Are old bikes good bikes?

Question

A friend is giving me a 2005 Trek 4300. I want to know if this is a strong/sturdy bike for rough trails. Can someone who has knowledge about bikes tell me if this good or not?

Answer 1

The only thing we can say for sure is that a bike from 2005 is not necessarily bad just because of its age. Good and advanced bicycle technology was already available back then. Unlike 1905 or 1955.

Rubber and plastics degrade over time. Take a close look at the tyres, brake pads (if rim brakes) and cable housings. Apart from that bikes don’t go bad if they are stored and maintained properly.

Answer 2

Far more important than age is the quality of the bike and how well it has been maintained. The Trek 4300 is an entry level bike with a good reputation. The fork is its limiting future for rough trails - but the bike will not break, the rider will have to do more work than would otherwise be needed to maintain control and speed.

At 15 years old, the maintenance becomes the dominant thing that determines how well it rides. Things like brakes, chains and cassettes wear out and need replacing. Some bikes this old will be as good a new bike as the riders keep them in top condition, some will have never seen a squirt of oil, let along had parts replaced. Most entry level bikes will be fixed when obviously broken, but not religiously maintained.

Often a poorly maintained bike can be bought to life with a bit of TLC (and sometimes very little money - often a chain and new shifter and brake cables does wonders).

The big ticket item that determines if a bike is still suitable for off road use is the fork. If this is seized and rusted than it will be uneconomic to repair.

Answer 3

Let's put it this way. A bike that's 10-15 years old and still in good sound mechanical operation is better quality that a lot of department store bikes that will have something break within a year. Sure there might be some worn out parts on the old bike, but those can most likely be replaced and brought back to working pefectly. A department store bike will always be terrible, because everything on there was built to the lowest possible quality standard. You would have to replace every single part on it, and even then, the frame itself would still be terrible.

As to whether or not this bike from 2005 is good. It's impossible to say. There was bad bikes then, and there are bad bikes now, although I personally think the bad ones get worse every year.

If your friend is giving you the bike, take it into a bike shop and get them to do a safety check to make sure that everything is working correctly. If your friend is selling it to you, ask to have it inspected first so you can determine how much work is needed to make it rideable, or if it's even worth buying at all.