[ks_medic]

(1)It has Suntour XCC-100 crank and riveted chainrings "cant change when one wears out"

So if this wears out then the bike is no good because you can't change it?

This may sound like a stupid question but can you tell me what these parts do and where are they located?

 

[Brick]

So if this wears out then the bike is no good because you can't change it?

It's not that it's no good, it just gets expensive really fast. Cranks and rings wear out over time, especially on a mountian bike. The more you ride, the more likely you are to break teeth, bend rings, mangle cranks etc. It's just more cost effective to replace one ring, or a crankarm. On a system w. riveted rings, you generally can't separate the rings from the crank or the rings from each other. Parts like this also aren't necessarily designed to take the kind of long-term abuse and will necessitate mare frequent replacement. So you have two problems:

1. Lower end parts wear faster and require more frequent replacement.
2. Rivited rings can be more expensive to maintain/replace because you have to replace the whole assembly if one sub-component is broken.

It's kind of like putting parts onto an older car. You need to keep an eye on the point of diminishing returns. It's real easy for the cost of maintenance to exceed the value of the bike if you're not careful.

 

[DirtDawg]

So if this wears out then the bike is no good because you can't change it?

This may sound like a stupid question but can you tell me what these parts do and where are they located?

I agree with all of what BRICK said. I think you have a good bike as a base, the frame is strong so you can just work on upgrading components each time something goes bad. If your crank or chainrings need replaced just upgrade to a better component. This in no way means you bought a crappy bike, that GT is a good entry level bike and it will love all the abuse you can throw at it, but because you had to scrimp on the initial investment then you must make up for it through time by purchasing upgrades in parts or constantly replace stock low end parts. I think if you were on a budget at the time of purchase then you made a logical and good choice. Keep this in mind though; if you are going to upgrade the drive train (front derailleur, rear derailleur, shifters, rear sprockets, or crank) that shimano likes to try to make you upgrade the entire thing all at once because some of their products will not work well with other ones. So before you upgrade make sure and research, which components will work together, it will save you money along the way.

 

[JmZ]

Something else to stress

Helmets.

I was riding at Fort Custer over the wekend and came across quite a few riders on the trails not wearing any helmets. Mostly department store bikes or just above it. Saw one group that was a family of six or eight - great to see 'em on bikes, and on the trails, but not one had a helmet. Spending $200 or so on the bike and then refusing to spend another $20 or $30 on your head isn't a bargain I'm willing to make.

Some of the trails there are difficult and I'm not afrild to admit that I'll even get off the bike to walk sections of 'em, and it isn't always the things that you see that get ya. Who would play football without a helmet, who would play soccer without shin guards?

JmZ
(maybe I need the asbestos suit now?)

(Thanks to JimC for the link)

An excellent article at ConsumerReports.org titled "Cheap bikes are not bargains"

http://www.consumerreports.org/main...etailv4.jsp?CONTENT<>cnt_id=444085&FOLDER<>folder_id=162675&bmUID=1087597178997

************************************************
Wal-Mart and Toys �R� Us sell plenty of bikes from brands such as Huffy, Mongoose, Roadmaster, and Schwinn for $100 to $200. They seem like good deals, so why would we advise you to spend $300 or more for a bike in the Ratings (available to subscribers)?

Because you get what you pay for. Mass-market bikes have cheaper construction than higher-priced bikes and can weigh 7 or 8 pounds more. They come in only one size, so you're not likely to get a great fit. And mass merchants can't match bike shops for quality of assembly, expert advice, and service.

In the long run, performance matters most, so we tried out two full-suspension bikes and one front-suspension model from the big-box stores, priced at $120 to $230. Shifting of the full-suspension bikes' 21 speeds wasn't nearly as smooth as on bike-shop models. Shock absorption and handling were fair to decent on pavement and on smooth dirt paths, but these so-called mountain bikes couldn't handle rough off-road terrain. On steep paved roads, the extra weight, poor gearing, and mushy suspensions made pedaling uphill very hard.

The front-suspension model, also with 21 speeds, did much better on pavement and on fairly smooth dirt trails--but only after we adjusted the sloppy setup to make it roadworthy. Plus it comes in only one size, so fit will be hit or miss.

Consider cheaper bikes from a department store only for the most casual adult use, and stick with a front-suspension model, which is likely to be better than a cheap full-suspension bike. You may want a mass-market bike for kids who will outgrow a bike quickly or toss it about.

Still, if your budget allows, we'd recommend that you buy one of the $300 comfort bikes in the Ratings (available to subscribers). You'll get a lot more bike for the buck.
************************************************

 

[DirtDawg]

Helmets.

I was riding at Fort Custer over the wekend and came across quite a few riders on the trails not wearing any helmets. Mostly department store bikes or just above it. Saw one group that was a family of six or eight - great to see 'em on bikes, and on the trails, but not one had a helmet. Spending $200 or so on the bike and then refusing to spend another $20 or $30 on your head isn't a bargain I'm willing to make.

Some of the trails there are difficult and I'm not afrild to admit that I'll even get off the bike to walk sections of 'em, and it isn't always the things that you see that get ya. Who would play football without a helmet, who would play soccer without shin guards?

JmZ
(maybe I need the asbestos suit now?)

You bring up a great point about helmets.

Its interesting that you mention helmets in the topic of Dept Store Bikes, something that I overlooked. Although I have never seen such a site as a family all riding with no helmets on any of the trails around here, I'm sure it happens quite often though. It reminds me of a certain recall for full suspension Mongoose Dept Store Bikes because the forks were breaking and sending riders over the bars, here is a link http://www.totalbike.com/news/get_news.php3?id=692,
picture landing on your head with out a skid lid on "OUCH" sounds like a nice bloody laceration to me. Here is part of what the recall states "There have been 34 reports of forks on these bicycles breaking resulting in 31 riders, including children and teenagers, suffering serious head and bodily injuries, abrasions, bruises and chipped teeth." Now that would make me want to run out and buy one of those bikes".
I actually had one of these that was given to me to repair, I had never heard of these forks so I looked them up on line, after viewing these recalls I ended up striping it and giving just the frame to a neighbor kid, I threw the forks in the trash. I did not want to be responsible for giving the bike to someone and then have them get hurt.
Just one example of what can happen with a cheaper dept store bike and when you don't wear a helmet.

 

[Th' Mule]

My very first mountain Bike was an "Eddie something or other" from Canadian Tire. Basically a Dept. Store bike. I rode it for all of three weeks before it totally crapped out on me. It was such a bad experience I did not get back on a bike for another ten years. When I got back on a bike, it was from a Local Bike Shop (Single Track Cycle) and the salesperson, Felix was great. He wouldn't sell me a bike that didn't fit me,and he fitted the bike to me very well. When a buddy of mine was interested in going the Dept. Store route I pulled him up short and aimed him at the LBSs around Calgary. I told him he would pay three, maybe four times more, but he would not have the same crappy experience I had. Now he is very happy with his Exile and he beats me up the frickin' hills...

 

[GuruAtma]

Dirtrag Undercover

In the latest issue of Dirtrag, a couple of writers/riders go undercover to buy two bikes at dept. stores. They give a pretty good description of the problems and what you get for the money. Some of the problems they listed were downright scary.

Here's the article:
http://www.dirtragmag.com/articles/article.php?ID=657&category=features

 

[GaryB]

A very wise bike shop employee once said....."the best bike is the one you will ride"

I agree with that. However I finally got a good beginer bike from a reputable shop that actually fits me! What a differacne! I can't blive I settled for all those other bikes. I can hardly wait to try out my off-road worthyness. Looking forward to getting some dirt on it and being able to upgrade to disk brakes if I want to. Not to mention the quality of the derailers....WOW! I have never had to do so little maintenance on a bike. (Aside from trueing a rim for my wife who took a good spill a couple weeks back)

Its just a GT Avalanche 3.0 Hardtail but I fell in love with it the first time I rode it. Looking forward to building a custom FS!

Can't believe I have been away from MBing for 8 years........what was I thinking?

 

[londonlad]

Department store bikes - it depends on the kind of riding you do. My first mountain bike was a Cdn$200 department store bike. After two months of aggressive cross country riding, the axle was bent, the chain snapped, and the bike was beginning a slow death. My next investment was Cdn$500+ for a entry level cross country bike from Kona. I've never regretted spending the extra $$, because the bike was able to handle the kind of riding I was doing, things weren't breaking, and I didn't need to do any real repairs for several years. Plus the guys at the bike store did free adjustments - the guys at the department store knew less about adjusting gears and brakes than I did! My local bike shop has a sign on the door saying: "We do not fix department store bikes, due to their lack of quality." That says it all. I found out the hard way, and wished I'd saved my $200 and put it towards a better quality bike rather than waste it on a department store bike. If you're not serious about biking and don't do too much riding and are very easy on your bike, then maybe a department store bike is ok. But if you plan to do any kind of hard riding and buy a department store bike, in the long run you'll just need to buy a new/better quality bike anyway. Don't make the same mistake I did! Department store "mountain" bikes are made for roads, not mountains!

 

[giantguy]

whats wrong with...

I must say, first off, that I have been mountain biking for a few months now on a 260$(US) bike. My 2002 Giant Boulder surely isn't a department store bike, I bought it through my LBS at the time. It has Altus componets with SUNTOUR cranks. The only things that I've ever replaced on that bike were: a) the grips, due to partial neglect in a way, I was stressing my left palm a little too much, complicated to explain, b) the rear tire, from skidding a lot. bad idea... and c) my cranks. I replaced my cranks due to the fact that after 4 years of them being flawless, I managed to slightly bend them enough to cause massive chain problems. Mostly the second gear was warped, but the third faced a little damage and the first was fine.

Now, your thinking "what an idiot, saying how Suntours aren't bad, but he broke them."

Well, I broke them by my abuse. A 3 foot drop, going less than 1mph, caused the cranks to smack the concrete and, since it was angled enough, it bent them. Its hard to explain though... but when I was at an angle where my back tire was still up on the high part, and my front tire was kinda close to the ground, my cranks were left WIDE open to be hurt, and hurt they were.

On a more on-topic note; I knew someone who used to live near me who was so excited about this 350$ bike he got from target and his mom got one for 400$! Woo, im so excited to see an expensieve target bike. It was a mongoose. A horrible mongoose... and his mom had one too. After teaching him to ride a bike, he had to walk up the hill that was the only way out of the culdesac. Then two more hills to where we went a lot when scooters and such were huge. His bike was "nicer" than mine as he thought. Then his chain started rattling, hitting his derrailer, his brake cable stopped working, his front tube popped, his pedal-thingy bent, and his shocks... woah. I said I could fix it, but after meddling with it for an hour or so I told him it was a wreck. I did fix his brakes though by tightening it a lot. Then he rode his moms bike. For about a week, it was working fine. Then more problems arose. And instead of taking the heat from his mom, he stopped using it. Although I do admit forks are nice and all, but if youre going to spend 350$ on a bike, please, dear god; buy a nice bike. I dont mean a 2005 NRS2 (my bike I bought recently), but you could maybe buy a Giant IGUANA, or a Giant Boulder, Rincon, or their new Upland line. Im not sure how much the '05 iguana costs, but my dads getting one. Heck, im pretty sure its under 400$, and it has disc brakes, a good starter-level Judy fork... I don't feel like rattling out the details, but the point is that you CAN buy a high-quality GIANT bike (don't buy any other bike company... hahaha) for the same price. Check out this years Boulder... my LBS is selling a lot of them for 189$US, and they've been on sale forever practicaly. Oh, and I love my LBS becuase they carry a LOT of Giants... including the Boulders (nearly 7), Warps (DS1, DS2, DS3), some road bikes (2 freaky yellow ones), and many others.

Look for a cheap hardtail... Giant's '05 site has a bunch... go to Recreational Mountain, then there all hardtails. May I recommend the Iguana for a little more money? Or an Upland SE for a cheaper crowd? This years Boulders sure look nice... next years just have relatively the same stuff, but new colors. Or if you dont like Giant because you don't like good bike companies (lol), then many other companys sell nice hardtails for an even nicer price! But don't expect to get a nice FS for under 500$. If youre willing, that nice AC frame is replacing the Giant Warps for their lower-end FS bikes. 450 buys you a Giant Warp/AC (I guess their renaming the line, in incorporation with the frame) with low-end componets. 100$US more gets you mostly the same stuff as the DS1, minus the fork and brakes. from 550$US we go to 850$US for the DS1/AC1? I personally prefer the AC frame over the '04's frame. It looks good AND it weighs a little less.

If you dont want to read all that, then just read this. Buy a hardtail. You can get a nice hardtail for under 500$ most of the time if you know where to shop. But DON'T ever try to get a nice FS bike for that price. And department store bikes dont cut it.

 

[uktrailmonster]

Mountain biking is expensive

Cheap dept store "mountain" bikes are not safe to be ridden on proper mountain trails. I certainly wouldn't let my loved ones near them. Perhaps they are ok for someone who just wants to ride casually on their local footpaths. For those who argue that a $100 mountain bike is better than nothing, I have to disagree. If you only have $100 to spend and want to take up real mountain biking on proper trails, I'm afraid you're out of luck. At best you will end up with a broken bike, at worst broken limbs or worse. The hard fact is that SAFE mountain biking costs a reasonable amount of money. Better to spend your $100 on a nice tennis racquet!

 

[Call_me_Clyde]

I alomst posted in defense of discount store bikes until my experience this weekend. I was one of so many that figure, hey...what the heck, it's a kids bike, why spend all kinds of money on it? So, in September, I purchased a 20" Mongoose and a 24" Next for my 8 yr old son and 11 yr old daughter, respectively. The Mongoose was $100.00 and the Next, $80.00. They've ridden the bikes a total of two times so far, as I only have them every other weekend (another reason I justified in my mind not to buy more expensive bikes). My daughter noticed a "clicking sound" coming from the front rim, which I almost passed off as nothing. Well, I decided to do the right thing and take them to the LBS and have them tuned up.

I negotiated a price of $100.00, tax included for the tune-ups. The Mongoose was in decent shape, and only needed minor adjustments. The Next needed major adjustments, and we found that the housing for the bearings on the front rim was defective. I took the bike back to WalMart where I purchased them and they wanted to swap the bike out. I insisted that they just swap the front rim, as I had just spent the money for the tech to tune it up. The "assembler" wasn't too happy with this approach, and I exchanged some heated words with the kid, but got my way. We shook hands after the swap out and all was well. This kid didn't want to do the rim swap because he was supposed to be off the clock. The swap took two minutes, people....two minutes. In the end, I got what I asked for, and I got what I deserved.

I got what I asked for, in that WalMart swapped out the front wheel. I got what I deserved, because I went cheap on my kids bikes. I do think the bikes will serve their purpose, don't get me wrong. I ended up spending better part of $300.00 on two overall inferior products. I could have spent a total of $400.00 at my LBS, and probably would have been given lifetime tune ups. I certainly would have been given better customer service. Penny wise and dollar foolish.

I should have spent the money on better bikes for the following reasons:

1) They're my kids. I bought a good bike for myself because I wanted quality and a safe product. They deserve the same.

2) The better bikes will last. Yes, the kids will outgrow them, but when they do, I have a viable trade in, or a bike I can give to another child who will enjoy the bike for the reasons I pointed out earlier-quality and safety.

3) Peace of mind. If I had kept the first two points in mind, I wouldn't be feeling like the idiot I feel like right now.

Bottom line, do the right thing. Spend the money to buy a quality product from an LBS you trust. The web site says it all, Bikes are not toys.

Clyde

 

[rustus]

re helmets

Helmets.

I was riding at Fort Custer over the wekend and came across quite a few riders on the trails not wearing any helmets. Mostly department store bikes or just above it. Saw one group that was a family of six or eight - great to see 'em on bikes, and on the trails, but not one had a helmet. Spending $200 or so on the bike and then refusing to spend another $20 or $30 on your head isn't a bargain I'm willing to make.

Some of the trails there are difficult and I'm not afrild to admit that I'll even get off the bike to walk sections of 'em, and it isn't always the things that you see that get ya. Who would play football without a helmet, who would play soccer without shin guards?

JmZ
(maybe I need the asbestos suit now?)

this is about helmets rather than dept. store bikes. i hate the looks of most helmets (an alien egg comes to mind) but wear one anyway (my gf insisted). while riding a favorite trail two weeks ago with a friend who has much more experience, he went over the bars, cracked his helmet, and broke two fingers. we had about a three or four mile hike out to a paved road. had he not been wearing a helmet we, and especially he, would have been in serious trouble. in our area cellphones do not work, there is no vehicle access to any part of this trail (including helicopter), and very few hikers or other bikers. it would have been hours before i could have gotten help, even though we made sure people knew where we were going (always a good idea). i now refuse to ride with anyone who is not wearing a helmet.

 

[bhutata]

After taking my girlfriend out for a couple of bike rides this fall on some borrowed wheels, her first time back on a bike since she was 12, she told me that she'd asked her father for a bike for her birthday in October. (I'll be gentlemanly enough not to mention her age, but I'm in my 40s and I'm no cradle robber.)

Talk about mixed feeling! I was thrilled that she wanted to get into biking with me, but I KNEW that her father would buy a bike from Walmart (he owns a full suspension Mongoose), but my budget wouldn't stretch to buy a decent new bike that quick and didn't know what I could do to help the situation. A few weeks before her birthday I walked into my favorite LBS and saw a used bike they'd just put on the floor that morning, a very clean, old-school Trek 830 Antelope, with speckled lime-green paint and Bio-Pace chainrings. It was even her size, and all for only $65. I took it home immediately and delivered it to her the next day as an early B-day present, complete with a new Giro helmet from the clearance table.

She was thrilled, mission accomplished. I've even introduced her just a bit to my favorite MTB trail and she's more than game to pushing her boundaries to challenge herself to get into better shape and improve her skills.

So what did her father buy for her birthday instead? A fat-ass, ultra-gel-padded, double-spring Bell saddle from Wally World. ARGHHHH! Before she even knew she was getting it I'd already explained why you don't want a seat that's too wide or with too much padding, but she decided to have me put it on for her to try out, at least in part to avoid offending her dad. That's OK, I just picked up a decent women's saddle from the MTBR classifieds and when the time is right, I'll put it on her bike. I'm already getting into upgraditis with her bike with a suspension seatpost and most recently, and in keeping with the spirit of her old-school bike, a Softride suspension stem.

Hey, if a Huffy is all you got, ride it for what it's worth. But I gotta say, it feels great to have saved someone from that fate! And my girlfriend? She's a definite keeper!

 

[krayzie]

But sometimes I think you need to own a Huffy (as in something that is made of a bunch of steel piping thrown together with 2 wheels that resembles a bicycle) to appreciate how smooth and confident it is to ride a proper bike. I always thought bikes are inexpensive commodities until I learned the hard way.

I began when my old neighbor left me his mid-90's Huffy when he moved away and I rode that thing for about 6 months before the front wheel suddenly had metal fatigue and gave me an endo that almost broke my right wrist and barely avoided a car crash (it still hurts now at the gym after 4 months). Then I went and bought an used Intersport dept. store bike circa. 1986 for 50 bucks thinking anything would be better than Wally World's bike and after 3 weeks and a dozen chainsucks later, the right pedal disintegrated. Thinking maybe it was an aging problem, with only 200 bucks in the pocket at the time I went to Sport Chek (which is essentially Intersport in Canada) and bought this new one-size-fits-all "dual suspension" bike (I'm pretty sure it's made by the same China factory that makes Ironhorse due to similar cues with the decals) during late summer. As a result, I had to spend countless hours burning the midnite oil just to fix brake squeals that never seemed to go away, derailleurs that never seemed to shift properly, and retighten this "rear coilover" spring that seemed to go loose every week. The wheels also went untrued after the first week but I thought it was my weight back then (260lbs). I spend so much time adjusting the bike that my whole street probably thought I'm nuts biking back and forth on the sidewalk outside my house all the time. The free 1yr maintainence service didn't help either since the "technican" seemed even more clueless than I was so I eventually learned all my wrenching from reading a few books at the local Chapters bookstore.

After 2 months, 20 pounds less and a numb butt later, I sold my "self-fixed" bike and got myself a Gary Fisher by laying down some heavy cash. The difference is like a Yugo and a Porsche. I'm now a convinced man!

 

[mtbnewguy]

you are the engine

4 years ago I bought a magna bike from Target, paid $80 for it, used it for about a month or so and dumped it in my dad's garage. 4 weeks ago I decided to give MTB another try, and while saving for a better bike I'm riding my old one. Anyways, yesterday my buddies and I where riding at a local trail, which has very steep hills. After a few yards of climbing I was out of my breath and one of the guys said: here, ride my bike for the climb and I'll ride yours (his bike is a salsa caballero full suspension... "the works") let me tell you: It made all the difference of the world for me. I was able to climb that hill whit ease. But at the same time, he was also able to reach the top riding my old, rusty and heavy bike. So i guess it's also a matter of ability/ strength.

 

[alexw.]

I had no much options when it got the moment to buy a bike by and for myself. So I had to stick to a Dept. Store bike which I enjoyed a lot and rode it and mantained it until it was stolen....

But the sanest advice to a beginner should be to get a low price hardtail from a major brand at a LBS. Next step (IMHO) should be a low end Full Suspension from reputated brands (like Specialized, Giant, Trek and why not? Mongoose or Diamond Back).

Next, the sky (and the wallet) is the limit. But I consider this described above as a logical progression and I would have have all the options you have now and would have liked to get this advice when I started.

Happy Trails (from Mexico)!!

I have a trek 3700 now, and i was wishing to spend all of my money (im only 15) on a really good bike. I've gotten really into the sport and i think that i am not all that bad. My bike barely survives my rides, and i am not too eager to buy a cheap bike again...
but of course i am no expert...any suggestions?

 

[jkish]

Wal-mart Schwinn

I havn't ridden in over 10 years and I wanted a bicycle just to get in shape (I weight 210 lbs). Years ago I rode a lot and only bought quality bikes (I've owned Specialized and Giant among others). I didn't want to spend much so I went to Wal-mart and ended up buying a Schwinn Sidewinder ($110.00). I was impressed with the fact that it wasn't completely made out of the cheepest stamped metal. My initial thought was that if something broke I would just upgrade as I went. I used to ride hard core old school style (I'm 40 now). I didn't expect to ride my new cheepo on the dirt much, but the old bug bit again. I forgot how much fun it was to ride and went crazy on my first outing and tore up the poor Schwinn. After only 9 miles the bottom bracket was loose. It wasn't assembled properly from the factory. I bought a crank puller to do the repair but the crank was pressed on so hard that the puller stripped out the removal threads on the crank. I had to saw the crank in half to remove it! While I was fighting with the crank I noticed my wheels didn't spin properly. After I removed the wheels, and upon further inspection, I discovered that I had bent both axles. I'm going to replace those parts and send it back into the ring for round 2 to see what happens next! Eventually I'll completely morph the Schwinn into a decent machine with quality components. I still don't think that I made a bad purchase. You get what you pay for. This bike mostly suffered from poor assembly. Before it was rideable I had to do a lot of adjusting to get it to shift smoothly and brake well. In addition, I don't think the axle would have bent under normal use or with a lighter rider. It wasn't designed to go off road. There is a sticker on the bike that says so. As for the loose crank, I could've taken it back and got a replacement. Wal-mart is excellent with returns. But then I couldn't shop for cranks then could I? If you get passed on the trail by an old guy riding a custom Schwinn, you'll know who it is.

 

[dante]

just a note, the cheapest bike you get in a bike shop will be light-years better than that bike. your main problems are going to be:

wheels - those are 36H single-wall rims. they will hardly ever be perfectly true, and they make them 36H in order to give them a tad bit more strength. don't be fooled. they're weak as butter and if you rode around the city you'd still bend them, let alone on any type of trail. stay away from 36H rims (even in bike stores unless its a FR bike).

7-speed freewheel. a freewheel screws into the hub, instead of sliding on like a cassette. it'd be almost impossible to find freewheel-style wheels, so if you replace your wheelset you'll have to find a 7-speed cassette. they're out there, or at least they used to be, but they're pretty scarce now (ebay maybe?). if you go to 8-speed (or 9) you'll need to replace at least your rear shifter, and possibly your chain and chainrings as well. note, 7 speed hubs and 8/9 speed hubs are different, so when you replace your wheels plan ahead...

shifters, derailleurs, brakes should be fine, they might just need a little bit of attention to keep everything shifting smoothly.

fork, handlebars, stem, seatpost, frame are all going to be stout components. which means that they should last a while but be pretty heavy... the steel frame probably adds 5-7 pounds or more. probably more...

my advice would be to ride this until you can get $300-350 together and head to a real LBS. it will get you a much lighter/stiffer Aluminum frame, 8 speed cassette, rapid-fire shifters, stronger wheels, better crank/bb, hell, ours even comes with disc brakes at that price point.

the MAIN thing though, is that you have fun riding. sometimes we get too caught up in arguing about which $100 derailleur is better (SRAM, of course), and forget about just going for a ride.

PM me if you have any questions.

 

[jkish]

Salvaged parts off the Schwinn

I went to buy a crank for my broke Schwinn and the store owner at LBS sold me an old (like 1998) beatup K2 hardtail with 7005 Al frame, Rock Shox fork and Deore LX components for $60.00. The cables, saddle and pedals were fried and the paint was all chipped and scratched (no dents) but the components looked good. I stripped off all the components and the frame weighed only 3#'s! I took off the v-brakes seat cables and pedals from the Scwinn and totally cleaned and greased and adjusted my new chipped paint smooth running 1/2 the weight mtb bike. I have only $170.00 into my bike with spare parts to keep me running!