Looking for a beginner hybrid bike. Light trails and riding with the kids around town. Thoughts on this Triumph? Or worth it to spend a few hundred more on a Giant or Specialized?
by Beazer14
Looking for a beginner hybrid bike. Light trails and riding with the kids around town. Thoughts on this Triumph? Or worth it to spend a few hundred more on a Giant or Specialized?
by Beazer14
3 Comments
Would require a closer look, but I would say it looks decent for $100. Appears to be well maintained or at least restored. Worth a look and if you don’t like what you see you can always say thank you I changed my mind though.
I also buy my bikes by how they feel when I ride them. Gotta give it a test drive!
This bike looks like it might have a claw-mount derailleur and stamped steel caliper brakes, both of which are hallmarks of department-store mountain bikes of the 1990s. The front hub looks thin enough it could have steel solid axles with the wheels held on with nuts instead of a quick release, also a sign of a lower-quality 90s mtb. All of these parts are likely fine for light riding, just lower-quality than many bikes of the time. Just a heads up, but you’ll want to avoid chromed steel rims when paired with rim brakes because chrome is a terrible brake pad surface when wet as the rubber will just slide over it no matter how hard you grip the brakes levers. It’s hard to tell from the photo, but many manufacturers of the era had moved to aluminum rims, which are noticeably more effective when braking after they go through a puddle.
The frame looks cool, but it doesn’t look like great hardware on it. I think you’d be able to find a better used bike for not a lot more than that.