Newbie looking to buy a full sus

unyonion

Hi all,

I have recently moved to Oz from the (rainy at the minute UK) and I am interested in getting a full sus bike, I have done trails etc. back in UK over the years but not very often so I've always hired a bike for the day as the expense @ 3 times a year was a bit over the top.

But nice weather etc. I am keen to start off in OZ, I cannot put much into the bike at the minute so I am trawling the classifieds for older full sus to get me started, Scott genius 50MC, TREK Fuel EX9 etc. are a couple I have found under $800 I appreciate they are like 7 years old but I figured getting a good manufacturer (even if old) and then other parts can always be upgraded if need be, I'm pretty handy so complete overhauls are no problem either

I have come across this Diamond Back Mission, but I cannot for the life of me find one that looks the same online or the diamondback website back catalogues, I am assuming that it is either:
1. a pretty well done fake with the amount of decals added correctly? OR
2. Been upgrdaded all over by previous owner OR
3. not actually a mission, its a different model



I have contacted the seller but its from a 'cash converters' style shop so the guy is unaware of any details.
I asked the guy to take a look - it has IOX brake calipers, Coii K plus rear coil (think this is correct), sternlo brake levers.
The front forks are not Fox (standard on missions), the 'knucklebox' doesn't look like any I could find? but it has diamondback logos where they should be, the quick release levers, handlebar stem are diamond back

Any help please guys, as I am putting off going to take a look as I am not that knowledgable and to me it looks the business? thanks a lot, Mark

Long_Time_Lurker

I'm not sure - something doesn't feel right.
I can't find anything that looks quite like it going back through the Mission range (as far back as 2001).
I'm not saying that it is a fake, just that it might be really old.
As you say the front fork isn't Fox - any idea what is on there? (It doesn't look like an upgrade).

I would love to know the history of that bike - it's got a padded seat, stuck too low and reflectors. The Mission was marketed as an aggressive All Mountain Bike - that looks like it has been used to ride to the shops and back.

Maybe someone else can shed more light, but I wouldn't buy it.

(And I don't trust Cash Convertor shops - they know nothing about bikes. They sell in good faith, but they don't know what they are selling - they will have looked up Diamond Back Mission on the internet and based their price on the first thing that they see. Our local shop always seems to be selling bottom of the range, 2 year old old Specialized bikes for £100 off the RRP.)

The Rookie

Looks like a BSO to me, the fork looks like the arch is welded on making it a cheap and nasty steel lower, discs are cheap cable, doubt the rear 'shock' has any damping and the weird spacing of the rocker suggests it's designed to fail quickly as it's all on long leverages (sideways - it looks like the bolt through the frame at the downtube is already bent! - probably due to the near straight line caused buy the seatsstay through the rocker, so the rocker isn't working properly) - also it's a swingarm with poor main pivot location (compared to any that work).

I'd avoid....like it had Ebola.

unyonion

Thanks for the replies guys, I have had a zipped up my HAZMAT unit and distanced myself from the 'Ebola-bike' symptoms. It looked a bit dodgy to me as I was unable to find any details that actually matched a 'diamondback'.

Onto the next then...

unyonion

Few questions..

How much is it worth for me to bid upto?
Mongoose Teocali Comp 2010, great condition, retailed at $1800ish. About 50% so $900bucks?

Has anyone had any experience with fusion bikes?
I have looked into them but not found any reviews regarding the company or their bikes, very cheap so I'm wary...

http://fusionbikes.myshopify.com/collec ... aulic-disc

They use fairly good components; Kenda tyres, Diore Derailleurs, Tektro Drako hydraulic brakes, Shimano Acera SL-M390 shifters and the bike only weighs 15kg... 'Retailing' for $600 seems way too cheap but the brand is Aussie so is it a small brand or just a bad cheapy BigW/target style bike?

The Rookie

That frame looks like a Merida made one.

EDIT: frame looks very like the Carrera Zelos which is Merida made, no bad thing.

Just about acceptable fork, no details on the rear shock, other components OK, not sure why a full sus needs a comfortable saddle unless the rear suspension is shoot.....brakes and drivetrain are OK though.

You'd need to ride one really, but at that price is seems worth a punt even if you end up replacing the forks and shock very quickly for something better. 15.5kg is pretty lardy though!

unyonion

Bugger lost the auction by $20! the Mongoose went for $580, guy dived in at the end, I was at work so couldn't bid. Was looking forward to picking it up this weekend

Thanks for reply Rookie, If it is heavy then I guess even replacing the forks for upgrade won't make much difference to overall weight as the frame (although better sus) will make up the large majority of this. As it is pretty much my budget at the minute then new components will be a way down the road. If it is a poop bike and bottom out with poor sus then it's not going to be great to start out on I guess.

The Rookie

That style full sus isn't that light, but frame weight is a small part of overall weight, the Carrera Banshee frame with an air shock is 2.8Kg, that looks similar to the lighter weight Zelos frame so probably about 2.4-2.5Kg with air shock (a saving of about 300-400g over a cheap sprung one) and better forks will drop you nearly a kilo bringing it more into line with other low-mid range FS.

The Rookie

If you read the thread you'll know that is long gone as an item of discussion!

unyonion

Ok so the fusion isn't going to win any awards then.

Found a Specialized FSR XC 2010, good condition etc. but guys wants $850ono (£470), does this sound about right as I could possibly stretch my budget to $800 if the bikes worth it (some reviews have slated it back in 2010 though). thanks /rookie

unyonion

Got myself a 2010 Cannondale RZ one twenty 4 off Gumtree (image below is off the net but exactly the same model/colour)
https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/vsim ... 992075.jpg
Got some road tyres on it at the mo as thats mainly what I will be doing until I source a bike rack to get down to the hills south Perth :P Anyone got any recommendations on locations?

Happy days