Should I buy a second hand road bike?

[mjr]

You can get a good deal but only if you can check it. I wouldn't trust second hand carbon frames and I'd be very suspicious of alloy forks. As a minimum, I'd budget to replace cassette, chain rings, chain, tyres and tubes. It shouldn't need all of that but might need other bits fixing, especially if the seller's reason for sale seems sus. Check frame number online and ask for receipts. Not having one is often OK but it needs a credible reason - dodgy sellers often simply go quiet and move on to the next mug when you ask.

 

[ozboz]

One more thing to consider is that there are an awful lot of new old stock bikes sitting around the country going unsold, and they're priced very well since many riders buying new don't want last year's model. As an example, Paul's Bikes have the 2015 Giant TCR Advanced 3 for 649 pounds which isn't that far off half the original list price of 1049.

Edit; A point already made well by @Eddy ! Sorry, I should have read the thread properly.

This is v true ,I got this BH '15 Old new for half price,

 

[stalagmike]

Hold on. Is the OP 15 years old? How are you even considering spending 2k on a bike?

 

[Dayvo]

This may be of some help:

https://www.police-information.co.uk/Docs/policelinks/auctions.html

 

[mythste]

Hold on. Is the OP 15 years old? How are you even considering spending 2k on a bike?

I had friends in high school that used to save up summer and weekend job money over a year or 2 and end up with similar amounts. Heck, I owned a £1500 bass guitar when I was 15, but I bought and sold and traded my way up. With no overheads it's not as difficult as you might think.

 

[User48980]

Hold on. Is the OP 15 years old? How are you even considering spending 2k on a bike?

I sell a lot of my belongings on ebay once im done with them. For example I am selling my phone, headphones and gaming mouse.

I got a drone last year. I sold it for 90% of what i bought it for a few months after.

 

[stalagmike]

I sell a lot of my belongings on ebay once im done with them. For example I am selling my phone, headphones and gaming mouse.

I got a drone last year. I sold it for 90% of what i bought it for a few months after.

Fair play. Got to admire your entrepreneurship.

 

[greekonabike]

I've been scouring ebay and I've noticed some very good deals on bikes that look like they've been barely used. If it was me I'd ensure I saw a receipt. If the owner has registered their frame no. on bikeregister I'm pretty sure they also get some kind of ownership logbook. I'd rather buy a secondhand £2000 bike from a shop than an individual but if the paperwork looks ok and the bike is in good nick then there's not much more you can check.

GOAB

 

[kingrollo]

Winter or 2nd bikes - Id go used. I got a near immaculate giant defy 2 for £300
If I am spending serious money Id go new - especially for carbon fibre.