so. I wouldn't bling it out, too much, though. But if you were to spend the £1.5 that you would need to spend on similarly performing new bike, how much better would this one be? I think that's interesting. Would the YT algorithm pay for it? Seems unlikely, to be perfectly frank :-(
12:30, this happened to me last week. Big BB30 on the frame and online said BB30. Order a BB30 outboard BB to find out I had a PF30... I was confused, angry and disappointed.
It depends on if you’re going to keep it and ride it. If you are, I'd probably build it up new but with a modest build spec including some 2nd hand stuff. If you dont end up riding it, then fix the basics, make it road worthy, and sell it.
If you want to win races or fly Alpine passes in the rain on deep wide carbon wheels then no. If you want a light responsive friend to spend weekend mornings on then yes.
this argument regarding the rim brakes is a bit stupid - after all they work fine and you will find parts for this bike many years to come. And the parts in bad condition are all wearing parts which are to be replaced now and then. Do the work yourself (everything here to be done is very simple and straightforward) and you have a fine bike for very little money
Quick check and I saw quite of choice for rim brake wheels if the frame is good I would keep it going. I have Bikes that range from 1979, 1984, 2017 and 2020 and get bits for them all. The older ones parts are usually far cheaper and last longer and I dont need a bike shop.
Priced out upgrades for my Neo Retro Modern Fusion Chambéry D’Huez(200$ Carbon OCLV Greg LeMond 55 frame 08’ LeMond/Bontrager Carbon Alpe D’Huez fork.) comes out to around $3,790.76 so about 4 Grand of upgrades. Been riding it with stock parts, 105. Redshift Stem & dual seatpost, Hunt sprint aero alloy wheels, onyx vesper hubs, wolf tooth headset, new old stock Bontrager 52/42/30 & gonna fiddle with seeing if I can make a 11speed work on a triple crank. Coefficient AR 36mm dropbars & finally Gravel King SSR 28mm tires for stability & grip. Yes it’s not most modern but it’s a bike I enjoy.
