Newbie and don't own a bike... also broke.

[katom]

Hi all. I was wondering if someone could suggest what price range I would be looking at for a secondhand commuting bike in London?

I've been told by my GP to either buy a bike or join a gym to help heal an ongoing knee injury and to be perfectly honest, I'd much rather buy a bike, but I'm pretty skint. So, how much should I roughly be putting aside for one?

Many thanks.

 

[Bimble]

Would you prefer a new bike or would you be interested in looking at used (good condition) ones too?

Most retailers will be selling off their 2016 stock soon in readiness for the new 2017 models so you should be able to find a few bargains online or in your local bike shops.

Do you have a budget in mind? Up to £150 - £200 - £300 or more?

 

[katom]

I am more than happy for a used bike, I haven't cycled in 7 years.

I'd probably be hoping for something around the £150ish mark...

 

[Banjo]

You could probably find a secondhand bike for less than £80 ,You need to budget about £30 for a decent lock or it will get stolen.Also good idea to have a pump a spare innertube anda few tools.

Go for it . more usefull and more fun than sweating in a gym.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Lots of factors to consider, distance, yr knees ability to manage a hill, peripherals: lights, lock, pump, spare inner tube or two, mudguards for winter, backpack/panniers, a few bits of tools & if you feel the need : helmet and/or hi viz (very conflicting opinions on both, do what you are comfortable with and ignore the rest of us).

Gumtree and similar sites are your friend for a cheap bike, be careful though, if it looks too cheap to be true it probably is hooky or FUBAR. You can pick up an old but perfectly serviceable Road bike or mountain bike from a decent name maker for ~£50 to get you going, Hybrid and folder types seem to be a bit more expensive for a passable one in my experience, unless you cop lucky. There's no need to be wearing lycra and expensive clippy shoes from the off, or at all unless you get into the cycling mallarky and want to go that way.

You could look at freegle or bike recycling charities too, no idea of London but many big cities have organisations and groups that will take in donated bikes, ensure they are safe and rideable and have an outlet to sell them cheaply to the public or pass them onto e.g. Jobseekers or low waged people.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

What could you realistically afford? At the lowest price point you could possibly get an old bike of some sort for about £25, but the cheaper you go here the more work it may (potentially - okay, probably) need - Or alternatively, the more purgatory your riding experience will be. So at that price you can bet it might need tyre or two, brake blocks, maybe cables, and it might be a chore to ride. Pay a bit more and you could probably get a working bike that needs no real attention (maybe a clean and oil) and that you might actually enjoy for about £50-60. It’ll take a bit of looking in the classifieds, the junk shops, eBay, local garage sales etc, in fact local paper classifieds / free ads is probably as good a place as any to start, prices are lowest there.
Alternatively you could get something like a used Carrera hybrid in very good order (maybe 1-3 years old) for about £80-140.

 

[jefmcg]

+1 to all of the above - definitely budget for a lock as well as lights this time of year.

You should be able to get something decent second for much less, but if you went new, you could go worse than picking from this list

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/C-10829...than-£100/N-259900-price~£100-to-£200/T-66686

(a friend has been using her £140 decathlon bike happily for a year. It's a bit weather beaten for being outside all the time, but doing ok.

 

[Sixmile]

Some online bike retailers (and local bike shops too possibly) offer 0% finance on their bikes over a certain price range. Normally buying in instalments is not my thing but I had a positive experience buying my bike through Tredz like this. Meant I got a £450 bike for around £35 a month with only a nominal deposit.

 

[katom]

Thank you all so much for the advice. I am looking to spend up to the £150ish mark for a second hand. I will budget on top of this for a lock, helmet/high vis and won't be wearing lycra.

At first I'll be using it the get my confidence back and mostly to help my knees, low impact stuff - though in the future will be looking at using it to commute to work etc.

Ive tried my LBS and all are out of stock of second handers.

Can you buy second hand for around £150 and have it last a year or two?

 

[shouldbeinbed]

£150 2nd hand is a decent budget for getting back into riding and certainly good for a couple and more years use.

 

[katom]

Excellent, that's great to know. I'll start putting money aside.

Thanks again, for all the helpful advice.

 

[jefmcg]

Can you buy second hand for around £150 and have it last a year or two?

A friend has just got skip rescue bike on the road for price of a bit of oil and 2xtyres and tubes. So that's fine.

Ask your friends. You almost certainly know someone with a bike in their shed that they won't be using at least until spring, who can lend you something to get started.

 

[katom]

I'd love to, but I know no-one! Moved over from Australia.

 

[arch684]

Contact @biggs682 on here he may have something to suit you

 

[biggs682]

thanks @arch684
@katom i have this Claud Butler Odyssey Bike
or if you fancy a really low useage Carrera Virtuoso as i have one that has done less than 10 miles !!!!! its a 20" frame from what i can remember , just waiting for some time to get pics and details but will be around the £100 mark plus carriage