Mountain bike- where to find deals & can I negotiate?

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  fertiliser on 05/01/2015 - 10:45

  +1

  if your maximum is $550 i would lean toward getting a second hand one

  • 

    ycon on 05/01/2015 - 14:19

    For my budget I can get a Norco Storm 9.1 (http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/a/29er-mountain-bikes/norco/v…)

    I've not heard of Norco before- are they okay? Better than a Reid for the same price?

    • 

      2ndeffort on 07/01/2015 - 11:36

      Norco are a well known and reputable Canadian brand. They are a better known 'Brand' name in MTB than Reid. I have an old Norco Nitro from the late 90's that my son now rides, still going strong since 1998, bike is older than my son!!

      www.norco.com

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  meowmeowmeow on 05/01/2015 - 10:48

  +1

  I think some brands release bikes each year, as like 2014, 2015 models. So you may find a 2014 model on sale. I think there's a certain time of year when the next years bikes are released and you can get runout deals on the old ones, kind of like cars. Not sure when it is though, sorry.

  • 

    2ndeffort on 07/01/2015 - 11:41

    Absolutely right and almost all bike companies do this. In fact many of the component manufacturers do the same thing with saddles, wheels etc as well. I'm not sure about the new models for MTBs but for road bikes most new models come out Tour De France time each year and the selloff of the old models kicks in shortly thereafter. There might be some older models left on sale but I would think the cheaper models would go first.

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  ycon on 05/01/2015 - 11:01

  2014 models is a good idea. I've had a look around for second hand bikes but not found much. However I did find a 2012 Merida BIG.NINE TFS 300-D.

  BB-SET Shimano Octalink
  DERAILLEUR Shimano M390 / XT
  SHIFTERSShimano Alivio Rapidfire
  BRAKES Tektro Draco 180/160
  BRAKE LEVERS attached RIMS Big Nine Pro D
  FREEWHEEL Shimano CS-HG20-9 11-34
  CHAIN KMC Z99 9s

  I'm paying $420- are the parts good/is it good value?

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  DealzEddy123 on 05/01/2015 - 15:32

  can be cheaper to buy overseas if you're going on a holiday anytime soon.
  just take off the wheels and put it as part of your regular checked-in luggage

  • 

    ycon on 05/01/2015 - 16:32

    Yeh for sure, but no trips planned soon. I remember in the past there was a big UK site that shipped free worldwide- Merlin I think. Isn't that good value tho it looks now.

    • 

      2ndeffort on 07/01/2015 - 11:30

      Loads of cheap UK sites that ship bikes:

      www.chainreaction.com
      www.wiggle.com
      www.ribblecycles.co.uk
      www.merlincycles.com
      www.probikekit.com.au
      www.cyclingexpress.com (not UK based)

      Check for coupon codes and cashback sites. cashback is up to nearly 5% on Chainreaction depending on what you buy. Beware though, postage of a bike from the UK is likely to be $120 ish. If you were buying a $12K Look roadbike that might just be a rounding error, if you are buying a $500 MTB it is a significant chunk of your budget.

      Regardless you will find some great deals on the sites above for the other extraneous stuff you will need like clothes etc.

      If I was after a cheap MTB I would look on both Gumtree and there are also Facebook Groups for Buy/Swap/Sell MTB stuff. The Facebook groups are great as they are free and you can negotiate via messaging with the seller. There will almost certainly be one for Sydney I would expect.

      Final option might be to make one up, I did this. I found a Full Suspension frame, brand new going on Bikeexchange for $50 from a reputable bike shop (ex warranty stock in a water damaged box). I bought it and then spent countless hours of Ozbargainer heaven obsessing over saving a buck or 2 on MTB components, many from the sites I listed above. When it all arrived I built the thing up mostly from watching Youtube clips made by bike mechanics. Finally I took it to the local bike shop and paid for a service to get it all checked over. Works great and I might have gone a little over budget but I found loads of bargains along the way and managed things like tubeless tyres etc that I never would have thought of but that weren't really that hard when you are building it all up from scratch.

      • 

        ycon on 09/01/2015 - 02:15

        I'm very tempted to do this. I'm pretty mechanical. I've found 29er carbon frames for ~$400.

        I've found an old 26" with Deore gears (front & rear), and tektro Draco hydraulic brakes in good condition.

        Can I use everything on the 26" bike minus the frame, folk and wheels for a 29er I build?

      • 

        2ndeffort on 09/01/2015 - 10:32

        @ycon: you should be able to re-use most of the parts but sometimes there are some dramas, things like the compatibility of the Bottom Bracket to house the crankset or the frame mounts for the brake calipers. There are often adapters you can get to fix these but they can cost money.

        Your deraileurs should fit but there are some potential snags, is the new frame a hardtail or FS? If it is FS you might need a bottom pull front Deraileur to accomodate the shock on the frame (depending where it is mounted), if it is a hardtail themn you need a front deraileur with the right diameter band to get around the seat tube. You can get shims if your band is too big.

        Your brakes should be OK but the spacing on them might not fit the mounts on the rear stay, if not you need an adapter.

        You will need 29'er forks and my experience was that suspension forks were the most expensive part of the bike. The German sites I mentioned earlier were the cheapest but I ended up buying 2nd hand forks off Gumtree. There are tapered and straight steerers and if you have the wrong one it could be a drama. You also need to check the steerer is long enough for the stem once it is through the head tube. You might also need a new headset. If you buy new forks all OK as you cut the steerer to length, if you are taking off another bike with a different length head tube the steerer might have been cut to the wrong length.

        Sounds way more complicated than it is. A good carbon frame for $400 is a bargain, they dont do road frames as well? Dont be out off though, I loved building my MTB and it goes great. i know how it is all put together and I know there is not another one like it anywhere. It probably cost me more to put together than a 2nd hand bike off Gumtree but I loved the whole saga of picking all the bits and learning how to put it all together. There were dramas and a few trips to the bike shop, I had to buy a couple of tools along the way as well but I still have them and am much more confident to work on the bike if stuff needs doing.

      • 

        ycon on 09/01/2015 - 11:15

        @2ndeffort: Well I massively underestimated the cost of the forks. Will consider it down the track, not not affordable right now.

        Im considering a used Giant XTC 29er 2 2011 for $535 (in good condition)

        What's better- a new bike with lower spec gears (Acera or Altus) or a used bike in good condition (4 years old) with higher spec (Alvio & deore)?

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        2ndeffort on 09/01/2015 - 13:36

        @ycon: I'm not too sure about the differences between the groupsets you've mentioned (Acera. Altus etc). As long as they are 10 speed they would be very easy to upgrade later on. It isnt hard to buy an XT Crankset and shifters in a Chainreaction sale in a year's time and switch out the old ones. Problems might come if you have a 9 speed setup because then you would need to change the cassette on the wheel, maybe the freehub to accommodate the extra cogs on the cassette, all the deraileurs etc etc. There are plenty of brand new bikes that have a compatible mix of components from different groupsets.

        I dont know the Giant model you are talking about but I would probably compare something like the suspension forks on the 2 before I worried about the drivetrain. If you found a good 2nd hand bike with some awesome forks (like a set of Rockshox Pikes etc) then i would prefer it because it is much easier to find a deal on a new crankset and deraileurs than it is to upgrade the very expensive forks. 2nd hand can be a drama as you get no warranty, a new bike will give you a warranty if anything goes wrong. I would probably lean towards a new bike, I wouldnt be worried about Acera/Altus too much, they are both lower end groupsets and it is easy to find Deore/XT stuff you can upgrade with later on. As I said though, I would be worried about the forks on a new bike.

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  2ndeffort on 07/01/2015 - 13:35

  Oh, and every Local Bike Shop in the country would be open to negotiating prices, particularly on end of year models I would think. I always haggle when I am buying a bike, has always secured me a nice discount in the past.