>>1291421Try to buy something without suspension
Old cheap suspension is likely to break, and adds weight, and doesn't do much.
The best red flag for cheap bikes, is a rear derailer that bolts on the axle with a metal claw, like on the left. Good bikes have derailers that thread into the frame like on the top right, or thread into replaceable hangers like the bottom right.
Beyond that, look for level of components (tourney, claris, altus, sora, acera, tiagra, deore, 105, deore xt, ultegra, xtr, dura ace), is the rough order, and there's difference between years too, but generally, if a bike has higher tier parts on it, it's good, and if it has tourney on it, or unbranded drivetrain parts it's not.
Look for the tubing used on the frame, especially if it's steel, indicating it's a higher grade steel. 'Hiten' steel is the cheapest. Anything butted or chromoly is good. Aluminium frames might say 6061 or 7005 which is good. A good newer aluminium bike should have a carbon fork.
Condition is as important, is the drivetrain worn? You can see wear on cassettes if you have a look at what unworn cassettes should look like, or even just compare between cogs. Wear on chainrings in the front is even worse, especially if they're sharp like shark tooths. That means the whole drivetrain needs to be replaced. Check the wheels are true, and spin smoothly. Check the bottom bracket spins smoothly, and the headset spins smoothly. Check the cables aren't cracked and it shifts and brakes well. If you can ride no hands, that's a good test to see if a frame is straight. If a bike can't, it might be something else, but if it can, that's a good sign. Scrutinise the frame for cracks. Lots of that stuff is just to haggle price and best done in person.
If you want opinions on specific bikes, post them.
Good luck anon.
And yes, you can get studded snow tires
