goooooood afternoon people 😀

(and what a jolly beautiful afternoon it is!)

i’m going to check out a bike on sunday that i’d like to purchase if its in a good condition and i like how it feels in between my legs.

never bought a full suss before, never bought a decent second hand bike before so i have no idea what to look for on a ‘proper’ bike!

any tips?

🙂 cheers all x

I’d check for :

Play in the suspension bearings/bushings:
Grab the bike by the top tube/seat tube junction and lift gently. If you feel a knocking, the shock bushes are probably shot.
Grab the rear dropout in your other hand and wiggle it from side to side. Again, if there’s play, the suspension bearings may be shot.

Blown fork and shock seals:
Have a good bounce around on it. If there’s an excessive amount of oil (or black streaking) on the fork stanchions or shock shaft, then the seals may have had it.

Drivetrain:
Ideally, take a chain-checker tool as it’s hard to check this by eye or feel. If the chain is over-worn then you may have to budget for new rings and cassette.

Wheel bearings:
Grab the wheel rim and wiggle from side to side. If there’s a lot of play, wheel bearings might be knackered (check QRs/maxles are tight though!).

Brakes are easy enough to check by lever feel (and function!). Then have a good look all over for cracks. Swingarm and bottom-bracket area seem to most common, but could be anywhere / on any weld really.

None of these are necessarily deal-breakers on their own (except cracks!), just means you have to budget for new bits or haggle the price down!

Shock bushings are only a couple of quid, but if you don’t already have the tools/know-how to replace, you’re probably looking at £20.
Suspension bearings anywhere from £15 to £80 depending how many there are.
Fork seals about £25, plus service cost if you can’t do it yourself.
Shock service about £75-£100, around £25 in parts to do it yourself.
Drivetrain probably £100 for cassette, rings & chain.
Wheel bearings about £15 front, £30 rear.

Check the condition issues already stated by the seller.

Then work through the various bearing. Headset etc. Make sure all are as expected. Check that the seat clamp does up ok (I had someone try to sell me a frame with a wrong size post).

If everything is smooth and tight then the finish is all that’s left.

Don’t forget to check the function of all the parts 🙂

cheers guys! so basically bounce on it and shake it about loads? 😀

wheels x 2

ohhhh, according to the spec they’re ‘tubeless ready’ wheels, not sure if they guy selling the bike has it set up as tubeless, but does that mean i should be checking for anything specific?

For tubeless rims (if you’re planning to use them tubeless) have a good check for dings in the rims. Bad dings may mean they won’t hold pressure when run tubeless.

excellent, thank you again!

Shock service about £75-£100, around £25 in parts to do it yourself.

Seal service is £25, but it s TF/mojo/LOCO job for the oil/nitrogen, if it’s not been done inthe last 12 months then budget on sending it away for a service/tune up.

interesting… never thought of servicing my forks before, then again i’ve got suntour thingys on my fury and they feel the same as when i bought the bike!

is servicing forks one of those things that i really shouldnt avoid if i end up with the bike/decent forks? how often should it be done?

i’m still such a noob in so many ways! 😳

Shock bushings are only a couple of quid

Really? Mojo fleeced me then on my Heckler £25 🙁

Servicing forks:

If they’re Fox, every 5 minutes. Twice during every ride.
RockShox, once a year should do it.
Marzocchi seem to be back to their old ways of just keeping on working, servicing or not!

Seriously, a top-end fork should be serviced at least once a year. A basic service (replace seals and fluids) can be done yourself pretty easily. Same goes for shocks.

Shock bushings are only a couple of quid

Really? Mojo fleeced me then on my Heckler £25

The bushings themselves are pennies (e.g. http://www.tftunedshox.com/Miscellaneous/Mount-Kits-and-Bushings/Eyelet-Bushings), but if you need new reducers as well then those are more like £25. Usually it’s only the bush that needs doing though, and usually just the lower one.

I’ve only just had to replace the reducers on one end of the shock on my Alpine 160 after two-and-a-bit seasons of guiding in the Alps!

Rear Shock: Fox RP23
Fork: RockShox Lyrik 2-step

i understand the 2-steps had a bad reputation to begin with after some coming off the initial production line a little dodgy, but googling leads me to believe they sorted the problem?

i hope the bike is all sexy and stuff on sunday as i’m allowing myself to get a little excited at the prospect of owning it 😐

If you do end up having major issues with the 2-step, you can convert it to U-turn (coil-spring) for about £70.

Why not just call Hora directly and ask him if you can have first dibs on his 5 spot. If he’s still got it that is. It has been over a week. That’d be a new record

You won’t need to check anything. It’ll only have been ridden to the Marble and back.

Do you want his number? 😉

stevo, useful to know! thanks for all the advice 😀

binners you scallywag, leave the poor guy alone.. its not nice to laugh at the disabled.

Why not just call Hora directly and ask him if you can have first dibs on his 5 spot. If he’s still got it that is. It has been over a week. That’d be a new record

Hora is already looking…

Sweet Jesus. He really has got OCD hasn’t he?

He’s just going to buy another bike he hates that’ll last a fortnight 🙄

Can’t you just get other people to sort it out for you as usual, Phil? 😉

i’m shocked by your accusation jamie.

What bike is it? Maybe some specific things to look for ie Intense…is it straight….