I'm looking to buy my first non-department store bike - hopefully something I can use for commuting as well as the occasional longer ride. Someone local is selling a Trek Singletrack 950 for a good price ($40) and from what I've seen online the singletracks can be good hybrid bikes even though they are sold as a mountain bike. The seller says the bike is 13 years old, which would make it a 1999 or 2000 model. The newest model of the Singletrack I can find is 1998 (on Bikepedia). Does anyone know if they were made after that? The one on bikepedia has front suspension fork, whereas the one I am looking at does not.

The bike has a 20" frame. I am 6' 2" so that should be about the right size, correct? Of course I would test the fit before buying it.

Anything else I should be looking for if I go take the bike for a test ride? Any tips of checking the gears and brakes? At such a cheap price would this frame be worth something even if the gears/brakes aren't in great condition?

More knowledgeable people will chime in, but one thing I can think of is - check that the seat post isn't stuck (and obvious signs of rust/neglect).

Thanks, I will definitely keep that in mind. Any other suggestions on what I should be looking for?

I buy and sell a lot of bikes off Craigslist, Things I check for : Are the rims true, due the shifters work, is there bearing play in the hubs, is the crank tight & smooth, are the cables rusted, tires old and dry rotting, overall condition of bike, paint, rust ? peddles not broken (bearings) I generally do not worry about adjustments, pads, grips, even the saddle if the bike nice enough. This is an example of one I have 50.00 dollars in : It's an XL frame, I want 95.00 dollars, but would take 75.00 . It's a MARIN (something) Bought this GT for 75.00 dollars, a few repairs & sold it for 150.00. These are just a few examples of low dollar bikes. Hope this helps.

I would think 6' 2" would be pushing a 20 inch frame, & far as restoring one. The price could easily go past the cost of something NEW, unless you know what your doing and have lots of spare parts laying around. Video (buying used bikes):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f55TO...TqljA&index=19 another : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5auI...o7UQ2gGtOTqljA

Thanks. If restoring is going to cost as much as a new bike I'll just get a new bike, but the seller says its in good condition so hopefully that isn't an issue.

As far as sizing goes, the ebicycles calculator puts me right at a 20" frame, but I have no idea if that is accurate or not. I thought of getting sized at my LBS, but I think I'd have to be planning on buying there for them to do that.

Is checking the shifters mostly just about making sure it goes into each gear and does so smoothly/quitely?

The website 'Vinatge Trek' (type that into your browser) has catalogs from just about every year that Trek made bicycles. You can start at the 1998 model year and work out fron there. In general, Trek's MTBs around that time ranged from the three digits series (the 9XX was the top), then the four digit series (with a zero as the second number, such as 80XX, and it was better quality, full rigid stuff) and then four digits where the second was either a '5' or above - these typically came with front suspension. Mine is a little older m a 1992 Trek 8000. I converted it to a drop bar road bike and its been a great work-out bike. Its been on rides as long as 40 miles. I've also changed what you see here to add skinnier tires (now sports 26" x 1.5") and bar-end shifters. Great, solid bike.

If someone calculated you'll fit your 6'2" frame on a 20" MTB, were they considering you'd use the bike off-road or on-road? Makes a huge difference! You can ame it work, but it'll take a few added $$$. I'm 6'0", and the bike above is a 22" frame - a lot of seatpost showing, and the handlebars are high, too (had to buy a new quill stem, where a 1998 might ahve a threadless stem setuo that'll be harder to elevate the handlebars). Also remember MTB bars have a 25.4mm clamp diameter, and that size of road bar is getting a little hard to find if you want a drop-style handlbar like I've got on mine.

So I went and tried it out this morning. To my surprise it was a single speed bike - I haven't run across any single speed Singletracks in my online research. You guys were right about the sizing as well. Definitely too small for me. Its just as well as it wasn't in as good of condition as I had hoped, and now I have a better idea of what I am looking for in the future.

At least you have a starting point. The right one will come along.

Old thread, but if anyone is still watching this on, I'll chime in. I worked as a mechanic in a bike shop in 1990, and built in-house my Trek 950. It originally had the Shimano Rapid-Fire shifters, and I swapped them out for good-old bullet-proof Shimano Deore XTs. 24 years later, this bike is still bullet-proof. I never considered this a 'hybrid," mine is all moutain. I have beat and banged it with the best of them. It's shorter-for-the-time wheelbase gave it a much more aggressive bite than my Specialized Rock Hopper. This bike is still hanging in my shop, just as blue as day one, and yes, the seatpost does still go up and down. She does need new tires and cables, but that is a cheap item. If I found this bike for $40 at a swapbarn I would buy it no questions asked! Let us know how it went.

Wow, I don't ever remember that coming in a single speed variation. Were the wheels the same diameter? If the rear was smaller than the front, someone converted that to a trials bike, solely for climbing insane objects.

Buy it. It's a good deal for a pretty good bike. Depending on condition, that is, they go for triple that at least.