What are the most important things to look at when buying a new or s/h bike?

[dhr85]

Hey guys,

Im on the market for a new or second hand 27.5 inch Enduro bike.
What are the most important things to look at price value?

For exmpl the 2014 giant Trance 2 (only $2799 now around $2100)
i like the matte black colour but the specs are ok, but im not happy with them so im chasing
a much better spec'd bike....
but...
if i look at the Giant Trance Advanced at over 7k (its a carbon frame) is it really worth to pay
that extra cash or just buy the downgraded one and upgrade with parts of my personal preference?

Or maybe build one from frame?

I got a SC Nomad Carbon which im going to sell soon, and get a 27.5 frame.


there are a few i like:
New 27.5 Santa Cruz Nomad carbon
Santa Cruz Bronson
Intense Tracer 275
Specialized Enduro S-Works 27.5 (coming out soon)
Banshee (i like the frames but have to get more info and feedback)
Yeti SB75 (not sure if out yet)

I do like to get back on a carbon again, and build it, but the wheels and forks are one of the most expensive parts, i want a complete new one
and try not building from new/used parts so should i just buy complete or build one?

 

[dhr85]

if i decide to buy a second hand one in good condition, what should i look at first and compare?
if too expensive than i might sell my nomad frame set/ forks and wheels and buy those in 27.5 and problem solved?

What you guys recon?

 

[dhr85]

Cant upload pics from my nomad atm, i downsized the pics... its frustrating sometimes

 

[The Duckmeister]

It's a rare thing to find a bike off the shelf that meets every aspect of your ideal spec. Pick the one that ticks the most boxes for you & upgrade the other bits. I'd put frame (inc. rear shock) & fork first priorities & work down from there.

 

[JTmofo]

Hard question for someone else to answer.

The right frame is the most important in my eyes , next are the expensive upgrade items...ie forks, drive train etc.

For me, carbon wasn't worth the extra money, nice to have but would rather spend the extra on top drawer wheels, fork etc.

Building your own bike is always more expensive than buying a built bike, but you get the build you want.

Btw, Bronson C frames have a ridiculous delivery lead time... 4-5 months I've been told.

 

[dhr85]

It's a rare thing to find a bike off the shelf that meets every aspect of your ideal spec. Pick the one that ticks the most boxes for you & upgrade the other bits. I'd put frame (inc. rear shock) & fork first priorities & work down from there.

thx mate, i think bout selling my frame/forks and wheel set and buy new ones in 27.5 and using the existing drive train, but lets see how much im able to get
for it, i see the xtr di2 looks really interesting, that's why i got too many ideas but i cant go nuts with the budget otherwise 10k wouldn't be enough haha

 

[dhr85]

Hard question for someone else to answer.

The right frame is the most important in my eyes , next are the expensive upgrade items...ie forks, drive train etc.

For me, carbon wasn't worth the extra money, nice to have but would rather spend the extra on top drawer wheels, fork etc.

Building your own bike is always more expensive than buying a built bike, but you get the build you want.

Btw, Bronson C frames have a ridiculous delivery lead time... 4-5 months I've been told.

4-5 months waiting time is ridicolous, i ask fortheriders and find out what they say, last time ive talked to them they said approx 2-4 weeks.
I find that one out and post it here..

Yes, building is always more expensive, i paid 8k for my nomad carbon, i think, if pay over 5k for a bike than may as well pay the extra $500 -$700 bucks for the carbon upgrade
because youre keeping a bike for at least 3-5 years when buying it brand new (me anyway) and enjoying it.

I know what you saying, wheels are bloody expensive, i really want carbon, ive been too stingy on the wheels, i got crank brothers on my nomad and XTR drivetrain lol but i paid only
$400 for the wheel set brand new, they doing alright, not that bad like most riders would agree

 

[dhr85]

Forks are another thing:
is it pikes or the 15' fox talas 34?

 

[konabiker]

Forks are another thing:
is it pikes or the 15' fox talas 34?

A lot seem to be going for the pikes..personally I would grab them for a new build

What are the details of your nomad frame mate

 

[pink poodle]

OP -

Makes sure with second hand that the original owner had a total balls out style. His courage is transferable through the bike to you!

 

[dhr85]

OP -

Makes sure with second hand that the original owner had a total balls out style. His courage is transferable through the bike to you!

its hard to find a s/h pikes, im planning to buy a new frame and forks unless theyre in mint condition s/h
I have been looking for a while now and wait till i get the frame first otherwise it wont fit if its cut too short

 

[dhr85]

A lot seem to be going for the pikes..personally I would grab them for a new build

What are the details of your nomad frame mate

Hi mate, my nomad is a 2012 in blk/blue, got a fox dhx air on the frame atm, plan was getting a ccdb air like the guy with the green nomad in the for sale section (frames long)

 

[dhr85]

i see the frame for $2000 but its on for sale for a while, so whats a fair price to ask for it?
Thought 2k sounds fair

 

[moorey]

Building up smartly is cheaper than off the shelf. I did the math for my mates carbon Bronson. With online shopping, mainly Merlin, I could have saved him around $1000, AND had better wheels. Sadly, he needed interest free finance so had to buy complete.

 

[sedifus]

i see the frame for $2000 but its on for sale for a while, so whats a fair price to ask for it?
Thought 2k sounds fair

Just because it's been up for a while doesn't mean it's an unfair price, if you think $2k is fair go for it.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[khsmtb]

For me the most important thing is the money. I'll have a budget and that's the figure I'll work around. I reckon second hand bikes are the way to go, with a good budget you can get some mint bikes around here. I guess if you want the latest and greatest though that comes at a premium and waiting for the right second hand bike to come up may be beyond your time frame. It's very satifying building a bike up from the frame but in my experience is the expensive route. Personally I would be upgrading my setup to a medium priced rig and some quality riding somewhere good. Recall that saying 'It's not the bike it's the rider' (def no offence meant). That's my two cents worth. Good luck with the project.

 

[marc.r]

Building up smartly is cheaper than off the shelf. I did the math for my mates carbon Bronson. With online shopping, mainly Merlin, I could have saved him around $1000, AND had better wheels. Sadly, he needed interest free finance so had to buy complete.

Maybe for Santa Cruz or even more boutique brands but if you bought a giant and added up the parts you wouldn't be paying much for the frame.

I think over about $4000 it pays to build yourself. Under by a big brand off the shelf unless you get a good secondhand deal.

Frame $2500 for aluminium or $3200 for carbon.
Fork $700
Wheels $700
Drivetrain/brakes $600
Bits an pieces $300

Think about an entry level specialialized enduro $3500 gets you a pike, decent drivetrain and functional wheels etc. you wouldn't get close buying an off the shelf aluminium frame and building yourself.

 

[moorey]

@mark, agreed, but don't forget all the corner cutting that gets giants and lower end spesh bikes down to a price. Wheels are usually cabbage, bottom end forks (but they say fox, so most people think they are the shiz)home brand bars, stems, seat posts....everything perfectly usable though.
Giant and spesh, particularly, make awesome value bikes...if you don't look too closely. I'll get flamed for saying it, but it's just My2c.

 

[pink poodle]

Giant and spesh, particularly, make awesome value bikes...if you don't look too closely. I'll get flamed for saying it, but it's just My2c.

You aren't alone there. Off the shelf is for chumps or peopke who don't know better. You forgot to include no name hubs, cheap heavy cranks and bottom brackets and cheap headsets. You know the bits that roll/spin and cop lots of force.

Unless you are married to a brand or frame design the there is always a good frame option floating around on the cheap to build up around. You just have to be prepared to look and be able to envision what you actually want.

 

[dhr85]

its hard to find a mint 2013-2014 650b frame in carbon like the ones i got in mind, no one wants to sell theirs because they just bought their bike not long time ago and if something is good why would you sell it?

but at the end im ok to pay up to 3.6 to 4k for a frame only, if i buy forks and wheels and end up using my good parts i got and sell all the left overs than i should do alright, get me some money back and i got a upgrade for a few grand