Ex Rental. Should I or shouldnt I?

johnboy373

Alright

I was out on the trails yesterday and was talking to the guy in bike hire shop about ex-rental bikes.

They had a Genesis i0 id for sale RRP£1000 their sale price £499.

The bike only been hired out 35 times before its put up for sale, and fully serviced after every hire.

Its got a Rockshox Recon race shock and the 8 speed alfine rear hub.

I took on out for the day and quite enjoyed the simplicity of it. Overall I thought it would do for my first bike.

What you guys think? As for the Recon shock is it a durable item? Do these shock fail and have to be replaced or would servicing fix any problems?

The guys in shop told me they'd been running these bikes since November '08 with zero failures of the Alfine hub and theres no need for maintaince either!!

I just need advice from more experienced bikers as to wether its a good idea to buy ex rental.

P.S Bike shop said if i bought the bike they would strip it and check all the components, and replace anything that was needed.

Look forward to your replies

john

Airienteer

A lot of ex-rentals can be great. The shop sounds pretty generous offering to strip it down, just give it a good look over yourself aswell. It sounds like a good deal, have no idea how well the hub gears perform or the range they offer, although it would probably make a good beginners bike. As for the Recon, it's a very reliable fork, with good performance too.

Andy B

The Recon is a good fork, no issues that I'm aware of, as with any bike parts they will need some servicing every so often

No personal experience of the Alfine hub, but not heard anything bad about them

I have an Ex Demo bike which has been faultless, if the shop is offering any sort of warranty it would be a bonus, but as it's hardly been ridden & serviced frequently it should be fine.

chrisga

Another +1 for ex-demo bike. My latest bike is ex-demo and has been trouble free so far, and I got it for a bargain price too.

Northwind

Is it the Hub at Glentress? (I know they have alfine Genesises just now) If it is, I've only heard good things about their ex-fleet bikes, though of course you should still work on the assumption that any used bike seller is going to try to rip you off

johnboy373

Thanks for the replys guys. I think it may be worth a punt. When I hired the I0ID on sunday i found it to be a great bike.

I found the gears to be great smooth as hell almost seemless changes compared to a derailer. It could maybe do with a lower gear for steeper climbs but it'll get me fitter quicker. The only time I was in top gear was when coming down a long fast escape road and could maybe have done with more gears there too, but everything inbetween was great. On single track it was great for quick changes when you came upon a hill or going up gears on the straights.

I like the fact that its low maintence and also no de railer to smash off (and after my big crash on sunday that WILL happen).

johnboy373

Northwind wrote:

Is it the Hub at Glentress? (I know they have alfine Genesises just now) If it is, I've only heard good things about their ex-fleet bikes, though of course you should still work on the assumption that any used bike seller is going to try to rip you off

Yip its at Glentress, The staff there seem pretty good, but as you said they're all salesmen deep down lol.

cheers