XPLSV

I'm tryiing to make some space in the garage and have a Trek 970 that I picked up for my wife a couple years ago and she has never used it. I had picked it up used at a thrift shop and had about $150 worth of maintenance done on it at the local bike shop, so it is in solid running shape at this point. Appearance is pretty good, too. I was wondering what a fair price might be. It has a pretty small frame on it (for my pretty, small wife). Where exactly would I measure to get the frame size?

Thanks,

Bernard

oddjob2

C-T center of crank to top of seat tube. From the pics, it looks like an 18" frame.

I'd recommend some new tires, makes the bike look a lot fresher/newer. If you're amazon prime, no shipping for these at $10 each:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...F8&me=&seller=

You'll need narrower tubes too.

With new tires, in a large metropolitan market, I'd start at $175 and work your way down in $25 increments every 10-14 days. If you leave the old tires on, then start at $120.

MRT2

And raise the saddle up. Looks funny with the saddle all the way down.

Yo Spiff

Oddjob's pricing suggestion sounds about right. If it doesn't need any work, I would find $100-150 to be a reasonable price. I've bought a few similar Treks for under $100, but they all needed work. Looks a touch taller than 18" to me. I think my Trek 900 is 18" and yours has a taller head tube.

In addition to raising the saddle, I'd also suggest removing the aero bars. They look a little awkward on a MTB (Not that the drop bars on mine don't also look a bit odd, but I'm not trying to sell it). You'll need better photos as well. I'd suggest taking a photo outside in bright shade or on an overcast day. I like taking the pics under my carport about an hour before sundown.

MRT2

Actually, that bike looks pretty cool with drop bars. If you listed that as a Trek Touring bike, you might get $100 more than if you just listed it as a Trek Mountain bike.

Yo Spiff

Good point, especially since I have sometimes referred to it as my LHT: Long Haul Trekker. Makes a bombproof and smooth riding utility bike. I'm probably putting knobbies back on it soon, however, as I now have a '92 Crosscut as my do everything bike.

XPLSV

I appreciate all the info and advice. Thanks everyone!

oddjob2

Knobbies? I thought they paved ALL of Fort Worth?

Bianchigirll 

I wish this was bigger and much closer! I would love to try one of these older lugged steel Treks.

Yo Spiff

We have some very nice gravel trails along the river. Often paralleling the paved trail, so we have options. And some of the streets around here are worthy of off road tires anyway.

FastJake

I recently sold a similar lugged 950 in extremely good shape for $175 with MTB tires, so that sounds about right for yours too.

adlu

How much did you end up selling this for? I'm planning a bikepacking trip in South America and looking for a solid old steel frame. It seems like the prices for these nice old vintage steel MTBs have gone up the last few years. I'm in the SF bay area, maybe that makes a difference!

katsup

You brought back alive 4 old treads about the Trek 970. Expand your search to the Trek 950, 930 and other upper end vintage mountain bikes like the stumpjumper. Look for Deore LX components or better. The most important thing is that it is your size and that it has your desired rack mounts.

I have a 950 that I'd value around $250-$300, but it is very clean and maintained.

rossiny

I bought a trek 970 with all deore in good shape. Awesome bikes. Anything like this would be very expensive today,, made in USA. That being said I paid 120.

wrk101

+100 Don't single out a particular model or brand. Instead, look for a good vintage MTB in your size. Yes, SF is a more expensive market.

The 970 is a good bike, but its no better than similar offerings from other brands. I just picked up a Shogun Prairie Breaker. Turned out to have a Tange Prestige frame, and full XT parts. I had never heard of the model.

If you single out a search for a particular brand/model, you will tend to have to wait a long time and pay a high price. Meanwhile, you will likely pass on something just as good or even better from another brand.

Many buyers make the same mistake. So you can scoop up something really special, but of a brand you and most other buyers are not familiar with. Look for a good frame with good parts. In my case, a MTB that is full Deore XT and a Tange Prestige frame, I didn't need to know anything else. Bike sat on Craigslist for three days, at a low price. The brand could have been an "Uncle Jimbob", I didn't care.

When its "got to be" a particular brand, a particular model and a particular size, you are talking rare/rare/rare and you WILL pay top dollar. I've done that a couple of times and had to use ebay. So I overpaid, and had the added cost of shipping.

I bemoaned the lack of any vintage MTBs out there on the marketplace a month ago, then I have picked up three since then.....


"Seems like" = no real data. I have not seen an increase in pricing. OK, occasionally I see some silly high asking prices, but I ignore those. What I have seen is a reduction in these bikes for sale. "Real" MTB lovers tend to want the latest and greatest, full suspension, disk brakes, 29'r, etc.

adlu

Thanks for all your advice and info!

The night I posted on all those Trek 970 threads, I had just found a listing for one in excellent condition near me. I ended up not going after it because it was too expensive and the owner was firm on the price.

I found something that looks really nice today, but it's a bit over my budget if I include my desired upgrades.

It's a Marin Team Issue, most likely 1992 based on the decals in Marin's 1992 catalog. The size is right for me and it has mostly XT components (shifters, rim brakes, derailers, front hub), but I will need to replace the handlebar, pedals, and rear wheel. The crankset is Shimano biopace, and not sure about the cassette. Attaching some pics.

Does $350 seem reasonable?

One other thing - the seat stays don't have rear rack mounts. What has your experience been with p-clamps or other rear rack mounting options?

Thanks!

wrk101

WOW, your market is expensive. It is rare to see a MTB without rack mounts. Personally, I prefer ones that have a mid fork front rack mount too.

$350 for that bike in my market? Not a chance. And then it needs work.

The question becomes how patient are you and how big of an area are you willing to look?

Top of the line frame there. Rear wheel do not appear to be XT. Condition is OK, not great.

Those brakes with the plastic spring bodies are not XT and are problematic in my experience. Not Shimano's finest moment. I would not ride to South America with those calipers (plastic bodies tend to break, and then the springs don't work).


At those prices, you could probably find one on Ebay and pay the shipping.

katsup

@adlu in my market, that Marin would be a strong pass. Having to replace the rear wheel and handlebar at that price seems unreasonable.

What size do you ride? I'm guessing ~20" looking at that Marin.

Edit: I had a quick look in the SF bay area and the below stood out. Most of these in my area these would be FMV, not as familiar with SF area.

1991 Rockhopper - $185
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/bik...886789252.html

Rockhopper - $50 = Maybe too small
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/bik...890324385.html

Specialized Stumpjumper = $120
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...8780908510461/

Diamondback Apex = $120 = 17" frame <-- My choice if it fits you.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...9913011412181/

Schwinn High Plains = $40
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...6778279588291/

And I'd choose one of these over the above Marin and replace the fork
1993 Marin Rocky Ridge - $150
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik...887948520.html

Specialized Stumpjumper - $160
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik...871089181.html

adlu

Thanks guys for all your input and slapping some sense into me. You're totally right that I was blinded by that frame / fork and not considering the importance and cost of all the components I'd have to replace.
Also, yes, I'm not in a hurry so I can afford to be patient. It's good to be reminded of that. Good catch on the caliper brakes too - I actually have an aluminum hardtail Rockhopper with similar brakes that I'll have to replace soon exactly for the reason you stated - cracked plastic spring housings.

katsup - thanks so much for looking up those listings for me. I didn't even know about FB marketplace, that looks like a great resource. You're right, I need about a 19-20" frame (my inseam is 32"). I messaged the owner of that DB Apex to get the standover height - unfortunately it's too small for me. Also makes sense to expand my search to San Jose - it's a big city with lots of used bikes. It had been excluded from my search because it's outside of my 30mi radius.
That Marin Rocky Ridge looks amazing but alas it's aluminum.

I feel so much better equipped now in my search. Thanks for sharing all your experience and advice!

XPLSV

Wow—that was so long ago, I don’t think I remember. I likely let it go for $125 or $100 back then.