Is This A Good Buy

[NewGuyOnTheBike]

Hey All,
Please forgive me if I'm not posting this in the right place or if I have broken any community rules in my posting. I am looking to buy my first bike since I was a kid, and given my recent employment status change, I am not looking to shell out a bunch of funds for a new bike. I live in Washington DC, and plan to mostly ride around the city and surrounding area paths. I am not in need of anything to fancy, just something to ride on nice days. I found this posting online, and was hoping to get your opinion. Is this a good buy at $200?

Info provide by seller:

700/27 inch wheels
stand over is 33"
suntour alpha 3000
dia compe brakes
touring or sport
vintage
aluminum frame
Front and back pannier brazeon forks
blackburn cargo rack
semi-index shifting
Front tire new
Ready to ride

Thank you all for your help!

 

[black lightning 1987]

That's a 1988 ST400. I have the next model up, the ST700 and paid quite a bit more than $200 for it. Your bike has the exact same frame. You could probably get $200 for just the frame and fork on eBay. Current listings for Cannondale touring framesets range from $140-500. The last one to actually sell brought $250. I've used a lot of SunTour but never the Alpha 3000 group. Should be reliable but if not it wouldn't be hard to upgrade. The bike is geared pretty high for a touring bike as it has a 40/30 low gear. I'm pretty sure that the crank is 110 mm bolt circle, so it would be a simple matter to put smaller chainrings on it. There aren't a lot of good 27" tires anymore. I'd recommend Panaracer Pasellas when it needs new tires.