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Hey everyone. I’m new to the site, which I must say is really a treat for all of us Homegrown enthusiasts.
I’ve had a black, hard-tail Homegrown in my stable since 1995 – the first year of production. I believe it’s the “LX” version; both derailleurs are XT, but the crank, brakes and hubs are LX. I bought it through an employee purchase at a shop I was turning wrenches at to help pay rent during grad school.
Hey everyone. I’m new to the site, which I must say is really a treat for all of us Homegrown enthusiasts.
I’ve had a black, hard-tail Homegrown in my stable since 1995 – the first year of production. I believe it’s the “LX” version; both derailleurs are XT, but the crank, brakes and hubs are LX. I bought it through an employee purchase at a shop I was turning wrenches at to help pay rent during grad school.
That was long ago – and the bike has served me well in Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and now Utah. Although the bike was ridden reasonably hard, it was sadly not ridden that often over the past 15 years (grad school and a new family will do that) – and it has always been ridden in a strictly XC format, often in pretty tame terrain (see 3 Midwestern states in list above; hard to find serious terrain to tackle). It’s impossible for me to put a mileage total on the bike – I really have no idea – but given how much time the bike has spent idle, I would say no more than 2,000 miles. In fact, I would not be surprised if the total were merely half that, maybe even less. I know … sad!
Anyway, here is my question – well, two questions actually: First, how much life do you think the frame has left? (I know … impossible to answer, right? But I’d be curious to hear some general thoughts, given the description above). Second, if I decide to sell the bike at some point in the future, what do you think is a realistic price to ask? (I recently joined the 21st century and purchased a FS 29er, which will become my XC workhorse. So selling the Schwinn has crossed my mind, even though it does have a lot of sentimental value).
The bike is about 80% original – including the drive train, brakes, and grip shifters. It does have a Dean Ti seatpost and a different stem/bar set up – though I do think that I can scare up the original saddle and flat bar in our garage somewhere. I’ve never once crashed the bike – something that I cannot say about any other mountain bike I’ve ever owned, including my new 29er! – and the frame is really in great shape; virtually no scratches. There is one very small ding in the top tube that was there when I bought the bike new; I’m not sure what the deal was there, but it didn’t concern any of the mechanics in the shop, and it’s never been any sort of problem. Anyway, when clean and polished, the bike is still a stunning sight to behold.
Well, thanks for reading. I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts about life expectancy and possible value.
Best, Eric
Hey Eric, I would imagine that you would have to find a person that wanted that specific bike. Most of the people I know want something a lot newer and modern. I still have my 1994 prototype Homegrown which I’ll never sell. I finally switched to a Specialized Epic full suspension for xc, and put specialized fatboy tires on my Homegrown. I use it for rides with my friends that ride hybrid bikes. I’ve riden my Homegrown for a long time and actually cracked my original frame. I loved the bike, and nothing compares to it for climbing long rocky single track. Thank God I had given an identical frame to my brother that he never used, so he gave it back to me.
Hey Jeff. Thanks for your 2-cents on this. I’m not really motivated to sell – more curious about the bike’s value. At the moment, I plan to ride the Homegrown (either on or off road) when trail conditions are too mucky to take out my Anthem X 29er – so early season rides for the most part. But if someone came along with the right offer, I’d probably consider it.
It’s still a great bike, and I think it still has a lot of life left in those aluminum tubes. I’ll send some pictures someday soon.
– Eric
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