Trek Fuel ex 9.9 carbon 2009

daisbuys

Hi guys.

I got a chance to buy the above bike 2nd hand, not sure of its condition as of yet as only have someone's word on it.
He said it was owned by a triathlete before him, and he hasn't ridden it much since buying it but, has had it serviced but sadly not the shocks.

Here's the spec:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/20 ... e/fuelex99

My question is, what do you think it's worth if it's in reasonable condition.......

And what should I keep an eye out for when giving it the once over?

The Spiderman

Value will be very much condition dependant.What you need to factor in very carefully is the cost of replacement parts on a high spec bike such as this.

If you need to buy new chainrings,cassette,etc on an XTR equipped bike it could get expensive very quickly.

Its a carbon frame so check,it over very carefully for cracks or signs of abuse.Ask when the forks and shock were last serviced,because if they need doing its £100 to service each.And if left too long there could be wear on the stanchions which is terminal.Factor on £400-600 for forks and £250-300 for a shock!

Check all linkages and bearings for play.Bearing kits can be got off eay for £30 but can be a faff to install.

Check the drivetrain components for wear,so chain,rings,cassette,and check front and rear mechs for play.I`d take a chain checker tool along to measure if the chain is stretched.

Brakes,check for sponginess,may need a bleed or new pads but are fairly cheap to fix.Bottom bracket check for roughness but again cheapish to fix/replace.

Check tyres and reckon on at least £50 for replacing with a decent pair if excessively worn.

Spin the wheels and check if true but more importantly that the bearings are good and smooth.

I`d only buy a bike like this if I could view it before purchase.Having said that the other week I bought a 2010 really good Anthem with an rrp of £2k for £770 so there are savings to be had if you know what to look for.I reckon most bikes are at least half their original rrp by 2 years old but as said so much is condition dependant.

And always remember if this ones no good there are plenty more to choose from.

RevellRider

The Spiderman wrote:

Ask when the forks and shock were last serviced,because if they need doing its £100 to service each.And if left too long there could be wear on the stanchions which is terminal.Factor on £400-600 for forks and £250-300 for a shock!

Sorry to be picky here, but worn stanchions/shock body doesn't make it terminal. In fact, a shock body is £31 on top of your service charge and a new crown/steerer unit for a Fox 32 series is around £130

daisbuys

The Spiderman wrote:

I`d only buy a bike like this if I could view it before purchase.Having said that the other week I bought a 2010 really good Anthem with an rrp of £2k for £770 so there are savings to be had if you know what to look for.I reckon most bikes are at least half their original rrp by 2 years old but as said so much is condition dependant.

And always remember if this ones no good there are plenty more to choose from.

Funnily you mention the half price on RRP on a used bike!

I have been trying to work out how to value a bike fairly, by looking through the classifieds and eBay.

I work it out that a bike should be half price after a year of being purchased and then for it to lose £100 a year after that.

As an example here's my breakdown on a 2011 Stumpjumper comp:

RRP 2011 = £2000

Reduced on sale for 2012 bikes by 25% - 30% = £1400

2nd hand value in 2012 for an excellent condition bike = £1000 (half of the RRP)

2nd hand value in 2012 for a well used bike, I would minus £100 - £200 so the bike would then be worth = £800 - £900.

And to lose £100 per year, every year after that, dependant of servicing, damage etc etc

So Taking this into account with the RRP on the 9.9 being £4250, this bike should be worth £1500 as I'm assuming it's not in brand new condition, and although its had servicing it hasn't had the shocks serviced! :roll:

Anyway, thanks for the advise above, will check everything out as best to my capabilities :?

daisbuys

And please feel free to chip in with how you would value a bike?

bennett_346

daisbuys wrote:

And please feel free to chip in with how you would value a bike?

not like that

daisbuys

bennett_346 wrote:

daisbuys wrote:

And please feel free to chip in with how you would value a bike?

not like that

Like what then

njee20

Half price minus 5-10% per year is often banded about. £100 is pretty arbitrary, if it's a £300 it's worth nothing after 2 years, if it's a £5000 bike it holds its value for decades!

+1 on fork/shock not being the end of the world. You can upgrade to a Kashima CSU and get the forks serviced for £264, far from terminal, but you may need to factor it in.

Just check it over carefully, not much more to do. Lifetime warranty on Trek, but only for original owner, and they're real sticklers on that, won't bend the rules, so don't be swayed by that. If it's in good nick then £1500 is a steal frankly - but that doesn't fit daisbuy's own formula, so not sure how he's established that. I'd say £2k or so would be reasonable.

cooldad

How the hell can anyone try and offer advice on the value of a bike that you haven't even seen yourself.
Apart from being against the rules. (rule 15.)

The Spiderman

Ok the shock and fork stanchion wear may not be terminal, but if you were buying a secondhand bike it would add a lot of money that would have a significant effect on its relative value which would make you question whether youd be better off buying new.

And why is bike radar so sniffy about people asking for price advice?

Often see all sorts of formulas quoted for secondhand bike value calculations on the stw forum........ I tend to look at the price of discounted new bikes v older secondhand bikes.

When you consider some of the deals with up to 40% off that the likes of Paul's cycles do, the secondhand bike needs to be both cheap and in perfect condition.

njee20

but if you were buying a secondhand bike it would add a lot of money that would have a significant effect on its relative value which would make you question whether youd be better off buying new.

If you're buying a £500 bike perhaps, but even with a fork and shock service you're still potentially getting a good price on a full XTR equipped bike.

The Spiderman

Which brings us neatly back to the original question,how much?