Mountain Biking - Need advice on a used bike.

a friend of mines is hoping to sell this bike to me: http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Bike_full/product_19204.shtml

according to him, it has "an upgraded suspension system and random upgraded parts for downhill riding. it has a diff. fork upfront that has 5.5 inches of travel. rear is 4.5 inches."

so i was wondering how good a bike it is? i'll update with his asking price later.

I would say it is going to depend on the price. That is a pretty old design and most likely will not be very efficient at all. Suspension has come a long way since that bike was made. I wouldn't pay more than $300 - $400 for it but that's just me.

The 5.5" fork is going to throw the intended geometry off as well, that bike was designed for 100 mm (4 inches) suspension.

If he is going to sell you that bike, it's old and looks kinda not so great. Unless the price is any good, i woul somewhere else.

That is a pretty old design and most likely will not be very efficient at all.

i'm unsure of what you mean by that. do you mean that i'd notice significant quality change between this and a new bike were i to go with a specialized hardrock for example?

also about the fork, is it possible to fix that problem you mentioned about the geometry? sorry if this is a dumb question, i'm a beginner.

i'm unsure of what you mean by that. do you mean that i'd notice significant quality change between this and a new bike were i to go with a specialized hardrock for example?

well the biggest difference you are going to feel between this bike and a hardrock is that a hardrock is a hardtail and the schwinn is full suspension, which feel very different.

but like said, you would feel a big difference between that rear suspension and a new full suspension bike because it's relatively new technology (rear suspension) and it's come a LONG way in 7 years. but for a new full suspension you are going to drop a good bit more $$$ than what he's probably selling it for


also about the fork, is it possible to fix that problem you mentioned about the geometry? sorry if this is a dumb question, i'm a beginner.

throwing it off from the INTENDED geometry, can be a problem, but might not be as much of one as you think, especially to a beginner (i'm assuming you are just getting into MTB?) it depends what you intend to use it for, if you looking to use it for XC or on long trails or around town i would definately look into getting back to a 4" fork. if you are looking to get crazy (like he seems to have had it set up for DH) then the 5.5" might not be so bad... see if you can't also get from him what the upgraded parts are

so how is the schwinn brand in general (and specifically for this bike?)? is it just outdated? or is it just not a good bike to begin with?

schwinn used to have a good reputation. then they started making cheap crap for walmart and academy and they really lost a lot of their good name among the cycling community, but there is no reason why their top of the line bikes wouldn't be good... BUT for the price they aren't really giving you more bang for your buck, so if i was shopping new, i probably wouldn't look at schwinn's... but maybe i'm just a snob. (says the guy with the rock lobster)