Just hoping to get opinions from some folks here.
I rode for a bit about a decade ago and purchased a 2009 pivot mach 4, which is a 100mm dual suspension xc bike with 26" wheels.
Had a few more children, lost the freedom to ride for a while, then moved close to trails 2 years ago and started riding again. At that point I realized (got made fun of a bit actually) that now mountain bikes have bigger wheels, dropper posts, and don’t have triple chainrings or front mechs!
So I made the (bad) decision to upgrade the bike. I bought new rear mech (xtr 11 speed), xtr 11 speed shifter, cassette, oval 34t front chainring, ditched the front mech, added a dropper post, converted the wheels/tires to tubeless, replaced the rear shock which was trashed, etc.
Now the bike is good, but its heavier and aluminum, old geometry, and has 26" tires.
I am still very fast on it and it handles some pretty rough terrain and downs well enough that I don’t usually care that much that it has some negative features. But recently the rear disc brake stopped working (the reservoir cover is busted so it keeps letting air in) and its challenging to get that part because its so old and it has me thinking about moving on from the bike instead of putting more money into new brakes. I’ve done 3 rides with no rear brake and its super sketchy on technical downs and ruins the fun on twisty trails!!!
TLDR: Pro’s closet doesn’t take bikes with 26" wheels and its difficult to know the market value of my bike. Should I part it out? List it on ebay with low starting price and just see what happens? Fix it and keep riding it until the bike market is more normalish?
Its hard to know the value of the frame (aluminum pivot mach 4 2009 w/fox rlc 100mm fork), the wheels are hope hubs with dt swiss xr4.2 rims.
Appreciate any advice as to whether or not to move on and how best to get this bike sold if that’s the thing to do.
I don’t think it is worth much of anything. I have a 9-year old Cube fully and I wouldn’t want to sell it to anyone. I’d either repurpose it, part it out or give it to a friend.
Sometimes it gets to a point where it’s not worth spending money on an older bike anymore IMO. It’s full sus so how long are spares available for should something break. If it was me and I’m in a similar position with one of my bikes, I would sell it on eBay and buy something more modern.
Find a friend, kid in NICA or some other charitable way to sell cheap, or give away, would be my vote (and is what I did with my 2010 stumpy via cheap sale to HS kid).
Having now envisioned handing this bike to a teenager I am feeling worried and responsible for things like my gorilla tape tubeless conversion!
Ugh I guess the correct thing to do is move on from this bike (in whatever way feels good, safe, and might help someone enjoy a bike ride).
Is there a place in your town/city that takes bike donations? We have one (Good Karma Bikes) that will take donations and they will either sell it cheap or give it to someone in need.
Point taken, it has limited resale value, but it’s worth whatever the cost of a new bike ($3-4k) minus the added value of riding that new bike over the old one. If you like riding it you can buy a new rear brake for about $120.
If that were me, I’d start looking for a frame/fork deal since you’ve got a 1x drivetrain, hubs, bars and dropper.
You’ll need wheels but if you’ve got decent hubs you can often change them to bolt thru. This could be an incremental build to spread the cost. In fact I want a marathon/fast trail 29er and this is my plan.
Think of it from a pragmatic perspective: do you want to fret over $100 and giving someone a bad deal in the process? Your bike is incompatible with all of the new standards (through axles, 27.5” and 29” wheels, forks, etc.). I suspect if the rear brake isn’t working (which IMHO makes it unusable as a mountain bike), then some other parts might need replacing, too. Once you add those up, I’m quite sure you are well past the resale value of the bike. Even just subtracting the cost of a new brake and a new rotor, you’ll end up in the negative.
Unless you know someone in need of a bike and who knows how to fix it, just give it away for free and be honest about the flaws. You’ll sleep much better. Perhaps you’ll find someone who has a stash of old parts at home and can fix it up. Or perhaps your bike will add to their parts stash. Either way, I think the net worth is zero.
This has been on my mind for a bit as I own an ‘05 Giant AC. Nearly everything is original (even tires…) and I have no desire to put any money into it.
I could probably get a couple hundred for it, but I’m leaning closer to donating it to the local collective. I figure it would be a good project bike.
It’s probably worth $800 max, but we’re in a sellers market. You might consider using Pink Bike classifieds as it’s free to list, I’ve had most of my selling success there. There are a few active Facebook bike market places where I live, look into that as shipping may not be worth it. After eBay fees, you’d be better donating it. And if you want my personal opinion, unless you’re strapped, that’s probably the best option. That’d make a fine first MTB for someone.
I’d price some of the key components on ebay to see if stripping it would be worth it at all.
Putting up an ad up on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace is free and easy to try. See if there is any interest.
Honestly, it looks like a fine bike that just needs a new brake. But it seems like the brake is a flimsy excuse for buying a new bike.
But if you want a new bike, just buy one. You’ll get a buyer at some price point on Facebook or Craigslist. Whatever that price is, is the market price.
I’d fix the brake. Then you can keep using it until a bike you really want comes along at a good price. And if you do sell it or give it away, at least you can do so as a whole functioning bike, and not with the brake broken. (You could always stick tubes in again to sell, if you’re worried about the tubeless conversion.)
The two ideas of a) pricing up the components to see what you could get and b) having a think of which of the components would be salvagable for a new build with a new frame seem good to me too.
In a way, the decision also comes down to how sentimental you are about the bike, and also how much cash you have for a new one. You’re unlikely to sell it for enough to make a significant dent in the budget for a new one.
Seems like all of the advice here is really good, thanks. I think the brake may be a flimsy excuse for a new bike purchase! I’m finding myself not so into the idea of shipping 10 different things to different buyers on ebay, my craigslist experience has been pretty bad, and I’m not on Facebook. So I’m feeling like I either need to find a frame and fork that works for swapping some stuff over or a new complete bike that I’m into and then donate or list whole bike on ebay for whatever someone wants it for.
For the time being I guess I need to spend the money on a new rear brake, at least I’ll be able to hop on the trails when I want until the next bike comes to be.
Can anyone tell me what type of brake mount this is and point me in the direction of a cheap rear brake replacement? My priority for a replacement would be arrival time and low cost. Doesn’t have to be fancy, I’ve literally done my last 3 rides with no rear brake! Thanks.
So you want a brake with that mount, or you could consider and IS to Post Mount adapter, and associated brake. I don’t have time to search for a brake now, but that info is a start at least.
