fietsbob

their 1 speed bike has less bad parts than the ones with more cheap parts .

RaleighSport

They have 1 speed bso mtb's? All that came to mind was the huffy cranbrook and the whatever the cheap FG is...

OldsCOOL

I know why MTBs are so popular with Florida folk....pythons, nile monitors, gators, rattlers, cottonmouths....

Jinkster

So you folks have a deep seated love and respect for the SHR's?....because I just left VM and a text for this one...dude has it listed as a 2013 model he's only owned for 7 months and upgraded the rear derailleur...$400obo..no disc brakes and I doubt it's a 29'er but...looks like it would suit my wants just fine...



Whatcha think?

Yep..and do you know how much I could get for cottonmouth skins from my traditional bow-hunting buds? LOL!

Retro Grouch 

ABSOLUTELY! Here's why I say that:

You kind of want to buy a bike but you don't really know what you want. The more you look the more confused you are going to become because there are a gazillion different styles and price levels. Here's how to get around that:

Acquire a bike - ANY bike. Ride it around for awhile. As you ride, make a mental list of things that you like about your bike and the things that you hate. Your list will be different from everybody else because nobody else will ride the exact same places and use their bike in the exact same ways that you will. Now, when you get ready to buy your REAL bike you'll have a better idea of what to look for. If you're willing to sacrifice everything else for the lowest possible price, that's OK. If the color red is at the top of your want list, that's OK too.

There's only one person in the whole world that your bike has to make happy. Just make sure that it's got the features that are on your want list, not somebody else's.

Wanderer

You can buy a new one almost that cheap, maybe cheaper as a last years model, with a warrantee.

Wanderer

Here's what I would be looking for - and you can recoup your $ if you don't like it ----- there's a ton of these things out there cheap..... Specialized Hardrock

revchuck 

My retirement job for a few months now has been working in a LBS that sells Giant and Specialized, doing simple repairs and building new bikes. We make a ton of money off of people who buy bikes from big box stores, just fixing them to be rideable. We're not ripping them off - it just takes a ton of work to do it.

OP - My recommendation would be to go to whatever LBS handles Giants and look at two bikes - the Revel 3 and the Escape 3. Both retail for ~$350 and are solid bikes. The Revel is technically a mountain bike and is better suited to street riding than other mountain bikes, while the Escape is about the sportiest hybrid you can get and will handle like a road bike, but with a flat bar and bigger tires. Either way, you'll get a bike that is assembled by folks who know what they're doing and is backed by a good warranty...which you'll probably never need, because they're inexpensive good bikes instead of cheap bikes.

Jinkster

Well?...he did say "OBO"...it's of a color I prefer...and he does list that he just upgraded the rear derailleur and that the tires are brand new and judging by the pix the bike does appear to be in very near showroom...so..I'd offer him $300 for it...and maybe even go $350 if he's got receipts and I like it.

Jinkster

Yep...that sounds like solid, sage advice...there's a Giant dealer one town away from me and they are huge...the same folks who sold me my OCR (I love so much) a decade ago and?...

UPDATE: I just got off the phone with the SHR owner who texted me back (that he still had it) and I called him back...and got a bad vibe as follows...

First I asked him if he'd be willing to meet me 1/2 way (as according to the map location he's 100 miles south of me in north miami)...and he said yes but the furthest north he'd meet me is Lauderdale because "he lives in SOUTH miami"?...(as I'm thinking...not according to your map bud...and if you'll lie to me about that?)....Next I asked him if he was certain about the model year of the bike as I tried looking it up and all the SHR's I saw were either 29'er and/or 26" but all had disc brakes while his does not...and that's when he stumbled again telling me..."well the dealer told me it was a 2013 leftover"...(as I thought..."Strike II")....next I asked him what rear derailleur he upgraded it with as he asnwered..."I dunno...shimano something I think"...(and that was strike III for me right there)...but in the name of me putting a little more heat on him at this point?...I asked him...

"So tell me...what prompted you to put new tires and a new rear derailleur on a new bike you bought 7 months ago?...did it break?"

and I got..."dead air"...at which point I simply thanked him for getting back with me and informed him that I just started looking sooo?...

bye now.

Think I'm right back to "Done W/ CL!"...maybe sometime this week I'll drive over and take a look at the Giant 3's if they have some in stock.

Thanks again folks and L8R, Bill.

Wanderer

Keep lookin - there are dozens of these old hardtail, solid fork, mountain bikes out there. I think you would be surprised at functionality and purpose, for very little money...... If you want to go that high, just buy new for the same dollars........... and get a warrantee and support.

qcpmsame 

Thank goodness you are over the BSO thing at Wal-Mart, I'll leave it at that. You'll spend far more trying, and mostly being frustrated with those things. Watch the various LBS for used mtb if you have a real itch, or wait and get a new hard-tail with 29's or 27's and a straight fork, or some front suspension, if you think you need it, I'm with Wanderer, a good hard-tail with straight fork is still a ball to ride. You'll be a lot happier in the long run than if you jump on the first cheap bicycle that comes along. Ride that OCR and thank the Lord you've quit smoking, and are on the right track, now. The right mtb is out there for you, give it time and get some miles under your belt one way or another.

To all those that think that mtb's don't get a workout here in Florida, come down some summer and ride in our thick woods, on the trails in the rollers and a 90/90 day. Then we can discuss the irony. Or, maybe a ride in the sugar sand and up some dunes, where its legal, for a couple of hours. It ain't all South Florida swamps here, and that kind of flat terrain, there is a really good reason the US Army operates Camp Rudder for the Ranger School down here on Eglin AFB. Peace.

Bill

koolerb

It is, its a step above Alivio. But this was Deore from 1993. I wanted rapid fire shifting and bang for the buck the Alivio stuff is hard to beat.

Jinkster

Yep...and thanks all...I think I have my heart set on a particular new model bike as I've been taking a deep look at Giants Revel3 (as suggested above)...at well below $400 new?...it's pretty much "Entry Level Everything"...

************************************************************

[TABLE="class: bike-specifications"]
[TR]
[TH]Sizes[/TH]
[TD]XXS,XS,S,M,L,XL[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Colors[/TH]
[TD]Black/Blue[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Frame[/TH]
[TD]ALUXX-grade aluminum[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Fork[/TH]
[TD]SR Suntour M3010AL, 63mm travel[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Shock[/TH]
[TD]N/A[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: bike-specifications"]
[TR]
[TH="class: heading, colspan: 2"][h=3]Components[/h][/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Handlebar[/TH]
[TD]High-tensile steel, low-rise, 25.4mm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Stem[/TH]
[TD]Giant Sport[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Seatpost[/TH]
[TD]Alloy, 30.9mm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Saddle[/TH]
[TD]Giant Connect, Upright[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Pedals[/TH]
[TD]Nylon platform[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: bike-specifications"]
[TR]
[TH="class: heading, colspan: 2"][h=3]Drivetrain[/h][/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Shifters[/TH]
[TD]Shimano EF40, Rapid Fire[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Front Derailleur[/TH]
[TD]Shimano Tourney[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Rear Derailleur[/TH]
[TD]Shimano Tourney[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Brakes[/TH]
[TD]Alloy, linear pull[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Brake Levers[/TH]
[TD]Shimano EF40[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Cassette[/TH]
[TD]Shimano TZ31 14x34, 7-speed[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Chain[/TH]
[TD]KMC Z51[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Crankset[/TH]
[TD]SR Suntour NEX, 28/38/48 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Bottom Bracket[/TH]
[TD]SR Suntour sealed[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: bike-specifications"]
[TR]
[TH="class: heading, colspan: 2"][h=3]Wheels[/h][/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Rims[/TH]
[TD]Giant Alloy[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Hubs[/TH]
[TD]Alloy, 32h[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Spokes[/TH]
[TD]Stainless Steel, 14g [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Tires[/TH]
[TD]Kenda, 26x2.1
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

*********************************************

But should be plenty good enough for me and will come new with service and a warranty from a LBS...no disc brakes but?...big deal...I'm sure the mechanical calipers will stop it just fine (it's not like I'm encountering any 60deg+ declines around here! LOL!)...and the other thing I looked into?...is the low end shimano "Tourney" derailleurs...and apparently there's a small army of folks who are under the impression that the matter of "derailleurs" is highly over-rated and that most of the inflated pricing of the high end rigs has more to do with "providing high end finishes" as opposed to any huge deltas in basic functionality...and in many instances...even "durability" and is more a matter of well well you maintain it as much as abuse it...so I think the only question left is...Small or Medium? LOL!



Thanks again, Bill.

revchuck 

Bill - I've built several of those bikes, and they shift fine.

Jinkster

Whelp?....I just bought one...my first real mountain bike ever...and spent a whopping $120 and yes...off of CL... (insert drum roll here)...it's a late '90 model "TREK MOUNTAIN TRACK 800"...purchased from a retired guy who keeps himself from going nuts by rebuilding and reconditioning old bikes and what a job he did on this one...all new cables...new chain...new shifters...new grips...new tubes...liners...new tires...new brake pads and all on a frame he stripped down to bare bones and completely reconditioned including all bearings cleaned...greased and lubed.

Now I don't know what folks might say on the net...but what he told me was he doesn't work on any bike unless it was made in Taiwan....and this one was....I'm pleased with it.

Wanderer

Pictures, or it ain't real.................. Nice choice!

DnvrFox

Good buy.

I never quite understood your requirement for disc brakes. Could you explain. In any event, have fun, and you don't have much to lose!!

revchuck 

Bill, ya done good!

OldsCOOL

Good choice.

qcpmsame 

Nice score on the N+1, pics are a requirement, of course. You won't miss anything right now with cantilever or V-brakes, Disks are a good thing and they are coming on fat and strong, but you got a nice deal on a good bike, well done.

Bill (the twitchy one)

Jinkster

Thank you everyone!

And now?...lets take care of this....

little matter.

Designed in Waterloo WI...with a Date of the Art CRMO Seat tube doncha know! LOL!



Yet borne of a place where folks have lived generation upon generation of entire families who honed their skills in the fine art of bike manufacture and assembly to a legendary status rivaled only by the makers of Samurai Steel....



With brand new grips, twist shifters and brake levers all retrieved from the vast depths of the bottom of the barrel I'm sure! LOL!

(yet they feel and work fine)

Then add to that?...a brand new chain and rear cassette...



along with a complete re-lacing of all new cables?.....



and?...a brand new set of knobbies that no doubt sport the name of some porno star?..."Ritchey Climb-Max" LOL!



and there you have it...my first ever...older than white dog pooh....but everything else is almost new....$120 Mountain Bike.

and I thank all of you for your help and guidance throughout this purchase day!

Kai Winters

Great bike then and now. I sold the hell out of them back then.
You did real well.

I've no problem with plunking down under two hundred for a "cheap" bike to bop around on. Just don't expect more than that. They are very inexpensive bikes with equal parts...stamped steel, heavy parts, etc. But for just several miles of easy riding around town, on a dirt road at slow speeds you will be fine.

Just be aware the parts are cheap and will rust...especially the spokes.

Jinkster

Yeah...not much doubt in my mind that this was treks bottom line entry model...and while I can find little speckles of rust here and there in the nooks and crannies of stamped end caps and such?...I'm kind of shocked to hear that about the spokes as the ones on this bike appear to be in near new condition...maybe it was just well kept?...but in any event?...I have it dated as a '98 Model....


800 Sport...

95, teal green/black fade with sliver decals, also pearl blue with sage decals
96, dry ice emerald/dry ice purple fade with silver decals, also gloss black with reflex blue decals
97, Dry bright blue with black decals, also gloss ice green with white decals.
98, gloss black with red decals, also mellow gold with red decals, also violet pearl with titanium decals
99, gloss black, also ice green, also violet pearl
00, pearl navy/metallic green also blackberry, also gloss black
01, Trek red (front)/bright silver (rear), also warm silver (front)/ blackberry (rear), also candy blue
02, starry night, also frost/Niagra blue, also pearl white/candy red

so I'm looking at a bike that's nearly 17 years old and completely refurbished...so I'm thinking it's got at least another 5-10 years in it pending care and "garage kept"...not bad for $120 and I'm fairly certain it's far better than anything I could've rolled out of wally world for even 2-3 x's that price point...maybe?...but yes...it's not going to be rolling down any rock and root infested cliffs at break neck speeds...it's just my "Rat Hoody Fun Bike"...the one I can go over a little bit of clumpy grass and sugar sand with.

Corben

Hey! It's a great feeling knowing you're kicking smoking, isn't it? I'm just about to begin my fifth year myself. It was easy this time. Watching my father, a life long smoker, drown in his own bed was perfect motivator for me to quit. Also If you need any support this is a great place to come. The forum members were a great support team for me. A lot of rx smokers here who know what your going through. You can even start a tread asking for help.
Cycling is a great relaxer to reduce those craving too. So just get a bike. Hell get a old schwinn three speed. It doesn't matter. Just get out there and ride and feel great! Cuz your a non smoker now!