Buying an older bike advice.

SlipperTip

Hi all,

I've got the opportunity to buy a used 2002 Gary Fisher Paragon hard tail through a friend of a friend and I'd be really grateful if you could advise me if it's still a good buy or not given its age and price.

I'm a relative newbie to mountain biking in terms of knowing what I'm talking about though I do ride every day on an old muddy Fox from my youth so am in need of an upgrade.

It's the exact model as per the following links:

http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...agon&Type=bike

http://www.bicyclebluebook.com/searc....aspx?id=37448

It also has the following upgrades according to this mutual friend who emailed me the spec:
" Shimano lx & xtr derailiers
Bontrager racelite cranks & chainwheels
Bontrager racelite wheels & Tyres
Bongrager racelite stem (upgrade)
Manitou mars elite air/oil forks (Inc. Maintenance pump)
Avid single digit 5 brakes
Easton monkeylite xc carbon bars (upgrade)
Use alien carbon seat post (upgrade)
Hope headset ( upgrade)"

Although I haven't seen the bike in person I've been sent a couple of pictures and my own friend who has seen it says it's in immaculate condition.

The seller friend of a friend is asking for £200 though I'm told he will most likely let it go for £150.

I don't mind buying an older bike and from my own research I can see that it was the top gary fisher model at the time but what I would like advising on is if an older bike is still worth buying or could I get a newer bike with similar quality or more advanced components for the same amount of money (still used and around £250 and under)?

Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks, Jon.

rickbst170

Depends on timeframe. If you wait about and hunt eBay, I reckon you could do better. Best option I found was to search new listings which were auctions, and message seller with a buy it now offer.

If you want a bike now, I suspect it'll be a pretty good starting point. Always had a soft spot for Gary fishers.

SlipperTip

Thanks Rick,

Having spoken again to the friend in question it seems like £180 is likely to be the lowest he will go, so my dilemma is that could I be putting that £180 towards something better which I would be willing to do but am not sure at which point the cost would match the Gary Fisher.

I have been looking at something like the Voodoo Hoodoo which I know gets well reviewed and I could pick it up for around £250 used or £500 new. Would the Gary Fisher still have better components at £180 than the £250-500 I could get with the Voodoo?

Thanks all.

Boromedic

Hi there,

I'd say that's a pretty good price for that bike with them upgrades and it was a great bike back in the day. As long as the frame is still in good condition, not bent or damaged it will be as capable as any of the budget bikes out there now. The only thing you may have to do eventually is change or upgrade the forks (I don't know much about the Manitou Mars Elite) but you may not even have to do that if they've been looked after and serviced properly.

At the end of the day £180 is still cheaper than a second hand Voodoo which are good bikes but the Fisher is arguably more vfm despite being older. I used to have an Orange P7 1994 till I sold it last year, which was fully rigid, but was just as capable and user friendly as my friends new Cube Attention, I could ride all the same terrain as him no problem and as mine was lighter I often left him on climbs! I only sold it as I went to work abroad and couldn't bear to leave it neglected in a friend shed :-(

You pays your money and takes your choice but the Gary Fisher will still serve you well for a very long time and it's cheap, I know what I'd go for!

Good luck with whichever decision you make, let us know what you decide :-)

Boromedic

Apparently you have to keep up with the maintenance on the Manitous but as long as you do then they should be fine :-)

The Rookie

The Italian Manitous are very robust, we have two 2006 sets in the family, both in very good working order.