trailridebiker

Well, I found a Brand new never ridden 2005 GT avalanche 2.0 disc on ebay for $299.99 Buy it now with $45 shipping and I was wondering how good of a bike this is. It has Marzocchi Fork, Tektro Mechanical Disc Brakes, Aluminum Frame, Deore Rear derailleur. Just wondering how good of a deal this is. I'm looking at things to replace my Trek 4300 because it's getting small for me, and this seemed like a good deal.

jimx200

Looks like a pretty decent deal, but just make sure it fits! Performance Bike carries the GT's so you may want to check one out.
Also try www.rscycle.com and they have their 2006 Iron Horse Mavericks (and most other models) with SRAM, Hayes disc's, Marzocchi shock for about the same price. Good luck.

trailridebiker

Thanks, but does anybody have any opinions on this bike at all?

probable556

Good bike for $300. It's not the top of the line, but it is hard to beat for the price.

sherpaPeak

very decent bike. I have assembled one for a fellow rider who bought it off ebay a year ago. I believe the name of the Ebay seller was Kims bike or something like that (located in NJ). A decent seller. everything was nicely packaged and in a nice box.

I like GT bikes cause I used to ride an older GT Zaskar. to me, one of the best XC bike.

Avalanche line uses a nice frame (desing and construction). and the components are also pretty decent. to me the avalanche bikes are on the smaller side of the sizing spectrum....I remember test riding a couple of Avalanche 1.0 a few years ago...and the L size fit me better than the M...I ride M or 17.5 or 18 in most brands...but Avalanche L is like a 19.5.....Avalanches top tube is a little shorter than some other brands....

I am 5'10" with 32.5 inseam....if that helps..

I would not buy this bike for its MSRP (i believe $500) but for $300 its a very good deal......

good luck..

trailridebiker

Yep, the seller is Kim's Bike Shop. I'll have to do a bit more thinking about this.

trailridebiker

Hey, have any of you guys heard of the Brand Windsor? They're on ebay brand new for between $300 and $450. They look like very nice bikes. All of them have Rock Shox forks, Tektro Discs, Shimano Deore's or Acera's etc., SR Suntour crank, etc. This is the one I was looking at: https://cgi.ebay.com/2008-ALUMINUM-MO...QQcmdZViewItem

Tell me what ya think.

z415

Windsor is a bikesdirect brand I think, I've heard they are alright.

EDIT: if I remember correctly Windsor and Motobecane (bd brands) used to be independent and of very high quality and somehow bd acquired them - not sure about that tidbit though.

z415

The specs on that seem identical to the Motobecane HT600. EDIT: I think its more HT500.

The F&R specific WTB Velociraptors they have (from the looks of it) are alright; the front tends to squirrel as does the rear, but the rear one gives awesome climbing and eats roots for breakfast. The rear tire is also very loud on pavement due to the tread pattern.

Dart 1 is botton of the line for Rockshox, but rockshox is a good brand. No lockout as far as I remember, though.

The discs brakes on that thing are not that great as far is discs go. My roommate has the same ones up front (with and Avid rotor) and they stop worse than my Avid SDs, but then I have Avids.

trailridebiker

Yep, it's bikesdirect. I'm not totally sure about them, because I've never heard of them but they have such good features that the name brand companies use....at such a steal!

dminor 

Another Kinesis catalog-bike; nothing wrong with that, just another fill-in-the-blank brand. (In other words, a company goes into the bike business, picks a handful of frames out of the Kinesis OEM catalog, hangs some parts on it and calls it an XYZ bike).

Kinesis is a reputable mfr with production capacity in Taiwan and the mainland.

trailridebiker

I'd say this is the way to go though when I get my new bike. The price and features are VERY attractive. I mean the guy's rating is 99.7%, so he can't be screwing people over with these bikes.

z415

If you are afraid, just buy it from bikesdirect.com. I just checked and they have pretty much the same bike there for about the same price, just a diff brand name.

I wouldn't get it just because I've decided to never buy a whole bike again. I prefer to build my own just to get the parts/components I want, but I'd say go for it. I know BD sells frames too if you want to go that route.

sherpaPeak

it is not wise to buy a mountain bike based on the specification list. cause you would not be riding the spec list...you would hopefully be riding the bike itself.

now if you want opinion on an obscure bike just based on spec list.... you may get different comments....but if you buy based on that....it could end up being an injury causing mistake....

I am sorry to mention this obvious...and I know that you are an intelligent person to figure this out yourself.....but, when you just jump between one spec list to another it becomes really difficult to assist you in a constructive manner.

please ride the bike before you buy....the bike will tell you which one is right for you and which one is the best bang for your bucks.....

also, follow your own heart.....I read in your signature "riding trails and just having fun is what its all about".....and half of that riding fun depends on a good fiting bike...not the bike with the most bling bling....

z415

That is a good point. However, I don't you can test ride bd bikes..., but that would be ideal. Remember the bike and you are supposed to be one - although I doubted that oneness when I endo'd so bad the bike flew around and hit me

z415

Wait? Whats wrong with your 4300? Did you grow bigger or something? I am really picky about my bikes and their feel - generally, if something (or everything) is going bad or not working correctly, I would just upgrade because I love the feel and geometry of what I have. I've test ridden bikes with MSRPs two to three times my bike and I just didn't like the way they felt, but thats just me.

trailridebiker

I understand what you guys are saying, but I do not need the best bike for hardcore riding. I like to ride trails (like my sig says) and do some jumping too. The Frame is aluminum too, so I wouldn't think that'd be a problem. I'll do my research before I buy anything, and I'll look into that brand of frame also to see what others have to say about it.

skellener

I ordered the same bike for $250 (minus the disc brakes). Came in Friday. It's pretty close to the other GT I had before it was stolen about a week ago. Actually this one is a bit nicer, but I miss my old one. Took it in for complete "tune-up" at my local bike shop (nothing was really set properly - brakes, derailer, etc.). I did change the handlebars. It came with the standard GT bars, but I really prefer the straight type. Looking forward to my first ride on it.