Best CL area in the nation

[vav]

This PSA (https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=219354) got me perusing the CL listings for the bay area and there are some nice bikes there. I browse Boston/RI CL almost daily and days go by with only crappy bikes for sale.
What's the best CL area IYO to find nice bikes (if they come cheap is a plus :))

ps. That C50 strikes me as a great bargain btw. Kinda want to find a facilitator for it...

[semdoug]

I know longer live in the area but Seattle and Portland seemed to be pretty good.

[paredown]

When I do blind searches, it seems like I turn up good stuff in CA generally--but it may be because when I'm doing searches I'm (a) bored and (b) it is usually winter--and those people out in California RIDE THEIR BIKES ALL YEAR!

Imagine that. So they are riding and selling even while I'm shoveling snow, stoking the fire, and trying to keep warm.

It's not fair, I tell you.:fight:

[the bottle ride]

SF Craigslist is a real community- when I lived in Marin I used it all the time to buy/sell and find services

So much better than NYC

[saf-t]

This PSA (https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=219354) got me perusing the CL listings for the bay area and there are some nice bikes there. I browse Boston/RI CL almost daily and days go by with only crappy bikes for sale.
What's the best CL area IYO to find nice bikes (if they come cheap is a plus :))

ps. That C50 strikes me as a great bargain btw. Kinda want to find a facilitator for it...

Not only is there rarely anything of interest on Boston/RI, when there is, it tends to be ridiculously overpriced.

[eBAUMANN]

Not only is there rarely anything of interest on Boston/RI, when there is, it tends to be ridiculously overpriced.

have you guys noticed the pair of time atac xs pedals that have been continuously re-listed for $200 for probably the past 5 years?
(https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bik/d/bike-atac-xs-titan-carbon/6502051053.html)
ive always wanted to email that person...

[AngryScientist]

SF Craigslist is a real community- when I lived in Marin I used it all the time to buy/sell and find services

So much better than NYC

yea, here in NYC and surrounding area, i dont even look at CL anymore. it's just a cesspool of worthlessness.

[jtakeda]

have you guys noticed the pair of time atac xs pedals that have been continuously re-listed for $200 for probably the past 5 years?
(https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bik/d/bike-atac-xs-titan-carbon/6502051053.html)
ive always wanted to email that person...

I see your time atacs, and I raise you an $800 ikea expedit

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/fuo/d/discontinued-ikea-expedit/6512940842.html

[mastaliu]

Seems like the best CL is anywhere but where I am (Northern VA)!

I mean, look at this:

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/d/colnago-c50-56-cm-road-bike/6531261704.html

I'm thinking of driving cross country!

[pdmtong]

Local SF Bay Area CL can be useful but it has changed. There are pages and pages of listings now so much so that the daily scan for opportunistic buying of stuff you really didnt need is long gone. far easier to search now.

Meeting people has also changed. I used to meet at my house or leave the item and ask them to leave the money (idiot?) and actually met lots of nice folks but that was ages ago. now with all the theft I meet at the grocery store. they have 1000+ different beers in stock so folks dont seem to mind.

if i am buying or selling I generally like to talk to the person on the phone prior to meeting to either let them know I am serous (buying) or ensure what I have is really want they want (selling).

That said, Paceline has always worked well for me buy/sell but some items, local CL has proven to be a viable outlet even still.

If a PL member sees something on SF Bay Area CL and wants help facilitating, make sure you say where it is in the bay area. I'm on the peninsula and for instance a seller 10 miles away in the east bay is not doable...the traffic could be 90+minutes one way...

[Clean39T]

if i am buying or selling I generally like to talk to the person on the phone prior to meeting to either let them know I am serous (buying) or ensure what I have is really want they want (selling).



This. I've bought a couple bikes remotely starting over CL ads, and after about 2-mins on the phone with someone, it's easy to know if they are worth continuing to talk to or not. And if they won't pick up the phone, there's your answer...

[sfghbiker]

my best SF Bay Area craigslist experience. I walked out of my house in Potrero Hill in 2008 on a Sunday morning and there was a pristine moots road bike leaning against a utility pole. I took it inside and posted an ad for found bike. Three hours later a somewhat sheepish guy called me and explained that he got drunk at a bar the night before and forgot to lock it properly when he was out in the mission and someone had stolen it and then ditched it in front of my house (why he'd ever leave this bike outside in the mission was beyond me). A couple of hours later my shift started in the SF General ER and I rode the bike over there and met him in the parking lot and gave him the bike back. super nice guy. I think he brought money and beer as "payment." refused. in retrospect i should've taken the beer. it felt like a win to me and he was super grateful.

I've bought two bikes, one truck and countless bike parts from the SF Bay Area craigslist with very good success. I am a fan.

[Bentley]

I don't live there but have actually picked up more good gear in Boulder. I'd add that the SF Bay area has good stuff just have not scored anything.

Ray

[zzy]

NYCCL is gold if you're willing to wade thru a torrent of crap. Had excellent luck selling there too. A good ad with good pics sells fast.

[pdmtong]

NYCCL is gold if you're willing to wade thru a torrent of crap. Had excellent luck selling there too. A good ad with good pics sells fast.
it's true...even here, there have been some bikes that interested me but the detail and pictures were not commensurate with the asking price. as this would be opportunistic by=buying, I just was not motivated to follow up. of course if it was an item I had been looking for (ex: SV rugged road 56) different story.

[Asudef]

I've been perusing the local CL here for a build I'm working on and while there are a lot of nice stuff, I'm reminded that there's also a high rate of bike theft / flea markets here.

Thats said, I do agree that nicer bikes are in this neighborhood but there's some decent stuff in LA/OC too, its like a watered down SFCL. Also funny enough a lot of nice Davidsons for cheap in Seattle but other nice stuff pops up now and then.