Something older? I bought this cheap, swapped a few parts to improve the looks mainly, and added a front cable disc for Teen1. It was stolen a while back, and he’s now on a Medium Trance. Just look around for something older – too new and owners think they are worth too much. He loved it.

@lister: have you considered asking Bill for his old b-17? Think it was a 15″ when I bought it.

I’ve got a dead FSR XC in bits in the shed.

Thanks for all the replies folks, my internet fell over so I couldn’t reply sooner.
Some of you might get some PMs in the near future, but it wasn’t a stealth WTD ad, honest!

My 06 Spec Enduro is in the shed with a duff shock. Not worth the cost of a new one really. Anyone have a cheap replacement?

I guess they get binned as unlike a hardtail eventually the shock blows up and the bearings wear out. On a recent-ish specialized the bearings can be £100 if you don’t already have blind pulling tools, and a shock service is £120 or so.

I have a ’08 Spesh Enduro SX slalom in black and red, imported at great expense from the US, and can’t bear the thought of it going to scrap!

https://www.pinkbike.com/photo/15115062/

10 years, still going strong.

Marin rift zone and orange 5 hanging up in the shed. Didn’t want to part with them!

Still using my Rocky Mountain ETSX

My 10 year FS is my main bike – got replacement bearings for free from Merida for free… And managed to get a spare shock as a JIC.

Have a 13yo frame that just needs a fork.

I have a ’08 Spesh Enduro SX slalom in black and red, imported at great expense from the US, and can’t bear the thought of it going to scrap!

Dibs to the OP of course but otherwise please, tell me more.

I looked everywhere for a cheap FS bike a few years back when trying to get back into biking. Ended up with a sort of urt Kona driven by a linkage (Kona U’hu). Got a full bike for £150 and it served me well for a year or so before I took the plunge and went 650b with a new bike.

Some people were asking strong money for old bikes claiming they were ‘retro’. But there’s defo a distinction between retro and old and knackered for me!

I looked everywhere for a Univega Ram 990 just for nostalgias sake as I had one back in the day but the few I found were silly money.

@lazlowoodbine this is it when it was built up:

It’s the 100mm travel slalom version in Long. Chris King headset and all. I had it built up as a little trail bike and it was an absolute rocket.

This definitely wasn’t a stealth ad, but I’d love to see it go to a good home 8) Email in profile.

i had a 2007 Marin Quake, which i sold to a teenager on PB. It had a new zee drivetrain, lyriks, fox dhair shock, hope/ dt swiss wheels and saint brakes, with thomson finishing kit. I tried to sell it here for ages without success.

It sold on PB after a couple of weeks. I think that is where the market is, for second hand, cheaper bikes.

I guess they get binned as unlike a hardtail eventually the shock blows up and the bearings wear out. On a recent-ish specialized the bearings can be £100 if you don’t already have blind pulling tools, and a shock service is £120 or so.

Meh, in that case they just get sold to someone who can do a bearing job for way less than this, and service their own shock (at least, seals and oil). There’s no excuse to bin a frame just for want of a bit of TLC…

Meh, in that case they just get sold to someone who can do a bearing job for way less than this, and service their own shock (at least, seals and oil). There’s no excuse to bin a frame just for want of a bit of TLC…

True, but then even DIY the bearings in a spesh frame aren’t cheap, ebay kits are £47 for generic bearings, the official ones are £80. Plus the cost of pullers (they’re blind so you can’t just drift them out with a socket).

And shocks do blow up, you can keep the seals fresh, but the damping oil loses viscosity or gets air in it, or just blows up. I don’t think I ever made it to a yearly service with mine, I’d always blow up the damper long before then which isn’t a DIY fix. Add on top of that unless you’re in the middle of the bell curve for weight, riding style and local riding, the shock won’t be tuned to you.

After all that, even with new bearings and a OK-ish-maybe shock the difference between say a Pitch, or a Turner 5spot, and a 2nd/h 2-3yr old bike/frame is actually very little cash.

Basically if you’re on a budget, you’re probably better served by a hardtail.

The exception might be simpler bike like a Cannondale Prophet. But looking at recent ones sold on ebay they still sell for £800 or so, probably because they were ahead of their time, combined with a cheap to replace pivot means they’ve got longer service lives, which keeps the prices up, negating the idea of an older cheap bargain FS.

Looking at some of the bikes in this thread that were awesome back in the day (that Spesh SX Slalom in particular looks like a proper short travel rocketship), I can’t help but feel a pang of envy for all the bikes that I’ve never had the chance to ride.

The Prophet is a very good call, on paper it looks fantastic. But the secondhand value looks poor when you consider that an ex-demo Calibre Bossnut can be had for less than £900.