Is this Merida 2015 bike worth buying?

[thomthebker]

Hello, I've found a very nice looking (at least for me) Merida Speeder (2015) bike locally for sale for €390 (gear changer - Shimano Altus 3x9; derailleur - Shimano Deore; brakes - hydraulic Tetro Vela, tires 28"). I would be riding mostly in the city. Some questions:

1. Is it worth the price?
2. Is missing front suspension a big deal?
3. First (bike5.png) photo shows some rust signs on the nut, gearing teeth look too worn, is it still fine?
4. Is the mixing of shimano altus gear changer and deore derailleur not a bad thing?

Thanks for any help or recommendations. Just getting into bicycling

 

[wafter]

While not familiar with that model specifically or the bike market in your area, it seems like a lot for what appears to be an old, entry-level aluminium hybrid bike. In this market I'd expect to pay half or less than what they're asking. Have you checked sold listings on ebay for similar bikes?

To answer your other questions, suspension is best avoided unless you have a specific need for it. If you're just riding on urban roads it's unnecessary and adds weight; while low-end stuff often offers questionable performance.

I'd not say the teeth look excessively worn, but it's hard to tell from an image.

No issue with mixing drivetrain parts as long as they're compatable - one would hope that this is the case if they're all original. That aside they all appear MTB-derived so should work OK together.

Ultimately I suspect you could do a lot better on that budget.

 

[wafter]

Further, ebay suggests that all but the newest examples of this model are going for £50-150 round these parts, suggesting the one you're looking at is massively overpriced.

 

[sevenfourate]

Horrific price. Unless there's £250 cash tucked under the seat.....

 

[Dag Hammar]

The original poster (thomthebker) only indicates his location as “Europe” and the price he is saying for the bike is 390 Euros. Perhaps the second hand bike market is somewhat different on the continent.

That aside, I wouldn’t entertain paying that sort of money for that particular bike.

 

[thomthebker]

Further, ebay suggests that all but the newest examples of this model are going for £50-150 round these parts, suggesting the one you're looking at is massively overpriced.

Thank you for the previous comment and this ebay example. Generally I don't use ebay to buy stuff, plus I believe it's better to find a bike locally to try it out. But at least I got an idea for the price of this model. Thanks a lot.

Horrific price. Unless there's £250 cash tucked under the seat.....

Who knows, maybe there is, haha. Thanks nonetheless.

The original poster (thomthebker) only indicates his location as “Europe” and the price he is saying for the bike is 390 Euros. Perhaps the second hand bike market is somewhat different on the continent.

That aside, I wouldn’t entertain paying that sort of money for that particular bike.

Probably it's not that different, maybe the price of this was because all parts were still original and it just looked unique. As the example below the price is 200 Euros, but it just does not look as good as the one I wanted. Thanks nonetheless for Your opinion

 

[wafter]

Thank you for the previous comment and this ebay example. Generally I don't use ebay to buy stuff, plus I believe it's better to find a bike locally to try it out. But at least I got an idea for the price of this model. Thanks a lot.

No worries - tbh I generally hate ebay but the sold listings are always a good gauge of price.

Bottom line I think you need to keep an eye on what's available at what price to get a feel for value and what's worth having. Again, not sure how your market is but bikes of this type (low-end and accessible - the sort of stuff people bought during covid on a whim) have taken an absolute hammering on price so you should get a lot for your money.