Rock Machine?

[Jake D]

Hi all,

As you'll see this is my first post. I've been riding for years, mostly as short distance transport. I've got a cheap MTB from that camping shop, Anaconda and an old racer that I've stripped and painted to restore, mostly as an excuse to hide in the shed for a few hours a week.

I wouldn't say I'm an enthusiast of any sort, I don't know brands or quality or anything. I don't keep up with lastest stock releases. I don't have any friends who ride.

Last night my Anaconda bike was stolen from the train station. (Cut my cable lock, I assume) and I'm looking for a cheap, decent replacement until I finish my racer project.

I've found a "Rock Machine Cross Ride 250" bike on gumtree that looks quite good for $180. but I've never heard of this brand before and can't find any comparables in any online shops. Can anyone give me an idea of what these might be worth brand new? Are they a decent quality bike? at a glance, $180 seems very decent, but I'm wary that if something looks like a bargain, it's possibly a lemon.

Sorry for the long post, thanks for your input.

[Uncle Grumpy]

Rock Machine were a short lived brand in the late 90s, early 2000s.

Like any brand, they released a range of bikes at various price points specced accordingly, so it's a bit hard to simply say "they were okay".

If you want it to ride to the station, rather than hit up the trails and go mental, then it should be okay. What are the specs of the bike, like the components?

From memory, Rock Machine were okay, they were fairly basic alloy frames but not markedly different to the offerings from Giant etc of the same era. Provided the size is right and it hasn't had the ring flogged out of it, offer them $150 and see what they say.

The biggest problem with Rock Machine was they had a really dumb name and didn't sell well.

Grumps

Edit - a Google search indicates they still exist in the US. The Cross Ride is more a bike path type of bike and suited for commuter duties. Depending on the year of the bike and how worn out it is, $180 is likely to be a fair price.

Edit II - still a dumb name...

[Jake D]

Thanks, Uncle Grumpy.
Have already got him to agree to $150 using my crafty SMS bargaining skills. I also came across the US site, but the pictures posted on gumtree show a very different bike to the Cross ride 250 on the US website. More of a road look. (check the link - please don't snake me) It also looks to be in very good condition.
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/perth-region/bicycles/road-bike-for-sale-180/1003585034
Yes Rock Machine is a dumb name, but that's one of the last things I'm worried about. One of the first things will be a better lock system. (recommendations?)
I thought his asking price was quite reasonable, which is why it caught my attention. I really just didn't want to go buy it and find out I could have walked into a store and picked the same thing up for $190 or something like that.

[Uncle Grumpy]

I was about to say the Cell City Slicker goes for $400 and the Giant Seek 3 goes for $700, as comparisons of what you get for the money, but it's too late, you've grabbed the Rock Machine and frankly, what a piece of...

...I'm kidding. That's a clean looking bike and a bargain at $150. Even $180 would have been okay, assuming it's not mechanically shot to bits. Well done!

No, I won't snake you. You're new here (welcome aboard by the way!) so you're not to know that I have a few too many bikes as it is. :)

Speaking of which, tell us more about the road bike you're restoring.

Grumps

[Jake D]

Haha. cheers. I guess I'd better go pick it up this afternoon to avoid another walk tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the welcome. I'll probably lurk more than participate, but I like the forum so far. I signed up last month sometime.

TBH I don't know much about the bike I'm restoring. It's super light, super old, has some decent looking brakes and deraileurs. It had a fair bit of paint peeling all over the place and a bunch of rust where the paint had peeled (Cause or effect?).

I've sanded the frame back completely and all the rust is gone, Going for a rattle-ran respray. 1 rust proof primer, 2 coats of burnt orange, 1 or 2 coats of clear (so far the primer is on). All the bearings, calipers and derailers are in surprisingly good condition for the (assumed) age of the thing, so I'm hoping a clean up and adjustment will suffice for them. The handlebars are bare, but in good nick, so some new tape and some brake levers will be all that is required there. Hoping to get away with the existing wheels, but am going to have to replace the tyres and tubes, probably just with some cheapies. Going to drop one of the front cogs, leaving just one gear there and 6 on the back. The gear shifter is an old lever on the frame, it'll be very minimal.

[Jake D]

I got my hands on another cheapie mountain bike for free, which will do the job until my restore job is finished. Thanks for your help, hopefully I'll have some nice pics of my restored racer soon.