I have to walk a decent amount to get around my college campus (with some decent slopes) and initially purchased a $96 Walmart Huffy mountain bike, now I know absolutely nothing about bikes but I could tell that the bike isn't decent at all. Im gonna return it and purchased a retrospec hybrid:
https://retrospec.com/collections/hybrid-bikes /products/barron-2-comfort-hybrid-bike-step -through-7-speed
The bike hasn't shipped yet so it's still within cancelling period, I am having slight regrets because of the price and because I have to assemble the bike myself, apparently they're only a step above a Walmart Huffy so I'm not sure it was a good choice. Then I stumbled on this bike on FB market place for $100 and need some second opinion! Seller says it's 10 years and barely ridden. Should I cancel the retrospec and just purchase this used jamis explorer 1.0? Any questions I should ask the seller?
by kirk_8536
5 Comments
Could use a good cleaning but seems pretty OK. The one you linked is a bit too expensive.
Well, yes. And no. Huffy is legendary for their quality: the proverbial, awful, bicycle-shaped object, assembled by a half-stoned, minimum wage WalMart temp who lied and said he knew how to when he was hired. Retrospec is better than that, but it’s not the quality of a Jamis. The real question is: who assembled it?
The problem is: that Jamis looks older to me than 10 years and while Jamis is a solid brand, I’m a little worried about the age and condition. If the bike is in good shape and you can confirm it is a 2015 model and not a 2005 or 1995, it’s likely to be a good buy at $100.
Get insted of huffy
Also make sure it fits you cuz it looks really smol
Retrospec is a mail order brand, their bikes can be kind of okay but with that sort of thing you’re relying a bit more on how much the buyer happened to know about bike maintenance and assembly.
Jamis is a solid make, but the most important thing to get right is sizing, that one looks like a particularly small frame size.
If it fits, yes, Jamis made some decent bikes. Looks like it needs a good cleaning/lube/tuneup but that’s normal. I can’t quite tell but it looks like it has an adjustable stem, meaning you can adjust the angle up or down. That’s a plus on a commuter bike as you probably want a more upright posture.