Video: Seth // Edit: Rich // Words: Daniel
If you come across or purchase a secondhand bike, you know it typically takes some work to dial in, but a fourthhand bike? That may take some real work. Fortunately, a quality bike can live life several times if it’s somewhat well-maintained and serviced.
You may recall the video in which Eric Perkins’ son cleaned up the trails at Berm Peak to “earn” a new mountain bike. We hung onto his old bike, which Eric had handed down to him and purchased himself second-hand. The bike was functional but dated and in rough shape—exactly what you would expect to see in a bike that had had multiple owners over its 10+-year life.
While the bike functioned and was capable, there were some issues that needed to be sorted out before it went to its new home. One of the big ones was the geometry needed to be corrected by installing a fork with the appropriate amount of travel. Another was there wasn’t a dropper post. And while 10+ years ago, that may not have been as big of a deal, now, not having a dropper post would be something like driving a car without anti-lock brakes. It’s essentially standard equipment on almost any mountain bike you would buy.
