Your opinions on this bike...

[Drago]

Ooooh, elderly carbon and aluminium bonded together in them thar forks.

Ive no downer on carbon itself, but gluing it to alu has a long and chequered history of unexpected trips to the dentist.

 

[Sharky]

can't see the frame size listed anywhere!

Looks like a 23" frame, or 58cm

 

[Ajax Bay]

Agree: a 58cm frame c-c
And 8sp/130mm OLD I think.
Fair bit of expense to make that a bike a decent ride: new tyres/tubes, brake blocks, gear cables and outers.
Flat terrain only with a 52-42 chainset and (estimate) a 12-25 cassette.

 

[Mazz]

Looks like a 23" frame, or 58cm

Agree: a 58cm frame c-c

How did you figure out the frame size?

 

[Sharky]

How did you figure out the frame size?

Just have old eyes and looking at the head tube, very similar to the frames I've had.

 

[Jameshow]

I'd be wary of the aluminium carbon fork interface as they can often fail.

It's a £40 bike at best!

My son brought the lastest allez from cc for £70!

 

[Mazz]

My son brought the lastest allez from cc for £70!

Latest,you mean? A brand new Allez for £70?

 

[Jameshow]

Latest,you mean? A brand new Allez for £70?

No second hand but the latest model the chain was rusty and it had signs of use.

 

[Mazz]

No second hand but the latest model the chain was rusty and it had signs of use.

Either way, that sounds like a bargain!

 

[wafter]

Not my bag but it's more interesting than I thought it would be and probably pinpoints a pretty specific era from the traditional frame geometry, construction and STIs.. I'm a little surprised that it's not been hoovered up by a fanboi of the brand tbh.

Intrigue and nostalgia aside there are lots of things to worry about - old ally frame, old bonded / placcy forks, situation with the RD.. I think really this would be best bought by someone who's buying it specifically because of what it is, rather than as a general runaround - a task for which it might be a bit temperamental / "highly strung" / fragile given the materials used and it's likely age (what do we reckon - very late '90s / early 2000s?).

 

[Mazz]

Intrigue and nostalgia aside there are lots of things to worry about - old ally frame, old bonded / placcy forks, situation with the RD.. I think really this would be best bought by someone who's buying it specifically because of what it is, rather than as a general runaround - a task for which it might be a bit temperamental / "highly strung" / fragile given the materials used and it's likely age (what do we reckon - very late '90s / early 2000s?).

1997 according to the listing.

Thanks for all the replies - too many red flags for me - I'll look elsewhere.
I'm not looking for a project (and a costly one it might turn out to be). I was just looking for something as a cheap run-around and more or less ready to ride.

 

[Ajax Bay]

How did you figure out the frame size?

@Sharky is clearly blessed with intuition and "old eyes" - and, yes 'a 58' looked about right for the headtube.
Me? I measured the c-c seatube (horizontal top tube) on the e-bay image taken from side-on and calibrated the scale with the diameter of the 622 wheel (rim). On my screen it was exactly 1:10 (58mm and 62mm) which made any arithmetic unnecessary.

 

[fritz katzenjammer]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the aluminium/carbon fork. That would be enough to put me off. May

Naw… that’s just the light bouncing off the complex curves of that aluminium casting. It might be the best part of the bike…

if the adhesive holding the carbon into the casting hasn’t aged poorly.

you can likely do better elsewhere. Check out a community bike shop. I’ve seen all manner of gorgeous old road bikes in the one near my place. I’ve stopped going in for fear of bringing another one home.

 

[mickle]

The chain has bunched up because the bike has been wheeled backwards out of gear. It looks like the previous owner looked after it pretty well. If the seat post still moves in it I'd say its worth £50.

 

[Punkawallah]

1997 according to the listing.

Thanks for all the replies - too many red flags for me - I'll look elsewhere.
I'm not looking for a project (and a costly one it might turn out to be). I was just looking for something as a cheap run-around and more or less ready to ride.

Shame you’re in Leicester - my FLBS has my ‘resurrected’ Carlton Mass Start up for £85.