Bentes

Hi guys!

Just picked up my girl from the shop with a few pretty neat upgrades.
The bigest one is a 2008 carbon Trek 9.7 frame. Also picked up a Shimano XT front deraileur and some sweet Shimano Deore hydraulic disc brakes.

Can't wait to try her out, pitty it's raining cats and dogs lately...

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Tidsy

OMG, do you need a brown trench coat bentes, lol
ps. my eldest would love that. how much does it cost?

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Bentes

Hi Tidsy!

Well... this bike is kind of a Frankenstein bike.

It all started on 2001 when I bought it, and as the parts wore out/broke/got lost I've been buying new ones.
Only 3 small parts remain from the original bike.

So I can't put a price tag on it. But the frame only was worth about 1000eur/1300eur when it was new (2008). (this is second hand, so it cost a LOT less)

But if you want to buy your son a bike (mountain bike or otherwise) I sugest you go to your local bike shop (or several) and ask them to help you choose the right one for him. You should consider a few things like how often will he use it, what kind of use will he give to it (competition, occasional riding around town, commuting, your son's size and weight, etc.)

Depending on that you can get a nice bike that fits the rider and his needs, because just like cameras there are bikes from 50eur to 10000eur...

If you need any sort of advice, just let me know.

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Tidsy

thanks for the info bentes,

michael is 23, hes a joiner by trade, but with the downslide on the housing market, hes out of work,
he wants to re-train as a personal trainer, unfortunately hes just shattered his ankle so is in a cast atm.

he has a decent road bike, but before the accident he was going to upgrade his own one, not sure which make of bike but i think it was in the region of £350.

but would love any expertise you have, hopefully he should be back on the bike in a few months time

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lothodon

i had me a trek mountain bike a long many years ago, LOVED IT, paid what i THOUGHT was a small fortune for it, and gave it to my sister after years of use.

on a whim, i looked into some new trek bikes today, and i shit you not, some of them cost as much as my sport bike (motorcycle) did.

i'm sorry, but $7000 for a mountain bike? really?

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Bentes

Hi Tidsy!
Sorry to hear about your son, hope he gets well (and back on the sadle) soon!

Loth, Yes you're right!
They're terribly expensive, not only Trek, but I guess every bike brand.
I have no idea how much they profit on each high-end bike they sell, but I guess it is a lot...
Nonetheless, I guess some components can be very hard to develop, because they have to be as light as possible, and still be extremely resistant and precise while under really bad conditions.
Like deraileurs for example, they have to maintain funcionality while getting beat up by rocks, drowned in mud and water, and still run for miles and miles until you get back home. Frames also need to be as light and tough as possible, breaks have to be potent but still light...
I guess it isn't easy and it doesn't come cheap, but it is still a lot to pay for something that can't carry you home unless you pedal...
I wouldn't give that kind of money for a bike unless I was a professional rider, or for a camera unless I was a pro photographer, so what I do is keep an eye on the ad section of the forums and wait for a good deal. That's how I bought my camera, all my lenses and this frame. Still expensive, but doesn't hurt as much.

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