Merlin Bikes!?

endurojcb

I'm hunting for a second hand hardtail to go with my 2007 Specialized Enduro, and I've been offerred a 2007 Merlin Malt 4 (£500ish), but to be honest with you, I know nothing about Merlin bikes.

Are they any good?

I've also been offerred a 2008 Boardman Comp which has been well used (£400ish), and a 2006 Gary Fisher Ferrous (£475ish) which has hardly been used.

They all have pretty good specs!

What do you reckon?

Any advice from you all would be much apreciated.

Thanks

Jake

bregante

I looked at an 09 one of these recently at Merlin and was really impressed with excellent build kit for the money. The frame gets a great write up too (search this site for a review). In the end I went for something with more burly with a bit more travel (Marin Rocky Ridge) but if your after a 100mm travel HT then this would seem to be a decent buy, with a bit of negotiation perhaps?.

CycloRos

My bro has just bought a brand new Malt 1. Very nice bike by the looks of it (got to wait till the weekend to get a test ride though ).

The Malt 4 has a higher spec frame so as long as its been regularly maintained then I reckon its worth 500 notes.

Buying secondhand can be a minefield though...

paul.skibum

Malt 4 is a good bike - Merlins get good reviews for build quality and kit. teh Malt 4 is their top end model and I believe is a little more racey than some with steeper angles but I havent ridden one so cant comment how it feels in practice. My old Malt 2 was a pretty nice bike until I bent it on a 3 foot wide tree.

dunker

yep, very nice bikes would'nt sell mine anywhere near 500 so maybe a good deal? give it a good check over.

endurojcb

Thanks for your input guys.

He said it could do with a new headset, but other than that he says it's sound. Only about 300 miles on it!

Anything specific I should look out for when I have a look at it? SOrry for the dumb question, but I've only ever bought new before, so not had to worry about these things!

Thanks

CycloRos

EnduroJCB wrote:

Only about 300 miles on it!

wouldn't have thought it would need a new headset then? if it does its a relatively simple job for someone who knows what they're doing or a cheap trip to the LBS for lazy folks like me.

pay particular attention to :
- frame - look for cracks, dents any structural damage
- headset - turn the bars side to side check if it feels gritty
- wheels - do they roll true, any structural damage, dodgy spokes
- hubs - grab each wheel and check for any side to side movement
- fork - does it feel sticky when compressed
- gears - is the shifting smooth

endurojcb

He might have meant just the fork!? (2007 Malt 4 frame / Reba SL - approx 300 miles. Both in good condition.)

I've never changed a headset myself, so would probably get someone to do it for me!?

dunker

doubt the headset would need changing after 300miles like already said. prolly just needs tightening a bit or a clean and a re-grease. the cheapy cane creek that mine came with in 2007 lasted about 6000 miles before the bearings needed a swap...

guilliano

When checking the headset also pull the front brake and rock the bike back and forth. It may just need adjusting, although if the owner has been riding with it loose I'd replace and haggle on price for the cost of a headset

connorhadfield

probably just needs new bearings not an expensive or hard job possibly just needs regreasing ask him if he used a preasure wash on it. if he has then that is probably your problem

endurojcb

How much were they new by the way?

The Spiderman

Malt 4 has the option of being built up to different specs.Could have been anywhere between £750-£1100.What spec,groupset Deore,LX or XT,which forks,Reba SL,Reba Race,etc?

endurojcb

I see.

It's got XT and the Reba SL on it.

dunker

would of been about £1000 - £1100 i guess with xt kit and a reba back in 2007. same spec now would be around £1200'ish including the £110 off and a 10% online discount.