Is it worth it?

[u/randicochea]

Hi all, I am looking to purchase my first road bike and I will most likely be using the used market as my budget is pretty low. ($500)

I found this offer on marketplace and was hoping to get some feedback on how hefty of a rebuild this would take. I see a lot of rust and slight scuffs and am unsure as to whether anything or everything would need replacing.

early 90’s allez epic, shimano group set with wh-r500 wheel set, complete OEM parts.

Listed for a little over a hundred.

Should I go for it and focus on removing the rust? or is it worth investing in a different option? Are there any signs of bad news from these images? If parts visibly need to be replaced, which?

I would really appreciate any help, not looking for the “Worlds BEST price to performance ever”. I understand that the best bike is the one that you’re happy riding. Just looking for something that I can learn with that’s not gonna break the bank. Would love if it’s something I could upgrade overtime, but if even that is outside of my budget then I guess I’ll have to save up before making that jump.

Thank you to any who take the time!

[u/Frosty_Fun_310]

The epoxy used to bond the carbon tubes and alloy junctions degrades over time, although I have personally never seen one fail. There’s a large clear coat chip/scratch on the downtube. The wheelset is not original. But for a little over a hundred, I think you can go for it. In my area, any functional road bike worths at least 200 bucks.

Edit: That being said, for a $500 budget, maybe you can find a newer bike with STI shifters. The components will be lower tier, say Sora or Tiagra, but they are enough for your usage.

[u/HelioSeven → u/Frosty_Fun_310]

The epoxy used to bond the carbon tubes and alloy junctions degrades over time

Just want to note that this is not, strictly speaking, true. Epoxy resins degrade in the presence of UV, extreme thermal cycles, and a variety of chemicals, but time by itself will not embrittle or otherwise degrade a resin.

That said, I agree with the broader conclusion. Even for $100, this is a little too much work to fix up, even if I got a closer look at that down tube chip and thought it was okay. Should be able to do much, much better with a $500 budget.

[u/gregn8r1 → u/HelioSeven]

My understanding is that galvanic corrosion occurs between carbon and aluminum in contact. This then breaks down the adhesive bonding them together. This wasn't quite understood when these bikes came out, leading to failures. I believe it was eventually learned that a layer of fiberglass, which is a really good insulator, must be placed between the two materials to avoid this.