Cheers jim25, you should've held on, but I know what you mean mate...it's a killer when you've got a few quid burning a hole in your pocket and you're new bike shopping lol!
That's good to hear and it'd be cool to have a likeminded bunch of DH thrashers to go riding with
I think there's an awful lot of bods not getting out and suffering cabin fever...at least the online retailers are being kept busy lol!
As for the YT? Firstly it doesn't help that I am a persistent fiddler and given half a chance I'd spend all day in the garage messing about with a bike, so the chances of it staying complete for more than a week were slim
So a couple of days after bringing it home, I thought it wise to give it a good going through. And not just because I couldn't help myself
I'd noticed one or two things when I collected the bike that would need looking at and also, I always think it wise to go right through a secondhander, even if it looks immaculate. Better to be safe than sorry, if you're trusting that the previous owner was as maintenance conscious as you are with a bike. Especially a DH bike.
Just as well I did. The first thing I'd noticed on collection day, was that the bar action from bump stop to bump stop was not as smooth as it should have been. This along with the front wheel dish being out, gave me some ammo to beat the price down. Not a problem, got the wheel trued and dished for £25 quid so no biggie.
With the bike stripped down to just the frame, the rough headset action was quickly diagnosed as a completely f*ucked bottom headset bearing. Seized pretty much solid and on a 2013 bike this just shouldn't be. Once I'd driven the bearing out, it just felt apart and was as rusty as an old horseshoe. With nothing on the drive train other than the cranks, a few turns and it became apparent there was another bearing failure in the BB. After removing the BB, the non-drive side had a couple of disintergrated balls and a split race seal and the drive side literally fell apart as it came out of the frame.
It's always disappointing to uncover deep seated problems on your "new" bike (especially on this particular bike frame. You wouldn't believe the amount of aggro I've had finding replacement bearings) but that is the roll of the dice when buying a secondhander and placing your faith in that the previous owner actually kept the bike in check. As opposed to just blasting it with a power-washer and letting it drip dry. Power-washer's kill bearings in no time flat if they're not checked regularly
Taking the time to strip your new ride down pays dividends though, because you know for certain the first time you're at the top the hill with it, you've done all you can to make sure it gets to the bottom. This is also why, if I buy a secondhander, I try and do it during the winter, when it's shit outside you can still be doing something to while away the days until spring hits and when you need to be riding and not fixing.
Sorry for the long post but you did ask, lol!