Oh dear, I’ve got the dreaded “I want a new bike”, and I can’t really justify it. I never really buy anything new anyway, so S/H is fine, but was wondering if it was cheaper to build a s/h bike, or to buy one. I know in other areas (cars, guitars etc) that sellers often get more money for breaking/splitting them.

So, anyone got any experience/wisdom?

It is always cheaper to buy complete for a reasonable price then chop out bits to get what you want.

My last few bikes have been purchased second hand, usually manage to get a bargain in the winter months.

Complete bike every time. Making it from bits means postage prices have to be factored in. Plus a bike is usually worth less than the sum of its parts. Naturally I generally go down the parts route when building….