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    Restore my bike or buy a new one?

    Hi there! I know some will say this bike looks like garbage but I don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on bikes.
    This bike was gifted to me by someone who used it alot for commuting to school years ago. I haven’t used it as much as him. Looks the same now as it looked when he gifted it to me, except the derailleur wasn’t broken.

    The rear derailleur is broken, I am scared that the suspensions will break also.
    The chain hasn’t been switched in years and neither the parts that it slides over.

    I need a bike that will not disassemble itself while going off-road on hills.

    I am not an expert in bikes but with YouTube I can install some parts by myself.

    So is it worth to buy upgrades and mount them myself?
    Send it to a bike service and let them restore it?
    Or just save to buy a used EMTB? (0-1000 km)

    by Blackhammer48

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    19 Comments

    1. RabidJayhawk on

      I’d say definitely get a new one. That bike would cost too much to restore. Just my opinion though

    2. RepresentativeCry365 on

      To restore it it’s probably gonna be 200 or less. No hydraulics cheap to replace parts etc. it’s a cool back up but you should grab a new Niner if you’ve got the money for it.

    3. firewire_9000 on

      Honestly I wouldn’t spend a dime on this bike, I would ride it until it falls apart if I had to and nothing more. It’s not modern or good nowadays with no upgrades available.

    5. _The_Room on

      I’d drop a new derailer on it, make sure the brakes work and the chain doesn’t have any kinks (it all bends like it’s supposed to) then I’d take it out for a ride. She’s probably fine as is. Depending on what you mean by over hills it might not need anything. Check the tires to make sure they aren’t rotting cause that might cause an issue but in spite of some of the opinions here I think it’ll work just fine if you are out for exercise or need it as transport.

    6. Working-Promotion728 on

      This bike is similar to what you might find in Walmart for $200, or dumped for free on Facebook Marketplace. It is absolutely not worth spending any time or money on it.

    7. MrRichardH on

      Ok, you could get a new derailleur and solve one problem, but you’ll only uncover more as you continue to ride. You’ll end up spending more, just over more time. You could look at the used market at a bike that’s been well treated, maybe occasionally upgraded, and would be more up-to-date. Check the price here if you aren’t sure the bike you’re looking at is a good deal. It’s a good time to buy, as there’s over supply of new bikes (I’ve seen 2023 models going for 60% off) which depresses the used market. That situation won’t last forever, but you could grab a good deal. Good luck 🤞🏻

    8. Returning2Riding on

      Where do you live? How much money do you have to buy a new bike? How much are you willing to spend to fix this bike?

      Right off the bat you could add Shimano MT 200 hydraulic brakes for about US$30. About another US$85 would get you a Microshift Acolyte 1×8 group set.

      I don’t recognize the fork and have no idea if it can be rebuilt that would require some research on your part.

      [This might be a suitable replacement](https://youtu.be/9HipIPA5NXQ?si=nn6igbSEIKty4K1a) for about US$170.

    10. PennWash on

      I don’t normally recommend buying a new bike if the existing one is workable, but I wouldn’t put any money into it. Get a new one if possible!

    11. Returning2Riding on

      I just noticed the companies web address on the chain stay. The bike is from Romania? It’s either built tough like their tractors or will explode on the first drop.

    12. cjn121893 on

      Yeah like most people here are saying I definitely would not spend any money on it and I would look for an entry level hard tail from a local bike shop.

      I know at my shop here in Canada I could get you on a bike for 600-700 and it will have a warranty and parts that are from actual bike companies

    14. plungerism on

      Get something more modern but used. Im a big fan of restoring old things but this thing is definitely not worth it.

    16. steezymtbrider on

      The fact that it came with tourney tells me this was a low end bike at the beginning of its life. Not really worth the money imho. Look at something newer or if you’re dying to restore something, find something cool from the 2000’s or early 2010’s to wrench on

    17. nattyd on

      Honestly this is not so much a mountain bike as a mountain-bike-shaped slab of alloy. It’s meant to look like a downhill bike but basically the components are bottom tier and border on non-functional. The suspension is probably useless. You would be much better off binning this bike and buying a basic but high quality hardtail.

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