Ok guys, I'm looking to buy a FR/DH bike. I've got an absolute maximum budget of $1000. I've got a few bikes I'm looking at, some of which include a 2007 Norco A-line and a Raleigh XT3500 with a bunch of upgrades.
The bike I'm curious about is a 2004 Cannondale Gemini 900. It's got a 2004 Boxxer World Cup fork, a manitou rear shock, and other parts that seem to be pretty quality.
Used bikes are tricky - make sure you check it out and take a close look at the bike before committing. Check for scratches, dings, drivetrain wear, etc. If the bike looks well used cosmetically, then that may be a sign that it's been abused some and won't last: aluminum frames can only take so much before they crack.
My plan is to take any bike I'm going to purchase to a bike shop to have it checked out before I drop the money. When I'm spending this much on a bike, I'm going to be sure it's going to work ;-)
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/bik/1675986128.html - 2005 Giant DH Team (willing to come down to $650) http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/bik/1665189803.html - 2003 Bighit Expert (~$650) http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/bik/1675678267.html - 2006 Giant Faith 2 (might be out of price range)
2007 Norco A-line ($1000) http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/bik/1677663246.html - 2004 Cannondale Gemini (has 2004 Boxxer World Cup, willing to do $750 maybe a little lower) http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/bik/1676183543.html - 2005 DB XTS Moto ($850, may be flexible) http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/bik/1677869156.html - 2005 DB XTS Moto ($850, may be flexible)
And the last bike (this is an email from the seller)
I have a Raleigh Ram XT3500 that is a 2006 model and it was bought from a Raleigh employee for one season. I went through the bike and replaced all the pivot bearings and a new FSA bottom bracket last year. Also I ditched the crappy Hayes disk brakes and went with brand new Shimano hydraulic brakes with new 8" rotors. It has a 2007 Rock Shox world cup that was just rebuilt last season by Fluid Ride in Seattle. I took off the stickers as they were pretty scraped up. It is fitted with a Manitou 6-way swinger with 7" of travel. I updgraded the bashgaurd and chain guide to an E-thirteen and also converted it to a single ring front with a new SRAM rear shifter. It also has Synchros Stainless mental pedals. This bike is solid and has no sag or pivot give. I am looking for 1000.00 dollars firm as most of the parts are brand new from last season.
So out of these, what do you think are good deals? I'm looking for a bike that is going to be somewhat versatile. I want something that will be good for hucking and downhill riding.
I don't know much about DH bikes - you might get some better answers from the DH forum.
I got burned on a craigslist purchase, so I always advise caution when picking out used bikes. Taking it to a bike shop before buying should help though. Good luck!
Yep, I did too actually. Bought a HT in the dark and was really careless about it, that was a $350 mistake. But I learned from it and I'm definitely not taking chances this time around!
Don't know dh bikes either. I would go check out as many as you can. They may be older but maby they were hardly ridden, or beat to $h!t. Who knows. I got some killer deals on craigslist but sometimes they take a while to come around, and gotta drive 100mi or more. I would look around for a few before jumping on anything yet.
Yea that is probably some good advice. I've got all this money in my hand and I'm ready to buy a bike NOW, and that's what happened last time and I ended up buying a bike that wasn't nearly as good a deal as I could have got.
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