How much cash would you spend on something 2nd hand?

Seen a bike for £800 (RRP was £1500, last years model).

Without really close inspection of the frame involving dissasmbly, what would you risk?

I’ve bought a 2nd hand bike for £800 before and it turned out to be a dog, but I’ve bought plenty of stuff that’s been fine too.

Last bike I sold second hand went for £2900. So folk will spend that!

I spent £750 on a 2 year old S/H frame, RRP £1900. No problems so far, had it 6 months.

Can you go and view it?

Oh and try and get a bit more off, my rule is half of rrp, then 10% off per year since production.

My Yeti was second hand off Ebay in 2007. Cost about £1400. Shipped from the US so quite risky. It’s still going strong.

I bought my last bike for £770.
Its needed a new bottom bracket,brake pads and a brake bleed,but given that its new cost would be over £2k I can live with that.

Though I`ve gone some way on upgrades which brings the cost nearer to £1100 now.

Plus I actually enjoy fixing bikes,so a new bike just wouldn`t be the same…………………

I bought a wheel (Rohloff) for £650 second hand (rrp £1000).
When it went wrong, Rhloff fixed it free of charge.

I also bought a pair of Magura Thor forks for £200 (rrp £600)
When they went wrong, it cost me £400 for new internals. 🙁
When the new internals went wrong, Magura replaced the whole thing under warranty (rrp £750) 🙂

You win some, you lose some…

I very rarely buy anything brand new except consumables (brake pads, drivetrain, bearings etc)

I’ve mostly had good experiences with 2nd hand (2 Dialled PA frames, 1 Spesh road bike, Giant Trance frame) and some less good but still ok (Marin Attack Trail complete, needs more attention than expected but still a good deal).

Don’t pay by gift! It’s fine for smaller items but I just had a horribly tense experience with a scammer off PinkBike.

Ask for extra photos, research the frame’s typical issues, ask about bearings, crashes etc.

What bike, where have you seen it? Stick a link up for more feedback.

I paid £700 for a 4 year old Bike RRP c£2,000. However it was advertised as hardly used and many things backed this up i.e. totally original spec including tyres with everything clearly photographed in mint condition. I didn’t view before winning the auction but if it didn’t feel right at the time I would walk away and suffer the agro / negative feedback.

Buying something that has clearly seen a lot of use or is a mix of parts on the other hand is a complete lottery and you need to factor in for the risk.

edit – I should add this bike has been faultless since and bar new tyres remains as it rolled out of the factory. The forks alone would cost nearly the price I paid so I am well pleased.

I paid £800 last year for a 2nd hand frame last year. It’s a Nicolai though so still has 4 years of warranty left 8)

I paid 2 grand for a SC Blur LT 15 months old, its top spec though

Some bikes hold there value really well. A mate of mine had an end of model treck rode it for two years and sold it for about 90% of what he paid for it he then bought a second hand but months old Spesh for about a grand rode it for a year and sold it for £50 more than he paid for it. Three years worth of biking for almost nil depreciation. He now rides a Ti frame though so that will ruin his record.

Bike in question

ar5se – why didn’t that work?

you put a equal sign instead of a bracket “]” @ the start

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40049&t=12850686&p=17611342&hilit=giant+tcr+2011#p17611342

or did add in any words & and extra bracket
cheap bike?

My view on this is, if you have the cash (and are willing to travel to view), you can get a lot of bike for your money, especially when you go about 1K.

Simple rule – assume the seller is lying, unless they can provide evidence to the contrary.

“Has it been crashed?” Is the seller likely to say “Yeah, I binned it hard last weekend. Cased some doubles…” or “No, it’s been hardly used as I have 2 other bikes”

Same applies to service history – no receipt for work (or parts, like seals/oil) = no history (Even if they claim to have done an oil change last month….)

Its the ads selling a cross country bike on Pinkbike that say selling ‘because doing more donwhill and jumps’ now that I run a mile from.

Recently spent >£700 on a F+F plus bits, let you know in a couple years how it turns out 🙂

The little quick release cable tensioner is open in one of the pics… This may mean nothing, or that he’s a bike n00b.

It’s a nice bike with a good spec, he confirms he has receipts/invoices earlier up the discussion. I’d go for it after reading his history and do the following:

1. Paypal ‘goods’ (there isn’t always a fee and it’s worth it if he tries to screw you over).
2. YOU arrange the courier, not only does this get you their address but you know that it’s being arranged as you get the code first heand etc. Paisley Freight do bikes for £21.50 PAISLEY LINK HERE. You can ensure the courier timing fits with both of you.
3. Save a copy of the forum discussion and of any correspondence.

Oh and slap a bit of red bar tape on there when you get it 😉