Cheap bike?

[SkipdiverJohn]

So far my technique has consisted of identifying road bikes of the right size on Gumtree at around £300 and offering £200 / £220. I've been rejected outright to date.
Some really cheap roadbikes are available new, which might be safer, and I could go to £350 ish. I could wait a few days for sales. An observation so far is that Carreras hold their value surprisingly well. A bike available at £230 with British cycling discount will be going for £180- 200.

Why are you constraining yourself with a narrow point around £220? It comes across to me that you can't go over £220 for wife acceptability reasons, but equally you aren't trawling the depths of the bargain basement end of the market either. So you've got a very limited self-imposed pool of bikes to choose from as a result. I'm not really surprised that you are struggling to source anything suitable TBH.
One of the problems with any secondhand market is there is a lot of overpriced stuff on offer. Some sellers ask silly prices then just keep relisting the unsold item week after week in a war of attrition against mug buyers. Those sellers are not going to take a sensible realistic offer because they are either greedy or simply deluded about the value of what they have for sale. They are not worth wasting your time on. Used mass-produced bikes are currently a buyer's market; there is an abundant supply of them around. I've been watching a handful of overpriced £200+ used steel bikes on eBay for months now and they just don't sell, whereas the very same bikes - when listed at a more realistic £60-100 do sell. By targeting the overpriced stuff you are dooming yourself to fail. I would not pay anywhere near £200 for a used Carrera that was sub-£300 when new. End of season discounting can often mean 25-30% off RRP, which therefore depresses the secondhand value of all old-model used bikes in proportion. Just like when a new facelifted model of car comes out, all the last-year style ones are immediately devalued. Secondhand anything means to me an absolute max of 50p in the Pound of it's price new, and preferably a lot, lot less than that. The hardcore bargain territory is 10p in the pound or less and it's where I do my searching.

 

[Nebulous]

Why are you constraining yourself with a narrow point around £220? It comes across to me that you can't go over £220 for wife acceptability reasons, but equally you aren't trawling the depths of the bargain basement end of the market either. So you've got a very limited self-imposed pool of bikes to choose from as a result. I'm not really surprised that you are struggling to source anything suitable TBH.
One of the problems with any secondhand market is there is a lot of overpriced stuff on offer. Some sellers ask silly prices then just keep relisting the unsold item week after week in a war of attrition against mug buyers. Those sellers are not going to take a sensible realistic offer because they are either greedy or simply deluded about the value of what they have for sale. They are not worth wasting your time on. Used mass-produced bikes are currently a buyer's market; there is an abundant supply of them around. I've been watching a handful of overpriced £200+ used steel bikes on eBay for months now and they just don't sell, whereas the very same bikes - when listed at a more realistic £60-100 do sell. By targeting the overpriced stuff you are dooming yourself to fail. I would not pay anywhere near £200 for a used Carrera that was sub-£300 when new. End of season discounting can often mean 25-30% off RRP, which therefore depresses the secondhand value of all old-model used bikes in proportion. Just like when a new facelifted model of car comes out, all the last-year style ones are immediately devalued. Secondhand anything means to me an absolute max of 50p in the Pound of it's price new, and preferably a lot, lot less than that. The hardcore bargain territory is 10p in the pound or less and it's where I do my searching.

I'm seeing the same bikes coming round to the top of the listings again - so there are certainly people willing to keep promoting until they get the price they want.

I'm not at that narrow price point- that's a maximum - but the bikes I want tend to be more than that! I'm looking for 54 / medium frame, drop bars, sti shifters. It needs to be standard rear spacing to fit on the turbo, not a narrower-spaced retro bike. Apart from that I'm not caring - which is why a Carrera would be fine. If I go that route though I'd be better going a modest amount more and buying new.

 

[Nebulous]

I've got a bike! Carrera tdf in bright yellow. Very good condition, hardly used £100.