All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Also, I usually don’t sweat the miles a demo has seen. Shops are great to tack on charges for any little nick, scratch, ding, etc so most people renting demos aren’t trying to ride it like its stolen. And in one season how many miles can one see? You’ll be fine these things are built pretty tough.

 

New gravel bike. I’m a roadie at heart but I love this thing.

Stock wheel set sucked so I just recently added some Hope 20Five’s with Pro 4 hubs and a set of Specialized Sawtooths in 42c

Yes; gravel is the bomb.

 

I used an oak 1x6 and some kuat dirtbags... can fit 1 29er and 2 roadies in the bed.

 

I appreciate your input on this.
I had the same feelings. The Demo had a couple minor scuffs, but wasn’t ridden hard. The only real scuff is where SC logo is on the down tube. Which is is only cosmetic.
Essentially their R build on the Bronson was about a $5,100 bike, that they would let go for $4,100. Not too shabby of a price break.

 

Thanks @abacall and also @medicfung. This is one of my biggest problems riding ... I feel like I bail on some short uphill obstacles because of slow ability to get over a bump where I have to index for clearance, than mash. My tires are fine (DHF front and Aggressor, which FYI is the best rear tire I’ve used) and my rims are OK for stiffness (at my speeds) if not weight. The problem is they are very narrow (WTB i19) and too-wide tires don’t work well on them, vague and non-linear steering. But there’s not much selection of tires that work well on 19mm rims nowadays. So I figure if I can find a used, non-Boost wheelset with wider rims AND good hubs, I’ll feel a big improvement.

As for suspension, my OEM stuff is nothing special, rebuilt a few times, but honestly, I’m really slow downhill, keep both tires on the ground so it’s adequate for me. I’m probably 2-3x most of you guys’ age ... that’s my excuse, though even my fellow senior citizen buddies are faster than me and I’m OK with that. It’s the power and control getting over and through those uphill roots and rocks and switchbacks that I want help with.

 

Thought I would throw this up here, should anyone know of someone looking in the SE. Selling a mint Kona Hei Hei Trail.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/georgia-classifieds.283267/page-185#post-21345672

 

Absolutely. After riding on i9's for three years I absolutely notice the engagement when I demo'd a sb5.5 last year with basic dt swiss hubs. I could get used to a dtswiss hub for most riding, but anywhere with ledgy step up where being able to ratchet your way up, the difference is night and day.

You coudl always get a dtswiss hub and put in the 54T star ratchet which wouldget you much closer

 

No bike or trail pics. But I did park next to this BA Land Rover truck today at Blankets Creek. Ran into @flipnidaho as well. He was kind enough to let me tag along with him and his significant other and show me around. Thanks again man. Was great to meet you and get a little pedaling in. Of what I had time to ride, the South Loop definitely spoke to me and my style. Must go back.

 

The S build Demo is 4,100? That doesn't sound like a deal at all considering you can get S builds brand new for $4199 on competitive cycling

 

See! That’s why I am here asking you guys! Now if this was a KTM, I would know I am getting played.
I wasn’t sure if their S Build had other parts on it from what the factory offers in their S model. Aka wheels and such.

 

Actually it could still be a decent deal. I just took a second look and the 4199 S build is their aluminum frame, the carbon C s build is indeed 5199. However if it were me I would make sure the frame wasn't registered with SC and that warranty would still apply. You might also be able to sweeten the deal if you can get the shop to agree to 4100 out the door (saving on tax) or if they won't go for that and you don't have a sense they want to lower the price much you could try and negotiate for a couple hundred in store credit.

I've done the latter before when I wanted a better price and the shop didn't want to discount it anymore as if you don't use the store credit the shop wins, and if you do it costs them 60/70 cents on the dollar for the credit.

 

Yep, the salesman was a cool cat. Laid it all out. The warranty is still good to go. Yeah, this would be my first Carbon, that being said, it does come with some nice upgrades for the money. Lol, it’s a nice used bike.

 

Looking at the pictures you posted, I can't tell for 100% certainly but everything I can visually identify (fork, cranks, rear mech) all match the stock build. Keep in mind that colorway is from the 2019 Bronson,a nd the 2020 has a different colorway and build kit (they went to rockshox lyrik front fork instead of fox 36).

If I could get that bike for 4100 out the door with at least frame warranty intact I'd snag it for sure. Couple key areas to look at on a demo bike is check the fork stanchions carefully, it's one of the areas I see on demo bikes that that get scratched when crashed. Even minor scratching on the stanchions can show up the dust wipers and o rings and ruin what was otherwise a good deal.

Other than that, look at the frame for any chips or scratches from the bike having been crashed. If you find any tap that area and the area around it lightly with a quarter as carbon normally has a really light 'ping' sound to it, but carbon that's cracked has a very different dull sound. I've seen carbon that looks just scratched up, that is actually cracked that you can't see, but can identify via the taping method.

Lastly if you do pull the trigger on the bike, as them to look up how many times it's been demo'd. If it's more than 10-15x try and get them to do a lower service on the fork as part of the deal (or at least the labor as part of the deal). Usually lowers are serviced every 50 or so hours, and it shouldn't take the shop mechanic more than 30-45min tops, but they'll ding you $50-$75 bucks typically to do one.

Other than that the S build is super solid and I wouldn't change anything on it until stuff starts to wear out, or it's time for a major servicew

 

Out of curiosity. What shop are these demo bikes on sale at? I wouldn’t mind taking a look.

 

oh boy... I would love to get some of these, can't stand the noisey hubs. my dtswiss hubs do everything they are supposed to, but the idea of a more silent ride gets me wishing I needed hubs to justify the price tag.

how you liking the ass-e-gai? your running it in the front I presume. I've been thinking about trying one to replace my high roller2(leaves me wanting more grip sometimes)

 

Just spoke with him, looks like The Man has to get paid so Tax is gonna be part of the sale. Bike would be $4400 out the door. Like you said, he would hook me up with a deal on some gear, might just be coming home with me.
We shall see...

 

Solid ride today after getting my Wildpeaks installed this morning.




This sick Sprinter was there when I finished up my ride. Travel van goals

 

Nice! You riding Snow Summit, or surrounding trails? Some friends and I did Skyline last weekend. Was a first for me. Can't wait to get back up there.

 

Good to see you out there bro! After our ride, I did a little Tenkara fishing at Blankets too...

 

Nice! I usually keep a Tenkara in the truck and bring one with me on rides when I carry a pack. Got a little Tenkara Rod Co. Cascade. Perfect size rod for little streams and tributaries.