Sources of used bikes for sale

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wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
For ages I've been casually looking for a Genesis Croix De Fer and would rather buy used if the price is right.

They're not the most common bikes and most abundent on ebay, however asking prices are utterly ridiculous with many 3-4yr old examples close to the cost of a new examples of the current / last year's model. There don't seem to be any listed on free ads and I've found a few on Gumtree but that's pretty scant too.

Am I missing any decent bike-specific sales sites that might offer more choice? Seems like a bit of a gap in the market if there aren't any tbh..

Thanks!
 

AuroraSaab

Veteran
Only bike forums and selling sites like Sphock, I guess. But as you say, quite a rare-ish bike so eBay is where most people will sell them. I got a bargain carbon Giant road bike on Sphock and a £30 mtb on ebay, but both are common bikes so I could afford to wait for another good deal one to come along.
 
OP
OP
wafter

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
Only bike forums and selling sites like Sphock, I guess. But as you say, quite a rare-ish bike so eBay is where most people will sell them. I got a bargain carbon Giant road bike on Sphock and a £30 mtb on ebay, but both are common bikes so I could afford to wait for another good deal one to come along.
Thanks - I'll check out Sphock and of course keep an eye out on here. I've found bikesoup too which has a few listed, but still fewer than ebay.

Congratulations on your bargain purchases :smile:
 

Brandane

Legendary Member
Location
Costa Clyde
Wow; didn't realise I was sitting on a small fortune!

I saw this one on ebay with a buy it now price of £725 :ohmy:.
It is pretty much identical to mine, but mine has Shimano 105 groupset and I replaced the fugly original crankset. Oh, and mine doesn't "need to change the crank" (alarm bells are ringing in my suspicious mind). I think the seller might mean the BB anyway, so why hasn't he/she done that simple task?

IIRC, mine was available for about £800 NEW, but I bought mine second hand (on this site) for about half that.
Sadly for the OP, mine is definitely not for sale, but if it was I would probably have expected about £300 (prior to this good news!).
 
OP
OP
wafter

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
What is the right price?
That depends on the spec / age / condition really; if looking at used stuff realistically I'd like a 2017 or later CdF 20 for ballpark £500; any more than that and I'd rather buy last year's model new for £1k as I've seen in one place. Asking prices for such bikes on ebay tend to be £700-800 (and never seem to sell), while I passed one over at £675 (that sold) and missed another local to me (before I was too familiar with the model range) that went for about £450 and looked like a really good buy on the face of it.

I'd be happy to buy used as it would alleviate some of the anxiety attached to roughing-up a new one, but currently the prices really aren't offering me any incentive to do so. The problem with the new route is that I think "well, if I'm spending that much I might as well get exactly what I want" and talk myself up to the next model up (CdF 30) with its suitably lofty price.

I'd consider an earlier model but that would have to be a fair bit less as 2017 was the model year where the groupset changed to Tiagra 4700 so is a fair bit more desirable in my eyes.

Wow; didn't realise I was sitting on a small fortune!

I saw this one on ebay with a buy it now price of £725 :ohmy:.
It is pretty much identical to mine, but mine has Shimano 105 groupset and I replaced the fugly original crankset. Oh, and mine doesn't "need to change the crank" (alarm bells are ringing in my suspicious mind). I think the seller might mean the BB anyway, so why hasn't he/she done that simple task?

IIRC, mine was available for about £800 NEW, but I bought mine second hand (on this site) for about half that.
Sadly for the OP, mine is definitely not for sale, but if it was I would probably have expected about £300 (prior to this good news!).
lol - don't worry, you're not :tongue:

That's a perfect example of what I'm on about though; 4-5yrs old, old groupset, has evidently been to the moon and back and by the owner's admission will need some fairly significant work soon.. all for only around 25% less than you could buy a brand new, last-year's model for (which spec-wise is the same as the current one).

If it brings you down to earth a bit this one is more realistically priced at £420; has been on there for a while having started at £450 and IMO sub-£400 would be more appropriate.

Here's another silly example - £800 for a 2017 CdF 20, when again you could get last year's model brand new for £200 more. That's been on there for a while too; clearly nobodys interested at the asking price, while generally these bikes tend to move very slowly on ebay but sellers aren't taking the hint on pricing.

They're not all silly mind; it's just difficult to find something in the right size, at the right price locally. Tbh prices are all over the place; I think probably because buyers generally don't do their homework so have less idea of realistic value..
 
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newfhouse

Resolutely on topic
That depends on the spec / age / condition really; if looking at used stuff realistically I'd like a 2017 or later CdF 20 for ballpark £500; any more than that and I'd rather buy last year's model new for £1k as I've seen in one place.
Fair enough. I love my CdF 20 (2016 I think) but I have an urge to upgrade to the Ti. I'd want more than £500 to make it work financially.

Good luck with your search. You won't be sorry when you find the right one.
 

Smokin Joe

Legendary Member
I'd be happy to buy used as it would alleviate some of the anxiety attached to roughing-up a new one, but currently the prices really aren't offering me any incentive to do so.

Sorry, but I just can't understand the logic of that. You'll "Rough up" any vehicle you buy, it is the nature of travelling on the roads. If second hand models are so expensive that people want close to the brand new price then to me it's a no brainer. Buy new with a full warranty rather than trusting one from a stranger "That needs a new crank?" and maybe numerous other things the owner is unaware of or hasn't pointed out.
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
Sorry, but I just can't understand the logic of that. You'll "Rough up" any vehicle you buy, it is the nature of travelling on the roads.

What it comes down to is, the first time you put a scrape or ding into a recently acquired vehicle, it's a lot less painful if the vehicle only cost you half the price of a brand new one, and the damage has devalued it much less. If you've owned something from new and paid full whack for it, there's a tendency to be overly precious about it, which in the case of a practical object, may mean you don't get the full potential out of the thing.
 
OP
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wafter

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
Fair enough. I love my CdF 20 (2016 I think) but I have an urge to upgrade to the Ti. I'd want more than £500 to make it work financially.

Good luck with your search. You won't be sorry when you find the right one.
Thanks - I appreciate the endorsement of the bike :smile:

From what we've learnt so far it looks like ebay might be the place to sell your current bike!

Sorry, but I just can't understand the logic of that. You'll "Rough up" any vehicle you buy, it is the nature of travelling on the roads. If second hand models are so expensive that people want close to the brand new price then to me it's a no brainer. Buy new with a full warranty rather than trusting one from a stranger "That needs a new crank?" and maybe numerous other things the owner is unaware of or hasn't pointed out.
What it comes down to is, the first time you put a scrape or ding into a recently acquired vehicle, it's a lot less painful if the vehicle only cost you half the price of a brand new one, and the damage has devalued it much less. If you've owned something from new and paid full whack for it, there's a tendency to be overly precious about it, which in the case of a practical object, may mean you don't get the full potential out of the thing.
Thanks - pretty much this. It pains me less to mark / damage something that's already dinged (and to a lesser extent worth less money), so used is attractive for this reason providing the price is appropriate. If this isn't the case my 2nd choice would be to go new; as I'm obviously not going to pay close to new prices solely for the "priviledge" of buying an imperfect bike..

I'm far more likely to ride a slightly tatty (or at least not-mint) exactly as I want, plus potentially get more use out of it for practical purposes as I'm more likely to feel comfortable locking it up outside shops etc. Bugger doing that with a £1.5k+ bike!

You could try looking for bike sale groups on Facebook. Quite a few are geographical, so you can search for one in your local area.
Thanks - didn't think of that. Will take a look :smile:
 
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OP
OP
wafter

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
Gumtree? Just be aware of nicked ones
Thanks - have been keeping an eye on there but so far not seen anything suitable.

Ta for the thought about nicked stuff - have been wary of that and there are quite a few ads from sellers who just have loads of various bikes with no particular description or photos - makes you wonder why not and where they all came from :rolleyes:
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
Ta for the thought about nicked stuff - have been wary of that and there are quite a few ads from sellers who just have loads of various bikes with no particular description or photos - makes you wonder why not and where they all came from :rolleyes:

Sometimes though, listings come from people who just do a bit of wheeling & dealing - rubbish removal, house clearances etc. These sellers may not be cyclists themselves or especially knowlegable about bikes, and the vague listings can reflect this. Often this can work to the advantage of the buyer, if they know the value of what the seller is selling but the seller doesn't! It has certainly benefitted me more than once.
What I tend to do is look at the sellers other stuff for sale, and their feedback history, plus how long they have been on eBay. You can generally get a feel for sellers who are dodgy and are best avoided.
 
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