allspice34

This is my first post so sorry if there are any big faux pas!

I'm considering a refurbished Giant X500 hybrid bike as a cheapish but solid bike (with a bit of tiye clearance) for commuting, day rides and some weekend touring. I'm struggling to find any info online about this particular model - any leads, advice or wisdom greatl appreciated!

I especially want to know about the frame - I believe its 4130 Cromoly but (in my limited knowledge) thats a really generic label that doesn't tell me anything about the steel quality, whether it is butted, how heavy it is likely to be, etc. It's possible I won't get to see test the bike before purchase and I don't want to end up with some super heavy 'gas-pipe' frame!

Catalogues from the mid-90s show Hybrid models X1000, X1500 and X2000, so I'm X500 must be an earlier and/or lower spec fore-runner to these?

Any information would be great, and general thoughts about the quality of Giant's early 90s hybird machines.

Thanks very much!

brian3069

Like you said, there's not much information online. Just going off Google images search, it appears to be a lower end bike. I'd look for something higher up the food chain.

bargainguy

If you can't test ride the bike first, pass. A bike that doesn't fit you is not worth buying.

As to whether you'll be stuck with a gas pipe frame, I don't think so. Giant made a boatload of decent quality steel frames. You might be overthinking ride quality before you even get on the bike.

allspice34

Thanks both. You're probably right I shouldn't try and second-guess everything about the bike from my desk!

Brian - out of interest what was it about the images that led you to think it was a lower end model? Any visual clues I can look for in future?

thanks

hokiefyd 

From what I can see online, it looks like a basic low-to-mid level hybrid bike. The frame is generally described as "cro-mo", but that may or may not mean the whole frame and fork have good tubing. Some may be high tensile on the lower end models, similar to how Trek did with their MultiTrack line. The components on the few pictures I've seen suggest '90s Acera-X or similar, which was good-but-basic hardware. You categorized it as a "cheapish but solid" option and I'd agree with that.

brian3069

The crank is swaged. Instead of being made as one piece, the spider and crank arm is made in two separate pieces than mated together. That's typically seen on entry level bikes.