# 2012 gt avalanche 3.0, good beginner worth the price?



## boomy169 (Apr 23, 2013)

i am still looking for the best beginner bike for me. i found this bike on CL in my area and i dont know anything about the parts on it. here is a list of all the parts on it:
GT avalanche 3.0 Frame

sr suntour v3 fork

avid elixer 1 brakes HS1 rotors

bontrager ranger wheel set with panaracer XC fire tires 95% tread

FSA Carbon handle bar, stem, seat post, and crank

FSA ACB zero stack head set, and FSA ceramic BB

pro logo scratch seat

SRAM X-O shifter and rear mech

SRAM 9 speed cassete

crankbros candy 1 clips

profile designs bottle cage
the bike is a 20 " large and i rode it today and it felt great! i jsut needed to raise the seat a little more. he is asking 600 and i talked to him about the price and he said it is negotiable he is just trying to get rid of it and build his DH rig. ill post the link if you want to see the bike. the only known.damage is the ding on the bottom of the frame, other than that it is immaculate! the only thing i could think that it needed is the brakes bleed and the rear derailiur needs adjustment. 
2012 GT avalanche custom sell asap


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## mk.ultra (Jul 17, 2012)

The upgrades make it a pretty decent deal, but you'll probably want to upgrade the fork as well, the quality doesn't match up with the rest of the components.

I own a GT Avalanche 3.0 and I can tell you that the frame is a little heavy. Besides that I love it!


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

Still probably not worth $600 dollars. The closeouts were going for $350.

Elixer 1's have a ton of bad reviews.

He probably bought it for 350 and dropped $250 in aftermarket/used parts for it. I would put $400 in his hands and see if he will take it.


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## kjlued (Jun 23, 2011)

Upgrades on it do not make the bike worth $600 IMO
I agree with upgrades, $400 is about what it is worth. 
If you really really have to have it, maybe $450.


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## boomy169 (Apr 23, 2013)

ya i was just gonna low ball him hardcore. i rode it and it fit me great and he said he bought the frame and built it from there. i was maybe gonna start at like 250. i dont really care about the weight i am just interested in all the upgrades. i have heard that gt frames are almost indestructable so thats a good thing to hear. it felt really light and i know the fork would need to be upgraded.


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## kjlued (Jun 23, 2011)

If I was asking $600 for a bike and you offered $250 through email I would probably just laugh at you and not respond. If you offered it to me in person I would probably laugh in your face but still might negotiate. 

You never know though, people get desperate for money and will sometimes take a lot less than asking. I would just be there in person before you low ball him.


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## boomy169 (Apr 23, 2013)

ya ive already met the guy and he seems pretty desperate to get his dh bike built. i was gonna start with 250 but warn him i was gonna low ball him. its all cash by the way. thats a big plus for most people. i figured i was gonna get laughed at though...


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## LONO100 (Jan 10, 2012)

im still riding my avalanche after 8 years and its a great frame if you dont mind not having the lightest frame on the trail. 600 seems a little steep, but i wouldnt low ball him too low, he may not even waste any time responding to you. if you like the bike, id offer him 475 and then the two of you can work your way to some place in the middle. its a great bike for the money in my opinion.


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## bob13bob (Jun 22, 2009)

Even If he comes down to $250. I would consider something else, $600-700 will get you a mean bike on eBay with fox fork, high end hydraulic brakes and wheelset if you are patient


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## boomy169 (Apr 23, 2013)

ya see im banking on the fact that he is willing to go down a cosiderbable amount. my budget maxes out at 400. that for the bike alone. come september i will have some extra money from school and will most likely buy myself all the parts i want on the bike, like a sick fox fork and better hydro brakes. just generally get the bike the way i want it for a couple seasons and then start saving for a fs rig be it all mountain or dh.


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## Fractured pixel (Feb 16, 2009)

XO is great stuff, nice cockpit with the carbon. GT makes pretty tough frames (albeit a tad heavy) the only thing i see wrong with the bike is the SR fork... I would look at it ride it... if it feels good offer him 100 to a 150 bucks less than what he is asking ride it until you get sick of the fork and then upgrade to a recon/reba/float or some such.


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## boomy169 (Apr 23, 2013)

ive looked at and rode the bike. it fit me great and the brakes felt spongey but he said he hasnt bleed them for about 2 months. the fork felt like a fork... i couldnt tell if it was bd or not, being ive never ridden a bike with a decent fork. i think itll be fine for me to get into the sport and next year ill have the money to get a good fork worth keeping.


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## Bakudan (May 19, 2011)

Having owned a GT Avalanche 3.0 Disc for the past year I would never pay over $200 for one used even if it was gold plated.


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## boomy169 (Apr 23, 2013)

AnonymouseTech said:


> Having owned a GT Avalanche 3.0 Disc for the past year I would never pay over $200 for one used even if it was gold plated.


why would you say that?


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## Fajita Dave (Mar 22, 2012)

I have an 09' GT Avalanche 3.0 and I'm pretty happy with it. All of the crap I'm having trouble with has already been upgraded on the bike you're looking at. I had to replace the wheel set and would like to replace the derailleur, shifters, cassette, BB, and the fork but can't afford it yet. I like the frame geometry, its a little bit relaxed for me but its been good on the downhill sections.

People make a huge deal about the fork but since getting into mountain biking I've ridden tons of other peoples bikes with some of the highest end equipment. It is nicer and the faster you go the more important it seems to be. That being said, I'm perfectly fine with the bottom dollar suntour fork thats on my bike. I still charge down hills with both tires sliding through turns and plowing through rocks and roots the same way I could on a bike with a nicer fork. The stock fork actually works pretty well once you do some work to it... After dis-assembly I found all of the friction was being caused by a plastic sleeve that the fork tube runs through. It was way to tight, so I ground a tiny bit of the plastic out, polished it, and now it works 10x smoother. It does bottom out through G out dips and some larger jumps but I just move the fork lockout about halfway through its range. I can tell you the frame is near bullet proof after what I put it through.


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## Bakudan (May 19, 2011)

boomy169 said:


> why would you say that?


I bought 2012 Avalanche brand new for a lower price than the used one in the ad. The fork is really bouncy and you can't tune it at all, the preload knob does nothing. The chain stretched after a month of ownership, I switched to a SRAM which has given me absolutely no problems since. I also replaced the stock nylon pedals with some Forte pedals with nasty spikes. Don't get me wrong I love the bike. But I don't think it's worth $600 used when I bought one for less money brand new. All those upgrades on that bike are cool and all but for $600 for a bike that costs like $500 brand new? Don't tell me those upgrades make it worth that much when the owner skimped on what I think would be the best upgrade to a GT Avalanche which is the front suspension fork. That's all. Just my opinion.


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## boomy169 (Apr 23, 2013)

in no way am i gonna pay 600. its just out of my budget. the max i am willing to pay is about 400. i would prefer to spend less than that too just to get some accessories and what not.


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## Fajita Dave (Mar 22, 2012)

boomy169 said:


> in no way am i gonna pay 600. its just out of my budget. the max i am willing to pay is about 400. i would prefer to spend less than that too just to get some accessories and what not.


I think $350 - $400 is a decent price. Everyone seems to like the frame, only issue with the 3.0 were the cheap components but they've all been replaced from what you listed (other than the fork).


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