I am very aware, old full suspension bikes tend to become obsolete pretty quickly and have way more moving parts that may be hard to find replacement for. But anyway, this bike has been sitting for sale near me for months, the price seems decent at 90$, and since there presumably has been very little interest I may be able to negotiate price down further.
The is a more midlevel model, I can't find exact specs or year but it appears to have a Deore LX groupset, Fox float R rear shock, and Rockshox Pilot Air xc fork.
I'm very new to MTB, I've gone riding a couple times on some very easy trails with a rigid 90's MTB, and have recently finished fixing up a nice 2002 Gary Fisher hardtail. And yes, I *KNOW* this thing is objectively garbage by modern standards, but I can assure you that *I* am the weak link here, and the bicycle itself is far more capable than I am. So, if I buy this bike, I don't really expect that I'll be doing any super-hardcore mountain biking or anything right away, and I'm not necessarily planning on keeping it for the long term. It would just be a cheap way to compare full suspension versus hardtail versus rigid. I also don't mind a project and am walking distance from a co-op with a variety of tools.
[Some reviews](https://products.mtbr.com/product/bikes/xc-suspensio/giant/nrs-3.html) look good, but of course they are mostly from 20 years ago, so they don't necessarily hint at the longevity of the bike or its usefulness today.
Thanks, all.
by gregn8r1
1 Comment
This is nearly my first “real” mountain bike. It WAS a solid bike but is fairly punishing by today’s standards. It will feel sketchy on anything technical compared to a bike with modern geometry. It sounds like you have decent expectations and I’m not going to tell you how to spend your money but I’d work that price to under $50 at a minimum. Expect the suspension to need a full rebuild at a minimum and that will be expensive (labor) if you can source the correct seals etc. that shock sitting compressed like that makes me think it’s toast or at a minimum badly neglected. The chain is in bad shape but it’s a 9 speed and take a fair bit of abuse. Point being you’ll spend many multiples of the purchase price before that thing is trail worthy at any level that won’t risk a long walk. Good memories on this one, only in red. 😉
To address your “cheap way to compare full suspension vs hard tail” in going to say it’s outdated enough that it’s not super relevant to modern bikes. Like comparing 2000s “cruise control” to modern radar cruise and anti collision.