Used Bike Help: Trek 4300 and Gary Fisher Marlin
03-20-15, 04:02 PM
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Used Bike Help: Trek 4300 and Gary Fisher Marlin
A local shop has two used mountain bikes that caught my eye. A 2003 (from what I've researched) Trek 4300 Alpha and an unknown year Gary Fisher Marlin (Gold Series). The Marlin (priced at $220) has disk brakes but the back one seem like the back wheel doesn't have a lot of stopping power. The Trek 4300 (priced at $200)won't shift and is a little beat up. Are either of these bikes worth buying and investing a little money in to get me out on the trails?
Last edited by rellimnad; 03-20-15 at 04:04 PM. Reason: added prices
03-20-15, 04:38 PM
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Looks Like The Gary Fisher has a Roxshok fork that can be rebuilt and the other bike has the Suntour sr that's not very good even when rebuilt.
Any brake system can be made better, new pads,,
Poor shifting and stopping in bikes this old,,,,rusty, dried cables and cable housings...
or more, I would not pay more than $75 for a bike that wont shift...
Lots of work these bikes,,
Get the Gary Fisher....
Pull the cables,, sand them down, check the housings for kinks an cracks,
the chain is prolly worn out, stretched.
the tires could be dry rotted, so could the tubes and rim tape...
If the roxshock is ok, you can ride the fisher for just some cleaning I bet..
If you buy it pull the bottom bracket apart, may be water in there,
Pull every thing apart....
Don't forget to lube the seat post IF its not rusted already..make sure it can slide...
Rim brakes don't do so well when they get wet or muddy,,, Umm thats mountain biking !!
Get the Gary Fisher..
Any brake system can be made better, new pads,,
Poor shifting and stopping in bikes this old,,,,rusty, dried cables and cable housings...
or more, I would not pay more than $75 for a bike that wont shift...
Lots of work these bikes,,
Get the Gary Fisher....
Pull the cables,, sand them down, check the housings for kinks an cracks,
the chain is prolly worn out, stretched.
the tires could be dry rotted, so could the tubes and rim tape...
If the roxshock is ok, you can ride the fisher for just some cleaning I bet..
If you buy it pull the bottom bracket apart, may be water in there,
Pull every thing apart....
Don't forget to lube the seat post IF its not rusted already..make sure it can slide...
Rim brakes don't do so well when they get wet or muddy,,, Umm thats mountain biking !!
Get the Gary Fisher..
Last edited by osco53; 03-20-15 at 04:45 PM.
03-20-15, 07:46 PM
#3
Senior Member
The trek sounds beat and way overpriced. Think that was about a $400 bike back in 2003.
The gary fisher is a much newer bike. I'm not sure what year it is but rockshox darts run from 2006 to 2012. According to bikepedia and bicycle blue book the first dart showed up in 2008 on the marlin GS and none of them got disc brakes till 2010
2010 Gary Fisher Marlin Disc GS - BikePedia
Just going by your pic the brakes are Avid BB5 which also matches up with the specs for the 2010. They are also easy to adjust and that is probably all they need. The shop should do that before they sell it anyway. Price also seems pretty fair assuming everything is in decent shape.
2010 Gary Fisher Marlin Disc GS - New and Used Bike Value
The gary fisher is a much newer bike. I'm not sure what year it is but rockshox darts run from 2006 to 2012. According to bikepedia and bicycle blue book the first dart showed up in 2008 on the marlin GS and none of them got disc brakes till 2010
2010 Gary Fisher Marlin Disc GS - BikePedia
Just going by your pic the brakes are Avid BB5 which also matches up with the specs for the 2010. They are also easy to adjust and that is probably all they need. The shop should do that before they sell it anyway. Price also seems pretty fair assuming everything is in decent shape.
2010 Gary Fisher Marlin Disc GS - New and Used Bike Value
03-22-15, 09:11 PM
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The trek sounds beat and way overpriced. Think that was about a $400 bike back in 2003.
The gary fisher is a much newer bike. I'm not sure what year it is but rockshox darts run from 2006 to 2012. According to bikepedia and bicycle blue book the first dart showed up in 2008 on the marlin GS and none of them got disc brakes till 2010
2010 Gary Fisher Marlin Disc GS - BikePedia
Just going by your pic the brakes are Avid BB5 which also matches up with the specs for the 2010. They are also easy to adjust and that is probably all they need. The shop should do that before they sell it anyway. Price also seems pretty fair assuming everything is in decent shape.
2010 Gary Fisher Marlin Disc GS - New and Used Bike Value
The gary fisher is a much newer bike. I'm not sure what year it is but rockshox darts run from 2006 to 2012. According to bikepedia and bicycle blue book the first dart showed up in 2008 on the marlin GS and none of them got disc brakes till 2010
2010 Gary Fisher Marlin Disc GS - BikePedia
Just going by your pic the brakes are Avid BB5 which also matches up with the specs for the 2010. They are also easy to adjust and that is probably all they need. The shop should do that before they sell it anyway. Price also seems pretty fair assuming everything is in decent shape.
2010 Gary Fisher Marlin Disc GS - New and Used Bike Value
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03-23-15, 12:16 PM
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Canker called it!, the Trek is way overpriced but the GF seems about right, maybe a tad high. Is this a bike shop that's selling the bikes or a pawn shop? If it's a bike shop, they should fix the brake for free. If its a pawn shop, try to get $20 off toward brake repair. If they won't cooperate, buying it for $220 isn't bad so you may want to go for it anyway.
