timmage89

I'm looking to get back into the hobby, there's a used '96 Trek Y11 for sale locally. Not the original owner, apparently bought it a few years ago and hasn't used it much. They're asking $400.

I'm a noob, but from the pictures it seems to be in good shape. I'm going to check it out tomorrow afternoon. What do you guys think? Good price?

(I'm trying to post pics but apparently I need to post 10 times first)

cyccommute 

That’s about $150 high according to Bicycle Blue Book. It’s also not one of Trek’s better efforts. On the other hand, 1996 is pretty early in dual suspension evolution and no one made a very good dual suspension bike. Dual suspension bikes get a lot better if they are 4 to 6 years newer.

70sSanO

A lot depends on the condition of the shocks. From Bikepedia it had a Rock Shox Quadra 21 and a Fox 4”. It used to be pretty easy to find a replacement and a rebuild kit on eBay, or have someone rebuild it. I don’t know the availability for those suspension units. I don’t have a good handle on it.

About 6/7 years ago I built my 90’s hardtails and went with Bomber forks because they hold up, kits were available, and were pretty cheap. Even they are so much harder to find at a reasonable price.

If you are new to this, it is a tough call. From the sound of it they may not have had any maintenance done recently. If the current owner didn’t ride it and the suspension had service done right before he bought it. You might be okay.

John

cheffyjay

There is some good info here:
Trek Y Series Mountain Bike
there are some inherent issues with the suspension design that are pretty common to all URT rear suspensions. The suspension really only works when you are seated as well, and most riders spend a lot of time out of the saddle.
The price seems high but the market is strange right now.
even rebuilding an elastomer fork like the one on this bike, it will not handle that well. Are you looking for a mid nineties experience specifically? I have several FS bikes from this era but i really prefer older hardtails and more modern FS bikes.
it does feed into a question i've been wondering: how does a top of the line FS bike from this era perform against a mid to low level bike from the 2000s? I don't know.

wesmamyke

I would avoid anything vintage with suspension unless you have or can get parts for them. If the front and rear suspension don't work you can't ride the thing.

bikemig 

+ 1 on this.

Old school MTBs--no suspension--are likely your best choice. A vintage rigid MTB is easier to work on and a better all around bike if you plan on riding it primarily on roads or even gravel.

ups

And of course everything is more expensive these days.

timmage89

You guys are awesome, I appreciate all the info and direction. I am also a vintage audio enthusiast. In that market, anything made after the 60's can rival modern day gear in performance. Apparently not the case with mountain bikes!

It sounds like my best bet is to watch for a nice used hardtail. Trying to stick to a budget around $400-$500. Also looking at the new Trek Marlin 5.

I would mainly be biking at the Lebenon Hills park in Eagan, MN, which has various levels of trails. Would be fun to work up the difficulty.

cyccommute 

Yes. It’s estimates a bit high but $400 for a Trek Y11 is way too much. $250 is a starting point for a price that is closer to the value.

cyccommute 

That would depend on the vintage and the quality. There are people who still service old suspensions. Risse Racing has serviced a Specialized Brain rear shock off an Epic (2005) for me in the last couple of years and I was pleased with the result. Fluid Focus did a Fox Float for me recently. They reduced the travel of the fork to 60mm for my wife’s bike (She needed the standover) and did an excellent job. If the fork or shock is a good quality one like a Fox or Rock Shox, the chances of it being able to be serviced are greater.

The forks on all of my mountain bikes are from around 2000 and all of them work very well without much work. Almost all of them are Fox.

cyccommute 

I don’t agree. This one is a 1998 Moots with an early 2000s Fox Float RLC

Untitled by Stuart Black, on Flickr

I use it for bikepacking

Untitled by Stuart Black, on Flickr

and it’s far better than any gavel bike for Colorado terrain.

This one is a 2000 Dean with a Fox RL on it and it’s my favorite bike for commuting/recreational riding with mountain biking mixed in.

Untitled by Stuart Black, on Flickr

And this one is a 2003 S-Works that is a great dual suspension bike...perhaps the best dually ever made. The Brain shock on the back works exactly like it should....solid when pedaling/active when impacted.

bikemig 

I don't think you're disagreeing with the idea that a vintage rigid MTB is easier to work on or rebuild than one with suspension but maybe you are.

When it comes to ride quality, reasonable people can certainly disagree on which kind of bike they like to ride.

If you like the way a vintage MTB with a suspension fork rides better on road or gravel, good for you.

But you don't see many modern bikes for road or gravel that use suspension forks and maybe, just maybe, the designers of those bikes are right about this.

In any case, I like a vintage rigid MTB better than one with suspension for road and gravel. But as I said, YMMV.

cyccommute 

My market isn’t exactly a down bicycle market. My market does have a very good selection of high end and quality bikes and a 1997 Y bike isn’t exactly in that same level. There’s a 1996 carbon Y22 on Craigslist now for $400 and I’d say that is over priced too. There’s a 2003 (about) Trek Fuel 80 for $450 which is a far better dually and worth about that price.

There’s a 96 Trek Y11 carbon in timmage89’s area for $350 which is closer to a good price.

Trek’s Y bikes just aren’t that valuable.

cyccommute 

Suspension bikes aren’t all that hard to work on. Rebuilding forks isn’t that difficult. But I disagree that a rigid bike is a better all around bike. I have many years of rigid mountain biking. Once I got suspension, I didn’t look back.

When it comes to ride quality, reasonable people can certainly disagree on which kind of bike they like to ride.

Many gravel bikes are sliding towards front suspension as people are finding that they aren’t all that great. All of my mountain bikes have lockable forks and lockable suspension for pavement riding. They perform well enough on pavement but far better when the gravel becomes something else.

The Y bike above isn’t a great mountain bike and it wouldn’t work all that great on pavement. There are better bikes in timmage89’s area

Clang

Must be this one. A little annoying that it has department store bike quality pedals and rear tire. The front tire is likely the original Panaracrer Dart with dry sidewalls (with the wheel flipped the wrong way around).

Mens 1996 Trek Y11 Carbon Full Suspension Vintage Mountain Bike - $350 (Coon Rapids)

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/a...179959066.html

bikemig 

You are just being needlessly tendentious.

Darth Lefty 

They tried a lot of things back then, and the best you can say about that is... it was one of them

cyccommute 

Nope. I just don’t follow the herd.

Darth Lefty 

The herd is with you, in this instance, just not on BF. The BF opinion on suspension dates from Usenet, apparently

70sSanO

Nice bike. I’ve lusted after a YBB for years. Maybe one day.

John

Ironfish653

MTBs went through a lot of evolution during the 1990s, particularly with regard to suspension design, with everyone trying to find the ‘better mousetrap’ so there were a lot of evolutionary dead ends (SoftRide? AMP?).
Actually, the Horst/AMP design underpins most modern FS bikes, albeit with a couple more decades of development.
I really wouldn’t mess with any full-suspension from before 2003-04, unless you’re just after the ‘Rad’ factor of something like a Super-V or a blinged out billet GT LT-S.

Hardtails work just fine, as long as the forks are in good shape. There’s still support for some of the more popular models, but even if there’s not for your particular fork, it’s relatively straightforward to swap in a newer / better supported unit.

cyccommute 

Thanks. Mines a 1998 that I got for about $900 in 2008 (frame only). I was rather surprised at the price. I bought it specifically to use as an off-road touring bike. It works marvelously for that purpose and isn’t a bad mountain bike as well.