Thread: Need Advice...

Been looking for a lightweight xc racer and found this, rode it, fits well. Seller is asking $3900. Asking the collective for their thoughts. Does this seem like a good deal, etc. Frame is brand new, all other parts are as follows:

This bike is only 9 months old. This bike is mechanic maintained and has been raced for less than a season.

This bike has an integrated seat mast, the seat mast is cut to 76 cm from the middle of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat and can be adjusted to 79 cm.

Scott Spark RC Full Carbon Fiber Frame - Size large
No tubes ZTR race wheels (1200 gram race wheels)
American Classic hubs
Sworks Sauserwind tires
Magura Durin MD100SL fork
Magura Marta SL brakes (w/Ti hardware)
SRAM XO rear derailleur
SRAM XO shifters
Shimano XTR Front derailleur
FSA Kforce Light crankset and Bottom Bracket w/ceramic bearings
Ritchey WCS stem
SLR saddle
*pedals not included



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I hope you're <160 and plan to race that at a pretty high level. Otherwise it's a ton of money for a bike (and particularly wheelset) that'll be expensive to upkeep and not trail-worthy for the long run.

Nice bike for racing XC.

It is used, been raced. Price is a little steep, and I think you can do better.

My $0.02.

keep $1000 more for upkeep. nothing wrong with that ride, it is VERY nice, but will take some upkeep, and to replace broken/worn parts with the same will NOT be cheap.

light, cheap, or durable. Pick 2, get 1.

Besides the hubs and *maybe* the rims what are you all thinking will need to be rebuilt/replaced so much?

That frame should hold fine. The drivetrain is plenty durable. The fork is questionable (I have no experience with it)

So long as you are riding that bike like it was designed (XC race/trail) I don't know what you are going to break all the time...

Now...3900 is a shit ton for that bike. I'd spend no more than 2500 on it.

i agree with jeffreyjim. top notch part spec, but $3900 for a used race bike seems way high. You could probably find a left over new bike with a similar spec for the same price.

thanks everyone, i appreciate your responses. i know my vision can get clouded when looking at "sexy" bikes like this and it is nice to be brought back down to earth by some logical reasoning. I am not certain what it would cost to build this bike, but I would assume it is somewhere in the realm of 8K, so 50% off seemed reasonable to me, but I hadnt put a lot of thought into the fact that the wheel set might not be overly durable. either way i would only be using the bike for xc riding/racing. thanks for the help, i think i will hold off. it is hard to rationalize spending a good chunk of my yearly income on a bike no matter what.

Considering you could spend $700 more and get retail on a new, full carbon, duel suspension, full xt trek fuel I would personally probably look into other options.

Look at a carbon (or even non carbon) Anthem or something.

XC bikes that have been raced...especially the crazy light ones get beat. Go new and maybe get something that is a little heavier than this (like 1 pound)

Otherwise, if buying used you should be able to get a bike of similar caliber for under 2500-2700.

Just my opinion though

wheels will get out of true, hubs will wear out (re-lace the wheel, re-biuld the hubs)

brake pads, chains, grips will wear out and need replacing

big issue will be if you break something, XTR parts are not cheap.

nice ride, fair price

I get the wear and tear a drive train, grips, tires, etc. takes, that is fair, I am fully aware of those issues and the need for replacement of wear and tear parts. I guess my fear is the wheels. I strictly ride long distance xc so something efficient and light is what I am looking for. I dont do the long travel bike thing, I am actually trying to sell my longer travel older freeride bike, which was fun for a while, but I just dont do it anymore. I guess my big concern is the wheelset. I am not exceedingly familiar with the stans no tubes ztr race wheels and I wonder how much of a beating they can actually take. As I said, i wont be hucking anything, just riding/racing my standard xc trails. If anyone has any info on the ztr race wheels i would appreciate it. how frequently am i going to have to rebuild these wheels/hubs.

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Half off retail isn't that great a deal.
High end, light weight, race bikes are a hole in the trail you throw money into.
With no hope of return.

By all means buy used but you can find better deals than this.
I sold my 22lb fs race rocket for under 1/4 the build price and I was thrilled to get that much.

Originally Posted by mntlion

light, cheap, or durable. Pick 2

I went on a ride with Keith Bontrager at Pedrosfest years ago.
Very cool guy and that line is a true classic.

Originally Posted by rconstan

I get the wear and tear a drive train, grips, tires, etc. takes, that is fair, I am fully aware of those issues and the need for replacement of wear and tear parts. I guess my fear is the wheels. I strictly ride long distance xc so something efficient and light is what I am looking for. I dont do the long travel bike thing, I am actually trying to sell my longer travel older freeride bike, which was fun for a while, but I just dont do it anymore. I guess my big concern is the wheelset. I am not exceedingly familiar with the stans no tubes ztr race wheels and I wonder how much of a beating they can actually take. As I said, i wont be hucking anything, just riding/racing my standard xc trails. If anyone has any info on the ztr race wheels i would appreciate it. how frequently am i going to have to rebuild these wheels/hubs.

Stans rims are awesome. I just build up a wheelset for my wife using Stan's ZTR Olympic rims and DT front/Hadley rear hubs.
I was very impressed with the rim design and people who have used them for long term have raved about the strength.
I'm not sure what hubs he uses with his wheelsets, though.

Don't be afraid of light wheels, if they're built well with good components they should hold up fine.
I used to do 24 hr races at 190 lbs on the origional Bontrager Racelites; 24 spoke front/28 spoke rear. Though super light, they held up tremendously to severe abuse because they used good hubs and rims (King hubs/Bonty Mustang rims) and were well built (by me ).

If you're still nervous about using them for daily riding, buy another heavier "training" wheelset. Plenty of options on ebay for reasonably cheap.

Also, buy a good truing stand and learn to use it.
It's not that difficult.

Originally Posted by Roxtar

Half off retail isn't that great a deal.
High end, light weight, race bikes are a hole in the trail you throw money into.
With no hope of return.

By all means buy used but you can find better deals than this.
I sold my 22lb fs race rocket for under 1/4 the build price and I was thrilled to get that much.

Also, shop around to bike shops around the country. A lot of shops are suffering hard and selling shit at half of retail is not unheard of this time of year - especially on a big ticket bike like that sitting on a shelf all winter taking up inventory cash. For a deal this big they may swap parts and will certainly ship to you. Oregon has no sales tax and a bunch of good bike shops.

Originally Posted by Platinum Pete

Also, shop around to bike shops around the country. A lot of shops are suffering hard and selling shit at half of retail is not unheard of this time of year - especially on a big ticket bike like that sitting on a shelf all winter taking up inventory cash. For a deal this big they may swap parts and will certainly ship to you. Oregon has no sales tax and a bunch of good bike shops.

I tried one place in Washington and they said they wouldnt ship as they had some restrictions Scott places on them. It makes sense to me as everyone would be sizing their bikes locally and then ordering them from places like Oregon (tax free), which would hurt numerous other dealers.