Just bought a Jamis Quest; found out it was older than I thought, need advice

[Dave740]

I'm new to road biking. I decided to jump in and purchase a Jamis Quest from my local shop which was on sale for $1099. The salesman said that it was "a year or two" old.

When I got home I used bikepedia to find out it was somewhere in the 2000-2003 model year, based on its sliver color. I can't find the exact model as mine. The frame is silver with blue anodized wheels and a blue italia seat.

Is there anything wrong with a 10 year old bike that's just been on the shelf the whole time? Was that too high of a price to pay? Is there anything I should be checking over mechanically? The tires do look very old...

 

[BHOFM]

Did they write a year model on the invoice?

If so, you have them by the..

 

[kdelong]

Is it a 10-speed or a 9-speed? If it is a 9-speed, then it is definitely older than 2006. If it is a 10-speed, then it is a 2006 or younger. That is if they didn't retrofit the bike with a 10-speed drivetrain. There are two areas that may bew a concern for you. Look at the tires closely and see if there is any sign of cracking. They may have put new tires on it or they may not have. Tires tend to have a shelf life of 4 - 5 years before they begin to show signs of dry rot. They probably checked all of the adjustments prior to selling it to you so that is not an issue. Of course, if the bike is as old as you said, then the cables have already stretched so you might not have to take it into them for the 30 day tune-up which is mainly just a readjustment to compensate for the cable stretch.

The chain may be an issue. I don't think that the bike shops do much maintenance on their stock that is just sitting there, so the chain probably was not lubed very often. However, if it was not used, then why lube it?

 

[alfeng]

BTW. A 2003 frame probably has a fork with a [COLOR= #ff0000]1"[/COLOR] steerer ...

And, a newer frame will have a fork with a [COLOR= #008000]1 1/8"[/COLOR] steerer.

• the latter is subjectively better ONLY BECAUSE it will become more difficult in-the-future to find a comparable quality, replacement fork which has a 1" steerer ([COLOR= #808080]which may never be necessary, of course[/COLOR])

FWIW. IMO, if the components were updated with 10-speed shifters/deraillers/etc. then it was a fair-enough deal ...

If the components are 9-speed, then closer to $900 (pre-tax) would have been a fairer price FOR YOU.