Another which one to buy thread

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Badger_Boom

Über Member
Location
York
My partner has been looking at a couple of carbon road bikes for sale online, a 2013 Trek Domane 5.9 for £1,150 or a 2017 Domane S5 Disc for £900. Both come with provenance/proof of ownership and are in good mechanical and cosmetic condition and with no signs of frame damage.

There may be room for negotiation on price for both and although it’s still a sellers market we wondered if either was worth the asking price and/or if one was a better bet than the other?

Any and all thoughts would be welcome.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
What’s the spec of each?
£1150 for an 8 year old bike sounds a lot
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Assuming your partner is female (?) has she tried the hydraulic disc hoods on the second one…they are imo very large and bulbous for smaller hands.

Di2 on the first would be tempting but are parts accessible for a sensible price should any replacements be needed, shifters, mechs (they’re something crazy like £200-300 I think)? Needs to be considered with an older high spec bike. 10 speed so the group set range will have been replaced at least once since that was new

ultimately they need to be subjected to a full and thorough inspection and test ride :okay:
 
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Badger_Boom

Badger_Boom

Über Member
Location
York
Assuming your partner is female (?) has she tried the hydraulic disc hoods on the second one…they are imo very large and bulbous for smaller hands.

Di2 on the first would be tempting but are parts accessible for a sensible price should any replacements be needed, shifters, mechs (they’re something crazy like £200-300 I think)? Needs to be considered with an older high spec bike. 10 speed so the group set range will have been replaced at least once since that was new

ultimately they need to be subjected to a full and thorough inspection and test ride :okay:
My partner is female and thinks the hand size thing might be an issue. The points about replacement parts are also good ones. She doesn’t want to get saddled with a pig in a poke.
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
As Vicky says rather expensive for a bike that old. S5 seems a better choice but still a bit pricey.
You can buy a pretty decent aluminium frame bike for around a grand with up to date components. That would like a better buying proportion to me given you get a warranty and the joy of having a something brand new. You can even get an all carbon bike for a grand, the Boardman SLR 8.9 105.
It's up to you though.
 
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Badger_Boom

Badger_Boom

Über Member
Location
York
Thanks for the tips, very useful.
 

davidphilips

Veteran
Location
Onabike
Personal preference really, but know i would be very wary about buying any used carbon framed bike, thats only my view but main thing as i am sure you know with buying any bike is to buy the right size. Its possible to get away with a slightly smaller frame but if its to big then it will never feel right no mater how good the bike is, good luck and post some pictures if/when you do buy always great to see some ones new pride and joy, HBH @SC
(Happy bike hunting @ safe cycling)
 
Good morning,

I bought a Jamis Xenith Pro Carbon/Di2 bike about 3 years ago for £850 pre covid which was in an almost unused condition and came from dealer with a short warranty.

So £1,150 for the Trek seems high to me as the market for used high spec bikes seems to have returned to pre covid prices, nearly everybody who wants to take up cycling has done so.

(A road cc review of the Jamis https://road.cc/content/review/68753-jamis-xenith-pro )

However I bought the bike because I explicitly wanted to try a carbon fibre frame and Di2 and was prepared to accept the consequences.

New 10 speed Di2 hasn't been made for a quite a few years now, there are no dealers sitting on NoS and used ebay prices are pretty much full retail.

Remember that that "10/11 speed decision" with Di2 is in the gear mech not the shifter.

Also not long after 11 speed was introduced the software was updated so that new 11 speed mechs and 10 speed mechs won't work together, the software shuts down and no gear changes can take place, the idea is to preserve the image of Di2.

So I would think that unless you actually want to try Di2, buying an 8 year old instance and having a bit of bad luck could leave you in a bit of a dead end; Pay a lot for a second hand 10 speed item of ebay or update front and rear mechs, cassette and chain and go 11 speed.

Or go the other expensive and not always easy to do neatly way and convert the failed Di2 part to mechanical.

I would also suggest being mentally cautious with either bike and budgeting for new chain, cassette and chain rings and hoping that you won't need them, because they won't be £10/£20/£20 :-(

Bye

Ian
 
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Badger_Boom

Badger_Boom

Über Member
Location
York
Thank you for all the sensible advice. She decided against carbon in the end and has just bought a rather nice Cannondale CAAD 12. It was newer (and cheaper) than the carbon ones and so far seems a very nice and light bike.
 
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