What to look for?

[Sharpy]

I have a recycling centre quite close to me, and it also has a reuse shop, never looked before but its absolutely stacked with bikes, literally piled up. I have once seen an old Dawes Galaxy which was in good nick for £70. Dont know much about bikes, but what should I look out for when trying to pick up a bargain? Can post a few pictures here, and see if what some of you more knowledgeable people think about the stuff there!?

Thanks

 

[brocklanders023]

Re:

If the bike has Shimano LX, DX, XT, XTR parts it may be worth a look.

 

[Sharpy]

Re: Re:

If the bike has Shimano LX, DX, XT, XTR parts it may be worth a look.

Okay thanks for that!

 

[02gf74]

.... and only if them parts ade in working order.

Dont be put off by rusty chains.

Look for light frames that are straight with no damage.

 

[Sharpy]

.... and only if them parts ade in working order.

Dont be put off by rusty chains.

Look for light frames that are straight with no damage.

Yea, well tbh, im looking for a frame for a new project, so I thought I may find one there, are there any makes that I should take note of that are decent and liked around here?

 

[jimo746]

Re:

Are you looking for something to do up and ride? Or something to do up and sell on?
For the former, just find something that you like the look of.
For the latter, probably anything by any of the major MTB manufacturers would be a good starting point.

Often it's the less well known, or niche bike brands that might be worth the most money, and unless you know what you're looking for or looking at, it would be quite easy to pass them by.

 

[Sharpy]

Re: Re:

Are you looking for something to do up and ride? Or something to do up and sell on?
For the former, just find something that you like the look of.
For the latter, probably anything by any of the major MTB manufacturers would be a good starting point.

Often it's the less well known, or niche bike brands that might be worth the most money, and unless you know what you're looking for or looking at, it would be quite easy to pass them by.

Yea, I'll probably take some pictures, post them here, and then some people will pick out the good ones im sure!

 

[spike3]

A word of warning, you will never ever make money doing up a retrobike for sale. However, on the flip side you will have great fun, make new friends and learn loads about how bikes work and the history of Mountain biking.

Dawes are not really that good and even if we tell you what manufactures to look out for you can still buy a dud, all the major makes made everything from a heap of junk up to a race winning cross country bike.

If your after a good bike on the sly, I'd not buy anything that doesn't have either Deore, xt or xtr on the rear derailuer and shifters/brake levers. If you see the letters XTR on more than one part on a bike your probably onto a real winner.

On the other hand words and letters such as: Tourney, TZ, alivo, 300gs, altus and mega-range are all indicators that it's likely to be a heap of junk (always the rare exception). Also anything with plastic brakes should be avoided.

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

Have a close look at the frame. A lot of firms use the same frame across any one particular model range, and the difference is the finishing kit. Alpinestars and Giant are 2 random examples of firms that liked/still do this. That Alivio shod frame is quite liable to be identical to one with XT, so don't rely too heavily on componentry to tell you a tale.

 

[Sharpy]

A word of warning, you will never ever make money doing up a retrobike for sale. However, on the flip side you will have great fun, make new friends and learn loads about how bikes work and the history of Mountain biking.

Dawes are not really that good and even if we tell you what manufactures to look out for you can still buy a dud, all the major makes made everything from a heap of junk up to a race winning cross country bike.

If your after a good bike on the sly, I'd not buy anything that doesn't have either Deore, xt or xtr on the rear derailuer and shifters/brake levers. If you see the letters XTR on more than one part on a bike your probably onto a real winner.

On the other hand words and letters such as: Tourney, TZ, alivo, 300gs, altus and mega-range are all indicators that it's likely to be a heap of junk (always the rare exception). Also anything with plastic brakes should be avoided.

Well I'm really just looking for a frame for a new project, I know them Tourney, alivio componenets are cheap, as they were on my first bike that cost £74 , thanks for the help and I may update this thread with some pictures later today!