Discussion
Please be gentle I don't venture to these parts often, but I've agreed to buy the bike in the title.
Have been told by the seller it's a 2007 model but other than looking and thinking "ooh that's fancy for not much money" I don't really know what I'm looking at.
Can anyone shed any light on a) what I'm buying b) anything in particular to look out for on them and c) whether £350 is a good deal for it. I mean it seems it. Does it seem it?
And of course a thread wouldn't be a decent thread without a couple of pictures.
All help gratefully received, and all flaming for being a moron with no idea about bicycles anymore will be accepted.
Have been told by the seller it's a 2007 model but other than looking and thinking "ooh that's fancy for not much money" I don't really know what I'm looking at.
Can anyone shed any light on a) what I'm buying b) anything in particular to look out for on them and c) whether £350 is a good deal for it. I mean it seems it. Does it seem it?
And of course a thread wouldn't be a decent thread without a couple of pictures.
All help gratefully received, and all flaming for being a moron with no idea about bicycles anymore will be accepted.
Im torn between saying 1) thats quite a lot of money for a 9 year old bike and 2) if its the top-of-the-range carbon-framed XTR-equipped model then it was a st-hot bike in its day, so should be fine for you to bomb around on now if you are new to mountain biking (which it sounds like, right?)
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The problem is, if hes maintained it religiously, all good. But if the drivetrain and forks are fubar, you'll spend that money again getting it back to its former glory.
Also, things have moved on a lot in recent years, in terms of geometry, wheel size, fork technology, gearing...
Agreed to buy - from a mate or from ebay?
You could have a look here to identify exactly which bike it is:
http://archive.trekbikes.com/uk/en/2007
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The problem is, if hes maintained it religiously, all good. But if the drivetrain and forks are fubar, you'll spend that money again getting it back to its former glory.
Also, things have moved on a lot in recent years, in terms of geometry, wheel size, fork technology, gearing...
Agreed to buy - from a mate or from ebay?
You could have a look here to identify exactly which bike it is:
http://archive.trekbikes.com/uk/en/2007
Agree with the above.
Things have moved on geometry and component wise a hell of a lot since 2007.
Wheel size isn't really an issue - I'd still take a well spec'd 26" over a low end 27.5"
If you're into retro bikes and it's been well maintained then doesn't look too bad.
Also depends on what you're going to be using it for.
Things have moved on geometry and component wise a hell of a lot since 2007.
Wheel size isn't really an issue - I'd still take a well spec'd 26" over a low end 27.5"
If you're into retro bikes and it's been well maintained then doesn't look too bad.
Also depends on what you're going to be using it for.
Check the condition of all the suspension bearings, Trek aren't that great at stocking spares for older models. Fine if someone offers an aftermarket kit, but not so good if they specced bespoke sizes.
One of my mates snapped a lower swingarm on a 2010 Fuel EX8, Trek really struggled to find one and he ended up with one in a different colour...
One of my mates snapped a lower swingarm on a 2010 Fuel EX8, Trek really struggled to find one and he ended up with one in a different colour...
AlmostUseful said:
I'd be surprised if that's any newer than '04. Shock detailing looks way older than 2097.
Oooh, you're right - it does indeed look like a 2004:http://archive.trekbikes.com/uk/en/2004/trek/fuel9...
OP - if its not too late, I think you should put the "tree-fiddy" towards a newer bike...
daddy cool said:
Oooh, you're right - it does indeed look like a 2004:
http://archive.trekbikes.com/uk/en/2004/trek/fuel9...
OP - if its not too late, I think you should put the "tree-fiddy" towards a newer bike...
EDIT: Though the OPs bike has discs, and the 2004 bike in the link doesn't... god knows then!http://archive.trekbikes.com/uk/en/2004/trek/fuel9...
OP - if its not too late, I think you should put the "tree-fiddy" towards a newer bike...
Thanks for all the info folks.
From the link it does indeed look like an 03-04 bike... hmm.
I've agreed to buy it from a work colleague but the only thing that made me think it was worth it is that the CEO (huge cycling nut) was willing to snap his hand off for £350 but then offered it to me when I said I didn't have a bike and wanted one, and he was only buying it to save wrecking his nice one.
It apparently needs forks and shock servicing (re-gassing??) but a guy here used to service suspension so I have no problems with that.
Still unsure whether to go for it or not!
From the link it does indeed look like an 03-04 bike... hmm.
I've agreed to buy it from a work colleague but the only thing that made me think it was worth it is that the CEO (huge cycling nut) was willing to snap his hand off for £350 but then offered it to me when I said I didn't have a bike and wanted one, and he was only buying it to save wrecking his nice one.
It apparently needs forks and shock servicing (re-gassing??) but a guy here used to service suspension so I have no problems with that.
Still unsure whether to go for it or not!
Something on them creaks like a bd too.
We used to get them back on warranty all the time when I worked for a trek dealer and could never pin it down to one location, think we decided it was undue flex in the back end wearing pivot axles unevenly but I can't properly recall as it was quite some time ago.
We used to get them back on warranty all the time when I worked for a trek dealer and could never pin it down to one location, think we decided it was undue flex in the back end wearing pivot axles unevenly but I can't properly recall as it was quite some time ago.
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