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Have had zero luck so far getting a second hand bike on ebay, gumtree, etc, so far, despite trying for a few weeks.
Looking at getting a bike which is decently light, durable, not too niche that I wont be able to get spares for it. Older tech like 9 speed and 26" not really a problem, all my spares are of that era anyway, and im not a good enough cyclist to notice the benefits of new tech.
So far looked at Marin, Boardman, Whyte, GT and Cannondale. Any obvious gems I've overlooked? Suggest away. Cheers.
Your budget isn't very high even for an older bike so a recommendation is pretty impossible, you'll just have to keep an eye out for a good deal.
Yep, at that price buy on condition. You'll probably struggle to find something decent in the right size.
Maybe look for a Calibre Bossnut. The older models are still going well.
How many spares have you got? Would a frame/fork/wheels be enough to get you up and running?
I've seen plenty of bikes for around £400 in my search but have just missed out each time, seems the popular brands are getting lots of watchers . Looking for suggestions for possibly more under the radar or forgotten classics. Budget is not fixed as yet, could possibly stretch to £600 or so but am allowing a bit of slack in case sjock needs servicing, tyres, etc.
Also my size, Large, is rare as they all seem to be 17.5" or medium.
Giant Reign off Facebook? Dunno where you are but I can see a few in the north west. Pretty old though.
Where are you and what size
Im in South Wales and I ride a Large mostly.
That Spesh looks ok, my mate had one, i liked it. Dont like the price on servicing that brain though. Arent they famous for being fragile, or am I barking u p the wrong tree?
Cannondale Prophet?
I had one for a couple of years. They were good bikes back in the day ...
Spesh Pitch?
As said above, the Prophet and Pitch were good bikes in their day. Maybe even an Enduro from around 2006. The geometry and component compatibility are going to be a bit limited though.
I’d probably go for the Prophet if I had a choice. Especially if you could find and old Prophet MX as I think they had a bolt thru rear end as well. The 1.5 head tube means you can fit a slackest as well and I think they can be slightly short shocked to slacken them further.
A few folk have said already but I’d go for prophet. My son has my old one and loves it. It’s now gotta nice of hope hoops, an xt 1x11 groupset and a dropper post on it.
Late 2000's Orange 5? Seen 2007-9 bikes for around that, or find a bit more for a 2011/3 with tapered headtube? The 5 of that vintage was bombproof and spares are still available so it should be a fairly hassle free option.
I had a Prophet and then a Pitch.
Pitch rode much better than the Prophet.
But as said above 1.5" straight head tube on the Prophet opens up you options for forks, also single pivot means only 2 bearings to wear out, unlike the Pitch that has 12? and are right pain to change.
I actually still have the Prophet (2009 medium), kept it for the kids to ride but they've lost interest, must get around to selling it in the spring.
Close to me, so I'd be happy to look at it if you wanted?
I have a large full sus rolling chassis in my garage but it's 160mm so more than OP is after
Dont like the price on servicing that brain though. Arent they famous for being fragile, or am I barking u p the wrong tree?
I had a Stumpy fsr elite with the brain shock. Never had any issues with it, but **** me was it expensive to get serviced
Edit: that spesh looks OK. If it helps any, I had the 2011 Elite and sold mine on eBay for £900 before Lockdown 1.0
Commencal Meta
Lapierre Zesty
Giant Reign
Saracen Ariel
Spesh Pitch
Looks like this might still be for sale, looks pretty decent. Will be shorter & steeper than modern bikes but they were nice to ride...
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3170039/
@dc1988,
Watcha got nice in your garage then? Am curious...
Also , Orange 5 and Prophet is a good shout, i was looking at those and glad to hear theyre a decent ride. Is the Rush , which superficially is quite similar to the Prophet though likely has different geo and role, worth looking into? They tend to appear in bursts on ebay for some reason.
Many thanks for all the help so far!
YT Wicked 160 Ltd, Bos suspension and Mavic wheels. The forks are actually easy to get serviced as they're open bath and use Fox seals
I’d keep an eye out for a Boardman Pro FS. Probably the silver 2015 model with revelation and GX would fall into that budget. If you could go up £200 from your £650 there are quite a lot of the 2016-2017 model with pikes / GX 1x11 / Guides etc on eBay
Edit - there are quite a few of that later model on Facebook classifieds for about £650 actually. That’s a 27.5” wheel bike with semi modern geometry - far better than the older 26er stuff with ludicrously short reach / steep headangles.
E.g.
Edit - this is the revelation / slightly older version I referred to and large / in budget. I think the newer one is the better option as it has a degree slacker headangle, a better fork, 1x11 drivetrain instead of 2x10. But I had one of these silver models and it was a decent bike for the money. Originally £1599 from memory.
Seen the YT rolling chassis in the classifieds? More travel than you were really after but I wouldn't hold it against it, those were brilliant bikes.
Late 2000’s Orange 5?
Came here to say this. They can be had around your budget if you keep an eye out...
But why take an older geo bike - perhaps with 26” wheels over the newer boardman?
I agree - components can all be changed in time but you're stuck with geometry and wheelsize. If you can get something newer with a current wheelsize, why wouldn't you?
Giant Reign
That what I have. I have modernised it with a short stem wider bars 1x and it rides well for winch up plummet down riding. Not nice on technical climbs but good down hill. I can more or less keep up with most weekend warrior my age (that are not ex pros)
Does 26" v 27" make that much of a difference then? A quick look at Chain Reaction shows all the tyres I would buy are still available in 26" still. Is there a plan to phase these out then? Has the cycle industry come out and said that 26" will no longer be supported? Genuinely ignorant of this.
Dont get me wrong, given the choice between a newer bike with current standards versus a bike with older standards which are no longer supported by manufacturers , id obviously go for the newer version.
However, if both wheel sizes are supported and there is no reason to fear a shortage of future spares, why would I pay extra for current standards when Im not a good enough rider to notice the difference? All my best rides have been on 26" bikes.
Not being a dick here, just genuinely interested in peoples ideas and thoughts on this. Im just trying to get hold of a decent bike at a decent price to have some fun on. Please keep the suggestions coming..
The problem is that "decently light, durable, not too niche" 140mm full suspension bikes don't cost £450 any more sadly.
For that money, decently light will mean older and more used, with suspension that may well be harder to get serviced these days.
Durable would mean higher quality and less used, which blows the budget. Go lower quality and it will mean less durable and heavier.
Not too niche - I would argue that QR forks with straight steerers (which is what you'll find on older bikes) is now pretty niche.
For me, the sweet spot for used full suspension bikes would be something in the 8/900-1200 range, for a bike that will be decently nice and enjoyable to ride.
Thanks to all who contributed so far, just won a boardman fs 650b on evilbay, £400, in my area too so no delivery charges. See if im still so keen when I pick it up.
This leaves a bit of cash to get the shock serviced; any recommendations for this? Cheers.
Thing is, after I'd placed the winning bid, the missus said why dont you buy an Orange 5 and be done with it. What a woman.
Tf tuned or j-tech tuning can do Rockshox shocks. A lot of those boardmans were bought on bike to work so it might not actually have seen that much action. So the shock might not even need a service.
Is it the green / blue one with the Pikes?
Its black and blue with, i think, sektors?
Ah, that’s a slightly older team fs. That spread of gears isn’t very low - looks like a 34t chainring and the original 10 speed cassette which is probably 11-36.
Personally I’d have pushed the boat out another £200 and tried to pick up the model I suggested as it then has bolt through axles at both ends, proper 1x11, better brakes and a much better fork.
Looks decent enough for the price.
I'd see about some offset bushings and maybe an angle adjust headset if possible (Superstar are good & cheap) - to make the head angle a bit more contemporary.