| Title: | Bicycling |
| Notice: | Bicycling for Fun |
| Moderator: | JAMIN::WASSER |
| Created: | Mon Apr 14 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 3214 |
| Total number of notes: | 31946 |
Alright, there's been SO MUCH conversation in here about mountain
bikes, that I'm THINKING of picking one up. A CHEAP-ISH ONE, since I'm
not planning on doing any hard riding through the woods - my version of
"single-track" is a gentle saunter down a path just to enjoy the
forest... maybe with frequent stops to photograph the local stuff!
SO, I started calling around to the local shops, and found out I can
pick up something halfway decent - for me decent starts with equipment
around the STX, Deore DX (yeah, I know its discontinued), or LX
range... for AROUND $600.
Then, I talked to one of the folks who brought my attention to
something I've never heard of before. They bought 300 bikes built up
with an overstock of Deore DX components. The frames are from Avatar,
and are oversized chromoly butted frames and forksets. They used all
DX stuff: sealed hubs and bottom bracket, derailleurs, calipsers, and
cranksets, and top-mounted shifters.
I haven't been in to see these yet, but I've never HEARD of Avatar,
which is who built the bikes. I suspect they used someone else's
frames, but the droid at the store didn't know who's. Anybody got any
ideas? The attraction is that I can pick one of these up for $350, but
if the frame is junk...
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2932.1 | or Diamondback... | ANGLIN::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Fri Apr 07 1995 16:27 | 4 |
BTW: The same shop is selling out their stock of 1994 DB Ascent units,
Shimano STX equipped for $399...
More research is underway!
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| 2932.2 | STOWOA::SWFULLER | Fri Apr 07 1995 17:09 | 7 | ||
Probably one of the million frames made in Taiwan...
Components are tough, but not sexy. Top mounted shifters work ok,
but are not as quick as either twistgrip or rapidfire.
I would go with the DX bike...
steve
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| 2932.3 | Bought the DB, and also one for my daughter! | ANGLIN::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Tue Apr 11 1995 20:34 | 22 |
Well, I got the scoop... There was SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE that had a TON
of overrun frames - which is very common, since having a spare 1200
frames at the end of a season for a frame builder is nothing. These
are frames built for all different bike companies - SO, Avatar made a
deal to get them all painted black, and came up with 1200 Deore DX
groupos to put on them. Then one of the shops here bought 350 this
winter and sold them within 5 weeks. So, last week they bought another
335, and they figure they'll all be gone within the month.
The frames were quite diverse - Sitting next to each other in 22" you
could have 1 frame for a Diamond Back, another for an Iron Horse model
(I forget who makes it), another for Specialized, etc. BUT, the common
thread was that they were all 4130 straight-gauge Chromo. The DX group
was the old 18 speed, top mounted shifters, which I THINK may have been
pre-Hyperglide, or at best early Hyperglide?
ANYHOW, after trying one, and then trying a Diamond Back Ascent, and a
Specialized (I forget the model, but it was also in the $400 range) I
decided to buy the Diamond Back. Its a 1994 model, full STX equipped,
and feels very strange after being on nothing but my Cannondale for all
these years. But, it rode nice, and I'm looking forward to goofing
around on it.
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