Hi all, long time lurker, finally got an account >.<
I've been riding for some time and my brother has given me his not so old bike – a giant talon 3. its completely stock as he has kept all his parts for a new build. However the frame is too big for me. The frame is Large which equates to a 20inch and im only 5ft 8.
Just wanting some advice
Would you try and sell the bike and buy one that has the correct frame size for me? Or just buy a new frame and swap it over and try to sell the talon frame?
Thanks in advance

depends on the components. are they all in good nick, decent quality?

I would sell the frame if the above questions answer 'yes'.

what he said.

What he said, if the Talon build is what you want.

Othgerwise it's a comparison of what you will get for the Talon vs the bike you want and same comparison for frames. Plenty cheap frames about SH though.

good nick yes but im not sure about decent quality. The complete bike is £425 new and the frame underlies the whole talon range which goes up to £850 for the talon 0. So i assume there has been compromise on the parts. I also read some review stating the bike was a good upgraders choice?

I also read some review stating the bike was a good upgraders choice?

Generally means it has a good frame.

See if you can find out what the frame is worth SH. Bike likely to be £200 or so?

if you could post up some pics we might be able to advise you more

Ok thanks alot for the help and insanely fast replies 😯
I'll go get the camera and try take a few asap

Yeah – a list of components or some pics would help.

There's no point riding a bike that's too big as it'll feel horrible, so one way or another you're doing the right thing.

My first instinct is to suggest swapping the bits over onto a new frame, using the money from the frame to (perhaps part) fund it. Even if the bits aren't that great, they will be functional and will allow you to get started and then upgrade as required.
An On One Inbred frame would be a good place to start…you might need to replace a couple of components like the seatpost depending on the tube size differences between old & new frames.

Ok this is a list of the components taken from the Giant website

Model Talon 3
Frame Giant AluxX aluminium, Fluid FormedTM
Fork Suntour XCM V2 100mm lock out
Handlebar Giant Sport aluminium riser
Stem Giant Sport aluminium ahead
Seatpost Giant Sport aluminium
Saddle WTB Speed V Comp
Pedals Giant platform
Shifters Shimano EZ Fire 50 24 speed
Front Derailleur Shimano C050
Rear Derailleur Shimano Alivio
Brakes Shimano BRM 416 mechanical discs, 160mm rotors
Brake Levers Shimano
Cassette Shimano HG40 11-32
Chain KMC Z7
Crankset FSA Dyna Drive 22/32/42
Bottom Bracket FSA RPM Cartridge
Rims CR18 double wall aluminium
Hubs Formula disc
Spokes Black stainless steel
Tyres Kenda Nevegal 2.1"
Weight (lb/kg) 32.02/14.58

and here are a couple of pics (let me know if any more are needed)

The next question is how much cash do you have to spend on it – if any?

around £200-250 perhaps? but if thats too low i suppose i don't have much choice 🙄
I want to make sure i'm riding regularly before i start splashing the cash

OK, in that case, I reckon sell it complete which should get you £200-£250, add in your money and you can build up something much nicer from the classifieds on here plus new cassette, chain, chainset (eg the transmission) from somewhere cheap like Merlin or CRC.

Ok thanks i'll get some photos showing any marks on the frame and get an ad posted
Thanks alot everybody for the help

or of course, the cheapest would simply be to buy a cheap frame from the classifieds (put a wanted ad up) or a generic type one (eg Merlin's own brand ones) and use all the existing stuff.

agree with clubber – you can get 'dirty jo' and similar alloy frames for 'not much' and transfer kit across and still probably be a fork upgrade ahead at the end by the time you sell the frame on – even if you need a new seatpost or soemthing.

[advert] if you're after a steel frame I have an 18" Inbred frame you could have for £70 posted. email in profile if interested [/advert]

I think i'll list the bike and make it clear that i will sell just the frame also. Then whichever sells first i'll go with that route – i just want to get out and ride

Not wanting to be a snob, but truth be told fella, you may find shifiting that pretty difficult on here fella..

I would honestly say, as already mentioned, get yerself a cheap ( Correctly fitting) frame, and just put swap the transmission over…

Could well be the quickest way to get out riding.

All,IMHO…

Cheers for the offer wwaswas but i think im going for a 16"
Price sounds very good though

Teetosugars: you absolute snob! Nah just kidding 😛
I'm reading 'cheap' frame, but how cheap are we talking? Would it be worth buying something like an on one 456 on inbred? Or are the components not worth it?

I'm not too sure about the "I built this 20lb bike off the classifieds for £100" brigade. Maybe if you've got some good spares knocking around already, and can devote a lot of time to trawling classifieds – if something's cheap, it goes very quickly.

A mate recently bought an Orange Gringo with a variety of good to gopping kit on it. The frame, bars, shifters, BB, headset, rear mech and seatpost were useable. Everything else wasn't. He took stripped it, and I sourced and fitted all the bits to make it back into a decent bike.

I bought the vast majority of the kit off here, at pretty good prices. I did get some new kit – Shimano cranks, new chain, new cables and new grips. Everything else was second hand. The build still ended up costing £200, and I've loaned a set of spare forks & a saddle to the mate. If I'd sourced everything but the frame off here, it would have cost about £290-£300, for a build that's a touch better everywhere than what's on that Giant. As I was sourcing a lot of second hand kit, I inevitably had a couple of headaches with stuff taking a while to turn up etc.

If I were in your position, I'd pull the bike to bits, sell the frame, headset & bottom bracket on ebay (seems to get better money than here), and buy a Dirty Jo or Handsomedog frame, transferring everything over. You'll probably get £30-40 back for your frame, be able to get a new frame for less than £80, plus £20-£30 for a new headset and bottom bracket from the bike shop.

The Handsomedog / Brand-X and Dirty Jo frames are all pretty similar, and are all pretty well regarded. Cheap, but not necessarily nasty. I'm agnostic about the idea of nice bits on an OK frame or OK bits on a nice frame.

That way, you get the pain in the neck / special tools jobs done by the bike shop, and a fairly hassle free build process. As time goes by, I'd buy a set of hydraulic disk brakes (Shimano, perhaps second hand for £50) and a better fork – I've no idea how good the Suntours are.

I'd not worry about 24 vs 27 speed – Alivio kit seems to last forever. I'd leave the change to 9 speed for when you break something, or change bikes. Bits are always a lot cheaper as parts of whole bikes than on their own.

The components are really pretty basic… I reckon you'd sell the complete bike on gumtree/ebay or similar – eg somewhere that non-cyclist go to.

Cheap frame – second hand inbred on here would be around £70 though in the past I've bought decent frames (eg Merlins or older steel frames) and the like) here from less than £50 to build into singlespeeds for mates.

Can't thank you guys enough for your help

The components are really pretty basic…

They are, but it's still stuff that's usefull off road. The guy I built the Orange up for had previously been riding an old Giant, with not quite as good a spec as the OP's bike. I bought it as an ex-hire bike from Sherwood Pines, rode it off road for a year or two, I sold it to him, and both he and his dad have been using it since. It's probably a 2002 or 2003 made bike.

The original Alivio mech is still fine! The only thing that wore out prematurely was the front mech, which was one of the early top pull, low band variety.

To me, if the bike shifts OK and the wheels are alright, the place to spend money is the suspension and the brakes. Makes the biggest difference to speed and how the bike rides.

USe a short 200mm seatpost and put the a-head stem upside down A thinner Gusset seat[billys.co.uk] should do the trick Also a halo 24 inch back wheel from Halo [billys.co.uk] should make fo a nice bike Tonnes better than my Land Rover so would modify and keep

Also a halo 24 inch back wheel … should make fo a nice bike

😯

I would sell the whole bike and buy a whole new bike, you know everything will work and be set up correctly.
tyredocter seems a little odd, professional troll?

Time to get this bike advertised for sale ❗

looking at Tyredoctors posting history I'd say Troll all the way.