A bunch of guys from church regularly mountain bike during the summer, and I’ve decided to join them. The problem is, I don’t have a bike or any gear… Technically, I still have (and use) my old road helmet and sunglasses but they are both falling apart. Regardless, the gear is the easy and cheap problem to fix – the bike is another story.
I’ve been using Lanny’s Blizzard when I’ve joined them for rides, and it actually fits me pretty well. Last year he upgraded and bought another Rocky Mountain bike and has been trying to sell his Blizzard since last fall. Here’s the catch – apparently it seems most mountain bikers don’t like buy used bikes. That’s the only reason why I think he hasn’t been able to sell it and it comes up in conversation with others too. The conversation goes something like this: “it’s a great deal as long as you don’t mind buying a used bike. A lot of people want a brand new mountain bike for their first one.” I guess I don’t care that much…or maybe the sticker-shock of a new bike makes me cringe more.
Really, I think cost is the main factor. However, I know Lanny pretty well and he’s quite anal when it comes to his things (he’s an CPA, for example). He’s the type of guy that would trade in a 6 month “old” car for a brand new car just because it got a scratch on it. So, I know it’s been well taken care of. I’ve also been able to ride it a few times on some real terrain and it does really well. It feels solid, things seem to work right, etc. The other advantage of buying his bike is that I can get a complete one-on-one training session on how to care for, setup, and adjust every inch of the bike since he’s already figured it out.
So here’s the scoop. Lanny believes that if you were to buy a comparable bike to his right now, you’re looking at spending about $2000-$2200 new. He has seriously upgraded a lot things on his Blizzard. We stopped in at Criterium and I rode a $1200 Cannondale over lunch. It felt cheap compared to his bike, which makes sense since, well, it isn’t as nice. We looked around (and I’ve looked online) and the lowest of low-end mountain bikes start around $650 when you factor in tax. Lanny is selling his bike for $800. $800 is a little bit more in my price range.
Additionally, he just upgraded a lot of his parts last summer right before he bought his other bike. The tires, front suspension fork, hydraulic disc brakes, wheels, and headset are all about 1 year old. The shifters, gears, frame, and all that stuff are from 2003 but really only have 3 years of use on them. Those I could easily replace. The frame is Reynolds 853 Steel (cro-moly) but only like 4 pounds in weight and has a lifetime warranty. Bottom line, the bike frame isn’t going to bend or crack or wear out (like aluminum) and so it could be the base of a bike I have for years if I just keep replacing parts.
I also think the bike looks sweet. Some of the newer bikes have a cheesy paint job. I just can’t see any downside to purchasing it, especially given the fact that I’ll be riding with Lanny (the seller) most times anyway. $800 seems like a sweet deal…and I think for my first bike this would be a better purchase. I’m not going to run out and drop a lot of money, yet I’m also not willing to drop $650 if in a year it falls apart or I end up wanting to upgrade from my “ghetto Huffy”. Really, I think this is just a case of a motivated seller and people’s unwillingness to buy a used bike they haven’t rode from a stranger. So it’s used? Guess what Paco, as soon as you leave the bike shop with your new bike, it’s “used” too!
