Second Hand or not ?

[Grayduff]

Big help is knowing what model year you are buying. You can get some big bargains where someone has bought a bike new, ridden it a handful of times, realised cycling requires more effort than driving a car and then decided to sell it.

I don't know about other brands, but Specialized's also have a build date decal on them (presuming the original owner hasn't removed it).

If you are buying a bike thats just a few months old getting it serviced after you have bought it will save you sometimes hundreds of pounds over buying a new one........

Great advice thanks..

 

[Muddyfox]

Was looking at a specialized sirrus the other night on ebay. It said hardly used.
This bike had rack marks where panniers had been fitted to the rack. Lights. 2 water bottles and mudguards!!!

Be careful what you bid for!

You'd be better off checking the drivetrain and brake/rim wear for how much the bike has been used rather than what accessories have been fitted ...

 

[Grayduff]

Hi

My trusty 17 yr old Ridgeback 602rx has given up the ghost, been back on the bike for 3 months or so and need a decent Hybrid (scott,Boardman,Specalized etc etc).
Money is very tight and have seen a couple of the above mentioned on Gumtree/Ebay £150 to £250 is this a good way to go or can anyone else make a suggestion.

Cheers

Made the move and bought a second hand GT Tachyon 4 bike from a Gumtree, took all the advice from all the posts and very happy..thanks guys..

 

[RWright]

Congrats on the new bike, I prefer to buy used also. There are a lot of those less than 100 mile bikes out there. You can normally also tell if a bike has been cared for and how much wear is on it.

 

[monkeylc]

They'll be alot of good quality used bikes out there soon.

People inspired by the tour/Olympics and then becoming bored or not liking the "none sunny weather" will soon be selling on ****bay

 

[vickster]

They'll be alot of good quality used bikes out there soon.

People inspired by the tour/Olympics and then becoming bored or not liking the "none sunny weather" will soon be selling on ****bay

Be interesting to see if this is indeed the case - I was talking to the pro shop manager at my local mid-high end LBS - he said summer sales had actually been really poor due to the c**p weather! There may be lots of Triban 3's but probably not lots of cheap carbon