Tonyhone

Found a listing for $80. It looks to have a new seat post and a sleeker seat. The owner said he bought it in 2014 and rode it till 2021, stopped because of one broken spoke. From what I can tell from the pictures it looks well maintained, oh and he got it tune up in 2020.

currently I’ve been riding a schwinn frontier 1991 that has seen better days, would the diamondback be a solid upgrade?

hokiefyd 

At this point (bike is several years old), condition matters more than brand and model. First off, do you know if the owner fixed the broken spoke, or is he selling it as-is? You may be able to get it going again with just one replacement spoke. It may be best to plan on a new (or used) replacement wheel ($30-50 probably, depending on what you can find in your area). I think you also have to figure on replacing a few things (maybe the chain, the cables, brake pads, etc.), depending on what was included in the 2020 tune up.

I don't think it's a better bike per se than your Schwinn Frontier. Either one will be a good rider, presuming the frame and fundamentals are good.

Tonyhone

I appreciate your insight. The owner has not fixed the broken spoke. I do want to learn on how to replace it, but it probably would be cheaper for my LBS to fix it, as I don’t have tools to remove a cassette. Maybe that’s something I can haggle with.

Could you give me pointers on not so apparent things to look out for when buying a used bike?

I thought jumping to the Edgewood would be more future proof if that makes any sense, compared to the proprietary frame of the frontier, as I do want to get more into cycling, and love hardware. Let me know what you think and thank you.

hokiefyd 

What do you mean when you describe the Frontier's frame as proprietary? Most bikes use pretty interchangeable parts. Sometimes you see an odd seatpost size or stem size, but things from that era are generally pretty universal. Unless the paint is really worn or things overall are in really bad condition, it may make sense to keep your Frontier and upgrade some of the parts on it.

The most important part of a used bike, in my opinion, is the fit. Since you can't specify a frame size with a used bike...it is what it is...and you can sometimes spend (waste?) a lot of money trying to make a bike that doesn't fit...fit. And then sometimes it never works in the end, even after trying to get it. So I recommend first making sure the bike is comfortable for you to ride, whatever preference you might have (upright, leaned forward, etc.).

Otherwise, just look at the costly parts when trying to figure the value of fixing something that might be broken. If it has a suspension fork, it should operate smoothly with no sticky spots. If it does have a suspension fork, it's probably a pretty low-grade one and many don't consider that an upgrade from a rigid fork; in fact, many prefer a rigid fork because they're predictable, reliable, and don't require maintenance. The frame, of course, needs to be straight with no cracks. If the paint has crack marks, especially at or near a weld joint, that's an indicator of potential fatigue. The bike might have been wrecked and that's something you don't want. Some nicer steel frames are worth repairing, but aluminum frames of hybrid bikes generally are not. The wheels are probably the other component that is relatively costly. A new or used wheel for that wouldn't be all that expensive, but it's something to factor into the price. It'd probably be best to let a mechanic take care of the broken spoke for now, just to get the bike going. Or, buy a new wheel for it and then mess with the broken one in your free time to learn.

After that, you're just looking at consumables. Cables and cable housings will wear with use and degrade with time. They may be gummy or stiff and need replacing. Shifter assemblies sometimes need lubrication, especially if left sitting for years. The tires may be aged...probably not worn, but perhaps rotting/cracking. The derailleurs are probably fine, but you'd want to check the chain and freewheel or cassette.

I think you generally have to plan for up to $100 to get the bike back to new mechanical condition (this figures a replacement chain, new cables, new brake pads, etc.). That's really already priced into the bike...at $80, you're really just buying what you hope to be good bones. With some money in replacement consumables mentioned above, it'll ride and drive like a new bike. Here again, though, that should also apply to your Frontier. You could put the same $100 into it and really lift it up from where it might be now, without spending the $80 on a different bike. If you just like the Diamondback, like the color, the style, etc., then there's certainly nothing wrong with buying it and freshening it up. But from a purely financial perspective, it might make more sense to fix up your Frontier.

Tonyhone

Thank you for the reply, there were a lot of things you pointed out that I didn’t know, like the fixed fork vs cheap suspension fork comparison, and possibly other maintenance like wire replacements.

I messaged the seller, the diamondback does have new tires and new brakes. And about the fit, I believe the frontier is too big for me but the diamondback has a sticker that identifies sizing, it said 5’7” - 5’10”. I’m 5’8”. I think what’ll weigh in the decision the most is the good bones aspect, if all I need to do is replace a spoke and possibly a small tune up for the shifters than I’d be satisfied. I’d clean and sell the frontier too, knowing I can make some sort of profit as I bought that for $25.

Another reason that sways me to this decision is that all the spokes on the wheels of the frontier are all rusty. I’ve tried cleaning it but to no avail, and a set of wheels would run me cheapest $80, not even accounting for the rusty drive train.

Let’s hope for good bones.

Today I go see it, thank you for your advice!

veganbikes

It is a tourney equipped diamondback with broken parts. Probably a minor upgrade from the frontier but really only because it is slightly newer bottom end parts. But the Frontier is steel so potentially a better ride.

It will be hard to find much of quality for that low and fixing either bike could cost quite a bit. If the bike fits and you want to spend that amount of money plus whatever it will cost to fix up the used bike then go for it, it is in the end your money. However I would up the budget a bit and see if you can find something a bit nicer that doesn't have as many problems as generally I find if you find one fairly major problem there is more going on.