>>1855330lots of people here only like high spec bikes and will say look for something with xt/deore. That's good advice if you want a fast gravel trail bike and get lucky buying one but I think cheaper bikes can still be good and I bother with them. I'm overhauling that Emmelle for myself and it's a low spec bike, and i have many exotics already.
>Derailer hanger not clamp on with a claw.
>Quick release wheelsnot ones that bolt on with a spanner.
There are some exceptions to the derailer claw for very old road bikes and sometimes a nice bike will have a cheap wheel swapped onto it.
>Cromo tubing Most old mtbs with it will have a sticker. Some will have a Hiten sticker which is bad low-spec steel. 'PG' or plain gauge means it's not butted. Butted is better. You can tell butting by tapping the frame and the sound will change down the tube. Often they'll say '4130' which is like basic spec cromo. A major steel mfg sticker, like reynolds, tange, etc is a good sign.
>chainring boltsVery cheap cranks will have the chainrings riveted together, often behind some plastic pieces, which both means you can't change them, and is a signifier of low quality.
>a cassette not a freewheel big signifier of quality on any bike from the early 90s on. Easier to work with, get parts, better shifting, less likely to bend an axle. Suntour is an exception. Suntour was specced on some great mtbs and put freewheels on even their high spec stuff. Was a large part of why they died. Also 80s stuff is an exception.
>aluminium seatpostA major tell of a cheap bike and something that is annoying to work on and genuinely affects ride comfort is a steel seatpost. The clamp part is seperate from the post and can come right off. It's very visually distinctive once you know what you're looking at. Some ok bikes will still have these shit seatposts as a cost saving measure though, like some hardrocks.
>metal brake leversnot plastic. Or not that flex a lot.
