Ex pro bikes

[Domdom1980]

Hi All

Does anyone have any experice of buying ex pro bikes?

I came very close to buying an ex Geraint Thomas 2018 (the year he won Tdf) pinarello k10s for around £4200 but didn't and now it has sold, but it got me wondering about ex pro bikes.

My expectation is that although they are ridden fairly hard, they are looked after expertly by team mechanics on a regular basis.

In terms of spec for the price it does look like a good deal when compared to the equivalent non ex pro offerings (only going by ebay and the k10s does seem rare) , and as a massive fan of Geraint I probably would try and buy it again if one came up.

But it got me wondering, and I appreciate it is a hell of a lot of money, would a pinarello k10 with full dura ace di2, wheels, a few other team bits and that kind of history be something others would be interested in if they were in a position to get one?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Doesn’t Geraint keep crashing? I wouldn’t touch his bikes. One careless owner, multiple crashes ...

 

[Gunk]

I own Bernie Eisels 2012 Team Sky frame, mine has had a very hard life, they’re not treated very well. Looks nice on my sons wall though.

 

[Domdom1980]

Yes, I did wonder about the wisdom of owning a Geraint bike, he does have a habit of binning it fairly regularly...

I would also imagine that as the bike is of no cost to the rider they certainly would not treat it in the way I would after laying out some hefty wedge....

But....

Something burns deep within me to own something like that ridden by a somewhat hero of mine. The burn is probably just stupidity lighting a fire or maybe last night's curry....

 

[dan_bo]

Just watch Het Volk and the rest of the spring classics and ponder it.

 

[13 rider]

You could strike it lucky and get a pro spare bike that's hardly been riden . Bear in minor most pros will ride a slammed stem which will be cut down ,could you ride it like that she's fork would be expensive

 

[midlife]

I guess you buy them for the provenance and not the quality?

 

[Gunk]

You can pick up spare bikes, they were sold as bare frames so very few complete bikes are properly authentic. I have seen ex Team Sky bikes with Ultegra group sets.

 

[DCLane]

It'll depend on how much the bike's been used. The components will be OK but the frame could be scraped and scratched plus cut down.

My TT bike is an ex-pro's, but almost 20 years old now. It was built from aluminium for a rider with slightly odd measurements and getting a good position was difficult for the previous owner; it fits me fine though.

 

[Brads]

As a mantelpiece ornament yes, to ride, nope.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Doesn't appeal to me at all, yes they're looked after but they're also ridden and crashed hard. Unless you get lucky and get an ex spare bike that's been saved from becoming a training bike, I definitely wouldn't be putting a frame ridden by G back on the road with real faith in it

 

[Domdom1980]

Definitely seems that my head agrees with you all!

As an ornament it would be perfect, but although my heart yearns for it the liklihood of it having been bent up at some point certainly outweighs it being worth the investment as a rider.

 

[Domdom1980]

I also found a 2018 (I think) condor team bike, full campag super record EPS, great rims and looking absolutely mint. That one gave me a proper funny feeling. Beautiful bike but again too scared to weigh out over 3k for an ex pro given you don't know how it has been treated.

If I had endless money though the Geraint bike would be the one, hung on a wall most of the time with a cheeky pootle thrown in every now and then.

I'd also have to buy a new house as the Mrs would leave me.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I'd avoid such bikes like the plague personally. Same goes for buying a used car that had been thrashed in motorsport.
There's no such thing as "well looked after" if the bit of kit was being used by a paid rider/driver with the instruction from their employer to go as fast as possible and try to win the race.
Most private owners of fast machinery will think twice about pushing it to the point of having a big crash. Pros don't give a flying feck if they've got the balls to go for it even if it means coming off and smashing themselves up if it goes wrong.

 

[Ridgeway]

K10s was his Roubaix bike barge pole