1996 Diamondback MTB - keep it or ditch it?
 

Here is my situation. In 1996 I purchased a Diamondback Mtb (can't remember the model), but it is a carbon fiber frame with Shimano XT components and cost $1,600 at the time. I raced it for one year (sr. year of high school) for approximately 15 trail rides and maybe 250 road miles, then went off to college, and its been in storage ever since.

I've now moved to Southern California and have gotten the bug to start riding again. My question is, is the bike even worth cleaning up since its been sitting collecting dust for 8 years? Would I be better off spending 500-600 dollars to get a new bike or would a better option to be to re-use some of the components and update the Diamondback? Is a bike that old sell-able?

I'm assuming a 500-600 dollar bike today is better than the 1600 dollar bike of 1996 but I've been out of the game now for awhile so please help me out. Thanks alot.

New bike, or if you don't want to spend that much...buy a frame, swap some parts onto it and buy some remaining parts that you don't have/want.

A bike that old is still sellable. Check Ebay if you don't believe me. You won't get what you paid for it but the bike you describe will sell for several hundred dollars. You could look on ebay for similar bikes and see what they bring. A quick search for diamondbacks on ebay yielded no results for bikes as high end as yours.

If you could get Even $400 you could put another $600 and get a pretty nice ride.


This might be a similar bike.http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...146059069&rd=1

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Let us get this straight.... You raced it all year (15 rides) the same amount of rides I do in 3 weeks max., plus you rode it on the road for another 250 miles (Mtn.Bike riding on the road, whats wrong w/ this picture?) correct?

Let me clarify and it should make more sense. I bought the bike in June, competed in 5-6 beginner races with 9-10 pre-rides to test out the trails. The area I grew up in didn't exactly have a lot of places nearby to bike so I couldn't get out to ride anywhere during the week except for the "road riding" as I called it. We had a long, perfectly flat, straight walking/biking trail near my house that I would ride during the week to help me get in shape. It was pretty much like riding on the road.

I then brought the bike to college, decided it was too nice and would get stolen if I rode it to class, and put it in storage back home. So basically it was a complete waste to get such a high end bike for what I ended up using it for. I should note that for the 4 years before that I rode a cheaper mtn bike so I didn't just buy that as my first bike.

Thanks for the info. I know that bike is similar to mine, that is the exact model my brother had and they were purchased at about the same time for similar money.

As far as how to go about selling the bike, would you recommend I get it professionally tuned up before I sell it, or just clean the dust and dirt off of it myself the best that I can? As you can see in these pictures I've attached of it, the dust has built up and the tires are flat right now. I'd love to go the Ebay route but I'm a little unsure because I think most buyers only buy from people with high seller ratings. I could be wrong though, I'll look into it but any other suggestions? Thanks for all the help so far.

I assume you don't have Ebay feedback. At least not positive feedback. That is certainly viewed as a negative but not necessarily a deal breaker. You could try and find a friend or someone with good feedback to sell it for you or you cold still sell it on your own.

You could take measures to put the bidders concerns to rest. List a phone number in the auction where they can call you etc. As far as a tune up, i would take it for a ride and see what it needs. If it seems basically ok mechanically then I wouldn't bother.

Just clean it up good, and i mean REALLY good. Then take it out in a very nice area outside and take LOTS of nice photos. The more photos the more money you will get. Also use a good camera.

If you are totally against the Ebay route you can try and sell locally or try craiglist.com or something similar. You will not get top dollar like you would on Ebay. The Ebay cycling arena is a SELLERS market. I have spent countless hours watching, buying and selling cycling stuff on Ebay. I have always been happier being the seller.

Then again somebody could mysteriously PM you on this forum and make you an offer. Not that that ever entered into your mind. ;)

Thanks for the help so far. I actually have a +6 positive feedback from previous Ebay purchases, but I've never sold anything on it. Sorry to ask so much, but any ideas about what specs I should list for the bike no matter how I decide to sell it? I think I'm pretty much convinced that selling this bike and buying a new, mid-level bike is the way I want to go and I'd be estatic to get 400 or so out of it. And while I'm asking, since you seem experienced in the Ebay bike market, do people usually include a shipping cost in the price? any estimate of how much? Thanks again.

any other suggestions? Thanks :)

I took the bike into my LBS today to have it cleaned up and checked for mechanical flaws, then I plan to list it on Ebay. He thought I'd be able to get 300 out of it, does that sound about right? Here is a more detailed description of the bike. Any comments would be great, to help me with my Ebay listing. Thanks!

1996 Diamond Back WCF 6.0 with Carbon Fiber-Cromo Frame (21"). Manitou Mach 5 Fork, 24-Spd XT Rear Derail-Shifters-VBrakes, LX Front Derail, Mavic Rims with XT (Rear) and Sachs (Front) Hubs, Profile Boa Stem