Bicycle choices for TK

[twisteroo]

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I like the style of the 2009 better myself.
I would say you have nothing to lose trying to get a discount on a bike that is almost 2 years old.
Try to use the fact that you are gonna buy two to help barter. But then realize that someone will come in behind you and spend 1k on a set of wheels. People like us spending what we think is big money on that stuff are really small potatoes. But it can't hurt to try. You never know, they might be getting ready for a closeout sale on leftovers or something. Timing could be everything.

Also, ask them to explain why it got cheaper and try to use that as a bartering chip.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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Yeah, I don't see this shop as being very busy. It's a small shop run by two skaters. The summer cruiser bike rentals have gone to 0 now the Bennies are gone and winter is approaching. They'll want a sale.

[twisteroo]

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Take them a bag of weed and a box of doughnuts, you'll get a deal.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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Ramen noodles and Red Bull.

Matt stopped in a shop mid-state that we know of when we used to live in that area. All they had were Cannondale and Trek when it came to mountain bikes. Everything else was Schwinn, Mongoose and other low end brands. They don't touch Giant. He didn't ask why. I'll stop up there with him another day. It's looking more and more like the Skaters are going to get my business.

Question: Is there any way to tell on a bike the year it was made? Is there any kind of marking and where would it be? How do I read it? Is this something standardized in the industry so the markings are understood by anyone "in the know" on any brand bike?

[twisteroo]

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The only one I know for sure is Cannondale. http://www.vintagecannondale.com/info.html
Then there is one for Trek. http://www.vintage-trek.com/

I don't know of any other sites or resources.
Usually the serial number is on the underside of the bottom bracket, but reading it is another story and what it means, I don't know.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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gimme a pic of a 'bottom bracket' plz. Is it the fat round housing of the pedals and front sprocket?

[twisteroo]

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gimme a pic of a 'bottom bracket' plz. Is it the fat round housing of the pedals and front sprocket?

Yes it its. It the bearing/housing that the crank goes through.
This is my Cannondale. The bottom bracket.



And the serial number, using that Cannondale site I can tell the frame size, year it was made etc.



And for you amusement this I what I did last winter.

http://s837.photobucket.com/albums/zz295...annondale/

[twisteroo]

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Look at this one. I wouldn't ride the bike but it is worth every penny of $90.
http://rochester.craigslist.org/bik/1961501641.html
I should go buy it just for the hell of it, or trade him a rocker.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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Is that an iron or aluminum frame on your Cannondale? The welds are nice. I noticed with the Giants the welds are awful. They are lumpy and not smooth at all and too many times with crap welding like that I've seen them peel away and rust from between the grooves. The kid in the shop said that it's because the bikes are aluminum and they can't help but weld like that. I call bullshit on that because I've seen gorgeous aluminum welds. You sand them down and smooth them out when you're done.

[twisteroo]

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That Cannondale is hand made in the USA, somewhere in Pa, it is an aluminum frame. Cannondale even used to let the frame builder put his mark in the frame, that one has the builders mark on it.