Been looking for a way to get active and finally got a bike again at 28. Havent been on a bike consistently since I was 15. Got a diamondback release 27 (I think) used off a local guy for $500 – seems like a decent deal since I was about to spend 400 on the ozark trail hard tail. Bike is a hair big for me but it'll do.
Looking for advice on what may need a go through before I take it out. I work on cars and know my way around a tool box. Front brake feels squishy so I assume new fluid and pads there, probably doesn't hurt to do the rears either. Tires look good, dropper post works but if I sit on it too fast after letting go of the button it'll slide back down. There's an O ring just chillin on the front fork I have no clue about – maybe needs a quick shock rebuild on the front idk.
Anyways – did I get a good deal or nah – and I'm excited to be back on a bike again, looking forward to a hobby more affordable than buying old German cars.
by donald7773
1 Comment
I was a gearhead as well and mountain bikes completely replaced project cars a decade ago for me. so much easier and cheaper to work on and ripping decents are even more fun than racing the car was. the original release is a good bike. Decent modern geometry for the time so the frame is a solid starting point. Hydraulic brakes usually need attention/bleeding on regular intervals so may not even need new pads to make it feel better, although pad contamination is more of an issue in bikes and it can be easier to just replace them instead of messing around once they go South. Some droppers can be serviced relatively easily, not sure what was on that model or if it’s still even the original but can usually find parts and Info to service if possible online. The o rings on the fork and shock are travel indicators for setting sag and measuring travel when working on fine tuning settings. I am sure an older bike could benefit from a lower leg fork service and air can service to freshen things up but is not a necessity to getting things moving.
Virtually any reasonably working bike is worth a few hundred bucks and this is way more than just a basic bike shaped object so 500 sounds like a good deal to me it was easily a 2 grand bike new and has not been totally left behind by geometry changes.