Help to value a bike

Claude Burgundy

Hi all,

I recently got a bike through a mate and was told i got a great deal etc but i need to get a good idea of the value for home insurance reasons.

Here's what i know

Giant trance carbon frame 2014
Shimano group set
Fox 36 forks and shock
Rear fox float
DT Swiss hubs
Stanz rims
Renthal carbon bars
Renthal stem
Brand X dropper seat post

I know little about mountain bikes so any help would be great

maddness

Used mountain bikes are worth a lot less than you might think as if they are used as intended they can get a lot of abuse. A well maintained one will be great but not all are.
Another thing is wheel size, if it’s 26 inch wheels it will be worth a lot less as everyone wants 27.5 or 29ers now.
Have a look on donedeal and see what a similar bike is going for.

skallywag

An aside, but do you know what type of riding was typically done on this bike? If the style involved a lot of coming off the bike i.e. the frame getting quite a lot of abuse, then I would be wary of a Carbon frame.

Claude Burgundy

Its a 27"

I understand all the above and thanks

prunudo

What do you think its worth? If I was selling a 5 year old bike even with good components i would be glad to get €800, a grand would be nice but could be a push.

saccades

skallywag wrote: »

An aside, but do you know what type of riding was typically done on this bike? If the style involved a lot of coming off the bike i.e. the frame getting quite a lot of abuse, then I would be wary of a Carbon frame.

I wouldn't, carbon is easily repairable unlike aluminium, even easier than steel for some repairs. I've carbon Mtb forks from 96 still perfectly usable.

OP - is it value to replace or value of?

The value of is probably max a grand depending on condition.

Wanderer78

saccades wrote:

I wouldn't, carbon is easily repairable unlike aluminium, even easier than steel for some repairs. I've carbon Mtb forks from 96 still perfectly usable.

I'd say carbon is far more fragile than aluminium, and I've met many experienced folks who said the same, I've even had shop owners agree with me. I'd be far more reluctant to climb onto a damaged carbon than a damaged aluminium.

skallywag

Wanderer78 wrote: »

I'd say carbon is far more fragile than aluminium, and I've met many experienced folks who said the same, I've even had shop owners agree with me. I'd be far more reluctant to climb onto a damaged carbon than a damaged aluminium.

It's definitely the case.

It can be common to have fractures in a carbon frame after a bad fall, which are very often not visible to the eye. The bike needs to be x-rayed to find them. They can then possibly be repaired afterwards. If not repaired then the frame can fail catastrophically at that point some time in the future.

Wanderer78

skallywag wrote:

It can be common to have fractures in a carbon frame after a bad fall, which are very often not visible to the eye. The bike needs to be x-rayed to find them. They can then possibly be repaired afterwards. If not repaired then the frame can fail catastrophically at that point some time in the future.

The lighter frame would be great but....

skallywag

I've a carbon MTB myself, it's great. I don't do any real aggressive downhill riding though, and if I was coming off it a lot onto rocks etc. I would definitely worry about cracks.

It's not just the lightness, it's more the stiffness, as it's much more responsive when you put the pedal down.

Claude Burgundy

skallywag wrote: »

I've a carbon MTB myself, it's great. I don't do any real aggressive downhill riding though, and if I was coming off it a lot onto rocks etc. I would definitely worry about cracks.

It's not just the lightness, it's more the stiffness, as it's much more responsive when you put the pedal down.

I would agree about the stiffness as i have a carbon road bike and have owned a carbon TT as well.

saccades

skallywag wrote: »

It's definitely the case.

It can be common to have fractures in a carbon frame after a bad fall, which are very often not visible to the eye. The bike needs to be x-rayed to find them. They can then possibly be repaired afterwards. If not repaired then the frame can fail catastrophically at that point some time in the future.

The impacts that damage carbon would also damage aluminium. I wouldn't trust an aluminium repair as the welding skill on thin aluminium is stupidly high and knackers the heat treatment making it dangerous.

On carbon you cut out the damage and replace with fresh resin and weave. I've done it in the past with Kevlar kayaks and I'm not an expert. My carbon Mtb frame was drilled in the down tube and been raced at 24 hour events.

I've talked to bike shop owners that don't know what an Isis bottom bracket is, using them as an expert on carbon repairs when they want to sell you a replacement frame isn't probably the best example.

Wanderer78

saccades wrote:

I've talked to bike shop owners that don't know what an Isis bottom bracket is, using them as an expert on carbon repairs when they want to sell you a replacement frame isn't probably the best example.

Interesting to hear about carbon repairs, but I'm still in the cautious camp, I actually know shop owners fairly well, and they're still cautious themselves over carbon frames, they do sell them though, but predominantly aluminium frames, but I do realise the market is moving more towards carbon, my next one could very well be one.

Peter T

I guess you have to look at it with the point of view that our industries in ireland haven't a huge amount of experience with carbon or carbon repairs so people would be a bit hesitant. Compare that to the uk which have hubs with huge experience thanks to auto and motorsport manufacturing and development work. I cant remember exactly but i think gcn did a special on carbon frame repairs

skallywag

saccades wrote: »

I've talked to bike shop owners that don't know what an Isis bottom bracket is, using them as an expert on carbon repairs when they want to sell you a replacement frame isn't probably the best example.

I guess it comes down to the competence on the person or facility you engage with. If the shop has very little experience with carbon frame analysis / repair then I would keep well away from them, and for sure they are very likely going to go down the route of trying to flog you a new frame. I'd also be relying on word of mouth from other customers I know rather than their own advertising.

For reference though my own experiences are not in Ireland itself but in alpine region.

saccades

A quick 30 second Google will give you three firms in Ireland that specialise in carbon frame repairs.

One even lists example prices.

Carbon has been used in products for years and loads of those products are used in harsh environments and are expensive so economically it makes sense to repair.

Peter T

I would question how are they curing and repairing them. The google search shows companies alright that have experience in composites, mainly marine and surf boards that are branching into carbon repair, they could be doing the right thing but there is a few things to consider. You can wet lay carbon, vacuum bag it into a mold or dry carbon that needs to be put into an oven to cure. Wet lay carbon does not have the same structural properties as the others due to varying epoxy thickness and you can get tiny air pockets in the weave and resin. Seeing as this is a similar method to surfboard and marnine component manufacture and repairs I'd assume this is what they are doing with maybe the addition of using uv light to cure the resin. So at the end of the day you still end up with a weak point in the frame. I'd do it with a road bike but if i was doing serious off road stuff i think id hang it on the wall and replace.

skallywag

Peter T wrote: »

I'd do it with a road bike but if i was doing serious off road stuff i think id hang it on the wall and replace.

I agree with this, and it aligns with what my local shop told me (this is a shop selling bikes in an Alpine region where both road biking and MTB are very popular).

His point was they he would definitely recommend carbon MTBs if the style of riding was mainly mountainous forest paths etc, where one is not going to come off the bike too much. For aggressive downhill riding though he would not recommend carbon, his point being that one can quite easily fracture a carbon frame after a bang on a rock etc., where the fracture will not be visible, or just barely visible to the eye. If you can see the damage then it's clear that it must be fixed, but when you cannot see the damage it's dangerous.

covey123

skallywag wrote: »

his point being that one can quite easily fracture a carbon frame after a bang on a rock etc.

No denying some of the benefits of carbon but always wondered on this,is it relatively easily pierced when compared to aluminium?

skallywag

covey123 wrote: »

No denying some of the benefits of carbon but always wondered on this,is it relatively easily pierced when compared to aluminium?

Well, if I understood the chap correctly, then his point was that carbon can be seriously damaged sometimes in such a way that you cannot see the damage on the frame itself, whereas with Aluminium the damage would be more visible, and hence obvious that you should not ride the bike again until it's fixed. That was my take a least.

saccades

Peter T wrote: »

I would question how are they curing and repairing them. The google search shows companies alright that have experience in composites, mainly marine and surf boards that are branching into carbon repair, they could be doing the right thing but there is a few things to consider. You can wet lay carbon, vacuum bag it into a mold or dry carbon that needs to be put into an oven to cure. Wet lay carbon does not have the same structural properties as the others due to varying epoxy thickness and you can get tiny air pockets in the weave and resin. Seeing as this is a similar method to surfboard and marnine component manufacture and repairs I'd assume this is what they are doing with maybe the addition of using uv light to cure the resin. So at the end of the day you still end up with a weak point in the frame. I'd do it with a road bike but if i was doing serious off road stuff i think id hang it on the wall and replace.

Then we'll have to agree to disagree.

iwillhtfu

Lads set up your own thread will ye.

OP what price did you pay for the bike? I'd be reluctant to spend anymore than €1k on a second hand mtb but then in saying that if it has fox 36's they'd be worth €500-€700 alone depending on the shock It could be €100-300 the carbon bars will probably be worth €50-100 What brakes/groupset are on it?

Basically what I'm saying is bikes are typically more valuable parted out but if you're happy with the price you paid then it's of no consequence. For insurance reasons I'd pick a figure to replace with a new bike and there's your answer but off the top of my head a bike with fox 36's will be high end so you'd probably be looking at €4k minimum

booooonzo

Claude Burgundy wrote: »

Hi all,

I recently got a bike through a mate and was told i got a great deal etc but i need to get a good idea of the value for home insurance reasons.

Here's what i know

Giant trance carbon frame 2014
Shimano group set
Fox 36 forks and shock
Rear fox float
DT Swiss hubs
Stanz rims
Renthal carbon bars
Renthal stem
Brand X dropper seat post

I know little about mountain bikes so any help would be great

1500

sorry just seen it's for insurance. yeah about 4k to replace with new