NEXT bike with shimano parts?
 

Hey I don't know if this is the forum for this question, but I bought a bike from a yard sale, later found out it was NEXT brand and that it was crap. Now I've looked at tons of next bikes and they all seem to have non-branded parts on them. My bike is all shimano except for the frame and the wheels (Wheels are serfas) Every thing else, gears, breaks, shocks, seat, are all shimano. Does this mean that the guy that I got it from the yard sale put shimano parts on it? Or does this particular next bike come with these parts? The frame also says shimano on it but it says next too, which is confusing.

Any way, any help is appreciated!

Since most here would not even consider what you have to be a mountain bike then you probably are in the wrong forum, but I'll jump in anyway. It's very possible the bike is stock. Some of the Pacific department store bikes - Mongoose, Next, Schwinn, etc. - come with low-end Shimano shifters/derailleurs. In fact, the "Shimano Equipped" decal usually only appears on such low-end bikes. To be fair, I've worked on a few of these and once they're set up right they can be quite adequate for casual/limited riding on flat pavement or hardpack, but unless you're into tuning (or have a friend who is) it may not be worth paying a tech to do it (up to you).

What he has doesn't even qualify as a bike. He should seek advice on the Toys R Us forum.

To OP's credit he did say it was crap.

Those are original parts. They are very low end, non-series Shimano OEM parts, probably a 7-speed freewheel, a crankset where you can't change or replace the chain rings, a funky bottom bracket with threaded spindles and nuts instead of crankbolts, etc. on a massively heavy, cheap bike.

It will actually work fine as long as you don't plan to ride fast or far. The v-brakes stop you, the derailleurs shift, the wheels turn, etc.

It is not built for serious mountain biking, but you can tell all the kids in the 7th grade you have a full-suspension mountain bike with Shimano parts.

However, an excellent choice for comedy mountain biking.

Marketing works! Doesn't seem to matter to some that a particular brand name can cover a wide range of products, from crap to fantastic.

Thanks for the input. I've heard that specialized bikes are decent bikes, and we have a specialized bike that we won from a contest back in 2006 that was $800 new at that time. I looked at it and to my surprise it also had some shimano parts on it, then I looked at my bike to compare the shimano parts and they were identical down to the last bolt. So either specialized bikes also use crappy shimano parts or my bike has some nicer shimano parts or I'm just a complete idiot and don't know what i'm talking about. lol

Al criner I didn't think my bike was too heavy, it's aluminum and can easily be picked over my head. It's almost exactly the same weight as our specialized bike that now I'm thinking is to be not nearly as good as I thought it was.

I find it difficult to believe the Specialized has the same parts as the NEXT, unless by some odd chance the NEXT is fancy enough to have a Tourney on there and Specialized line goes low enough to have Tourney on that one. Since it was a giveaway, it very well could. Contest bikes are often cheaper than the contest holders claim their MSRP to be and are bikes you can't really find for sale anywhere.

The wheels aren't Serfas, only the tires are.

I also doubt the suspension fork is Shimano.

Like someone else mentioned, Department store bikes will tend to have one or more large stickers that say Shimano Equipped, but that level of Shimano isn't that great.

Yeah the specialized bike is probably low-end because there's a bike shop near the beach that rents the exact model we have.

You need to compare specific Shimano model numbers to understand where in their series hierarchy they are. You can check the part numbers at bike.shimano.com or techdocs.shimano.com; for example to check a rear derailleur look on the back of the parallelogram for the model number, it will be in the format of RD-Mxxx for the higher end stuff, somewhat different for a Tourney either RD-TXxx or TYxx. An XTR (top line mountain series) will currently be in the series M-97x, whereas a Tourney could be RD-TX30 for example. Just saying Shimano covers a very wide range.

Couldn't find model number but the rear derailleur is shimano rapid rise.

I'm not totally sure how rapid rise derailers are constructed, but for most rear derailers, the easiest way to view the part number is to flip the bike upside down and look down on the rear derailer. There you should see what is generally the largest flat surface of the body of the derailer. It's pretty much rectangular in shape and has some very small print stamped or etched into it. That's where the part numbers live.

Yep, looks like junky shimano parts.

Rear Derailleur http://www.paul-lange.de/fileadmin/p...rd/RD-C050.PDF

Front Derailleur http://www.getprice.com.au/c050-7-sp...--32429667.htm

Shimano ci-deck http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/te...9830609011.pdf

I realized That the only shimano part my next bike shares with the specialized bike is the front derailleur.

Well since I want to get in to doing real mountain biking, what whould be a very cheap but good bike to upgrade to? I would probably keep my serfas tires, I just spent $75 on those.

Do you mean you want two decent mountain bikes, the Specialized + whatever? Otherwise, you could just ride the Specialized. Is it a MTB or a road bike? Does it fit you?

I think OP was under the mistaken impression that "Shimano Equipped" and "low-end bike" (or "bike-like object" as some would characterize it) are mutually exclusive attributes. I believe that notion has since been dispelled from his thinking.

Now that is a valid example of mutually exclusive attributes

The only way to get a decent bike cheap, brand new, is online, which means no test ride and no after-sale support. So you need to be confident about the frame size and you need some setup/tuning skills (or be ready to learn). If you go this route I would look at two things. Check out Olpran bikes on Amazon. For around $250 shipped you can get a 6061 aluminum frame with a lock-out suspension fork and Altus-level drivetrain that weighs about 31 lbs. Yes I've ridden one and they are decent bikes. The other place I'd look is Bikes Direct, starting around $300 shipped.
For $150-250 there are almost always some deals on Craigslist (depending where you are) but you really - and I can't emphasize this enough - really need to know what you are buying, in terms of condition, age, and overall quality.
Now if you'll excuse me I need to go get my flame suit on.

You go right ahead and mountain bike on those Olpran things I see on Amazon, good luck to you. It looks like standard department store issue to me, just another $200 bike. The Spinner Grind 70mm with lockout doesn't really qualify as a suspension fork, it just looks like one (a rigid fork would be superior).

So when you say "looks like", I'm assuming that means you have no first hand experience with "those Olpran things"? Also I'm curious as to why you think the Spinner fork is so vastly inferior to other entry level forks like the RS Darts or the RSTs that come on so many Cannondales - again, direct personal experience?
I have 2 7005 frame GT hardtails (I realize they don't even approach what you've got, but they're not Walmart either), one with a Manitou fork and one with a Marzo, and the Olpran with Spinner fork definitely doesn't suck by any comparison IMO. I prefer the GTs mostly because they don't draw fire from people like you.

I get that you don't want anyone to attempt technical trail riding on a Mongoose XR-75, and there are compelling reasons for that, but it doesn't mean that everything that isn't branded Specialized/Giant/Trek/Whatever is automatically junk. The fact is that "just save some more money until you can afford something better" isn't always feasible for many people. I suggested cheaper options on the off-chance that OP has already read all the "go find yourself a closeout deal on a Specialized Hardrock" posts in other threads.

I know that some good natured bike snobbery is part of the fun of forums like this, but let's not get so totally demagogic about it.

Why is it when ever someobdy says anything about trying to find a cheap decent bike everybody jumps on them its possible maybe not a brand new one but a few years old deff. I guess some of you guys think that we all have thousands to spend on a bike id love it if i did trust me on that. To the op you could always build your own up, do you have a bike co-op around your area?

Just swap out all the drivetrain components for Shimano XTR, throw some I9 wheels on the bike, maybe a Fox Float on the front. It'll still suck, but at least it'll be expensive.

Thats funny:)

It's not snobbery, it's about spending your money well and getting good value; as the saying goes you don't let your friends buy crap. Brand names alone don't mean much without talking about a specific model, or at least where in that brand's range the model falls. Understanding features is another, take your comment on the 6061 aluminum in the Olpran frame you recommend...explain why 6061 is a good thing in this frame, or the 7005 alloy in yours. Which Marzocchi and Manitou forks do you have? The Grind, RST, and Rockshox forks that appear on these low pricepoint bikes simply don't function well. Certainly there are some forks of higher quality from these brands, but they'll for the most part cost more than these bikes, too.

I've put my hands on low end forks before, yes. That's why I believe they are not worth wasting time and money on. They put them on low price point bikes so they can have a low price point and still appear to come with a suspension fork. If you're demands of a bike are very light, if you're riding the street, paved trails, smooth dirt and not doing any serious trail riding, they may work fine for you as long as you don't mind that they function poorly and largely aren't adjustable. While they may come with a lockout or a slightly functional preload adjument, that isn't saying much either; they're certainly not coming with tuneable damping (if they come with any damping at all). An example is a cheap coil fork without any spring options....do they somehow fit these bikes with a magic spring to cover all body weights? Do you think you can actually get another spring to accommodate your weight if need be? Since whitefang indicated he wanted to do some real mountain biking I think a rigid fork would be a superior choice; if it were me on a low budget this is how I would do it.

That's just the fork. The quality of the rest of the components can be very low as well and while their functionality when new or lightly used may appear to be fine, the more you ride and the more challenging trail you undertake and the more you ask from the bike is where they will fail you. Not maybe, but will...it's only a matter of time. The influence here is what you're asking of your bike, and in mountain biking many people expect quite a bit, and need quite a bit, for what they're attempting. How well built do you think those wheels are? Will they withstand your mountain biking until you learn finesse? Does that crank come with replaceable chainrings? Or are they betting that you won't use the bike enough to ever warrant a change? Things break when you mountain bike.

I certainly don't know whitefang so hard to tell what he means about serious mountain biking, either. If he's going to put in a significant investment in time and effort to expand his mountain biking I just think he should get better value and performance for his bucks, even if he has to save a few more up rather than get something right this minute.

bikinfool-
I don't take any real issue with anything you just said - it's all quite reasonable and you clearly have a lot of experience in this game. The problem is that it's largely subjective. Sure, we can pretty much agree on the extremes - that low end junk is junk and high end is really nice. But what qualifies as acceptable entry level can vary significantly depending on the rider's budget, skill level, performance expectations, and most importantly, their ability to recognize limitations - both theirs and the bike's.


I'm not sure that there's a decent answer to this question, but I tried to offer him something so that he doesn't either A) pay too much money for a 20-year-old Gary Fisher with worn out components from Craigslist, or B) end up going to Walmart.

Your position seems to be "if you can't spend minimum $500-$600 then stay on the pavement". He doesn't even know what "real mountain biking" is yet. If you don't offer him a reasonable option that he's comfortable with he may never find out - or he'll try it on a truly cheap bike and get hurt, and I know you don't want that.