Hello! Can you help me figure out what I've got?

[Heinous]

Hello everyone, just found your fine forums a few days ago, and I wonder if you can help me out with this.

A friend of mine gave me this bike quite a few years ago since he wasn't riding it anymore, and I'd like to get to know more about it for an eventual sale (I just can't tolerate a completely rigid bike anymore I'm afraid).

I don't know what parts were original and what parts were replaced, but I do know that it's pretty much a top of the line dream from the early to mid-90s.

The serial number as near as I can make out is 13288 (the numbers aren't very distinct, but I don't think it's been repainted). There also appears to be a small letter M stamped sideways after the serial number.

Now here's the pic dump:

















And there you go. From my best guess it's early 90s, but I can't tell the exact model at all (if there even is one in that vintage).

I read the rules, but I'm not completely sure of the etiquette, but since I am planning to sell this, is it allowed to ask opinions of what a fair price might be? I have not yet officially offered it for sale.

Thanks everyone for whatever information you have. I wish I could have found this community sooner, when I was a bit more resilient and could have ridden and truly appreciated this bike for what it is.

[mainlyfats]

M is probably a W and it has been - most likely - repainted. I think you have an 88 Wicked.

XC Pro and Phil Hubs... Nice friend.

You should do the same and pass it on.

[laffeaux]

I agree with MainlyFats - likely an '88 Wicked.

[I-ROBOT]

That would be frame 1328 of 1988. The "M" is a "W" so it is a Wicked. I can also tell by the fact that the seat tube and head angles are parallel (both are 71 degrees) and the more shallow rake of the fork.

The paint looks like the standard black epoxy powder coat but the down tube decal is in a weird spot and the "Wicked" seems to be missing. The white decals are not that common for a 1988 model since most standard paint jobs came with the trademark yellow fork and yellow decals.

Personally, I like the all-black look with the white decals. Certainly could be as done from our shop but I think the down tube decal was replaced at the very least.

Look at the areas where the paint is chipped. If the paint looks a bit thick and the chipped edges look ragged then it is powder coat.

Hope this helps
Scott

[Zamfir]

Sweet Wicked with great parts selection.

Unfortunately splitting a bike will almost always be more profitable, but in this case I would sell as is, or if possible keep it! These bikes ride really nice and are a joy to own.

[Heinous]

Thanks for all the help. I honestly would want to keep it and ride it myself, but it's just not my style of riding anymore. No matter how good a condition I keep it in, telling myself that I will ride it more some day, it's better to be honest about it and sell it to someone who will appreciate it more.

With that in mind, I won't be parting it out at least. It would seem too cruel.

[jonsonneborn]

Originally Posted by Heinous

Thanks for all the help. I honestly would want to keep it and ride it myself, but it's just not my style of riding anymore. No matter how good a condition I keep it in, telling myself that I will ride it more some day, it's better to be honest about it and sell it to someone who will appreciate it more.

With that in mind, I won't be parting it out at least. It would seem too cruel.

Thanks alot Justin! I ended up buying this Wicked from Justin as he wanted to keep it whole & it was my size+ he was about 45 minutes from me so we worked it out & now it hangs on my wall! Looks like original paint but decals were replaced & installed incorrectly + they are not the correct decals so I will correct down the line. In the meantime it's a beautiful riding Wicked! Somewhere down the line the brake calipers were replaced with Deore LX so i am on the hunt for some proper period correct calipers. The rest seems original (already replaced the modern seat with a Selle Italia Turbo Special edition that I had lying around).

Jon