Any particular brands to look for or stay away from on C-list? I'm looking for a road bike, steel or aluminum frame, multi-speed. Preferably something ride-able right away but that could be upgraded as time & finances allow. Under $50 buy-in would be nice too although I'm not sure how realistic that is!
Under $50 can be tough on CList. It's out there but might be difficult to snap up, especially in good rideable condition.
Panasonic, Fuji, Trek, Cannondale, Bridgestone, Miyata, are all good brands to name a few.
I'd avoid Huffy, Diamondback, and probably Schwinn. You can get a good Schwinn but they're usually poorer quality than the Japanese bikes and higher-priced.
The French bikes are nice too but like all French things they're made a little differently and may be more difficult to upgrade. For example, they used their own threading pitch for certain parts which is incompatible with most non-French parts.
Yeah, anything sub $100 is looking a little sketchy and/or is Huffy. Hmm....
I have at times sold very nice bikes in working shape for about $200-250. Most bikes I would consider to be "nice" enough to buy are probably at that pricepoint or above if priced properly. The screaming deals I have found in the past have all needed a little work, but that's easy enough once you have the tools.
Put the word out to friends and family, you'd be surprised how many folks have an old road bike in the attic or garage gathering dust. Or troll yard sales in the Spring.
Hit the garage sale circuit. A guy I know picks up cheap bikes in the suburbs every fri-sat. Posts flyers near the schools in Chicago. He finds 20-30 bikes every weekend - some nice one in the mix.
+1 - garage sales. I used to see decent Schwinn, Fuji, and Bianchi steel for pennies at garage sales when mom finally got tired of juniors bike hanging in the garage after he went away to college. I scored a good, in rideable condition, steel Bridgestone MTB for $45 at a neighborhood garage sale that will eventually become a flatbar roadie/hybrid when I get around to it. C-list always either gets good deals out the door quick, or highlights the terrible deals where people think their garbage is gold when the listing hangs around for 13 weeks with no takers.
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