One of my life-long buddy’s has decided he wants to get back into riding. His pro-flex beast is looking a little sad so he’s looking to pick up a 2nd hand bike. He’s got around 600 quid. Some bikes seem to retain value more than others, so where’s he going the most bang for his buck?

Have a search around ebay, some of the high volume sellers like Specialized and Trek seem to go for okay money.

Also run a search for lesser known brands like On One on the chance you get a well specced bike for cheap.

You could build decent 26″ Inbred quite cheaply.

Depends on ridding style, I’ve seen some Orange ST4’s go at silly money…nobody wants a 26″ with 27.2 seat tube and straight 1 1/8th I guess!

Depends on ridding style, I’ve seen some Orange ST4’s go at silly money…nobody wants a 26″ with 27.2 seat tube and straight 1 1/8th I guess!

I know. Awesome under-rated bikes. Got my mint frame for £300.

Do an ebay search for Boardman. Great bikes and it’s hard to spend over £600 as they aren’t much more than that new.

I know of a chap selling a Boardman Team FS (the 26″ wheel version) for £480.

nobody wants a 26″ with 27.2 seat tube and straight 1 1/8th I guess!

And there is a reason, avoid straight steerers as it will be very hard to get forks especially if he wants to keep it for a while.

And there is a reason, avoid straight steerers as it will be very hard to get forks especially if he wants to keep it for a while. the man

They want your money

care to translate that jools?

Boardman and Voodoo bikes generally get very good reviews but can be picked up very cheap second hand, that’s what I’d recommend to someone in your friend’s position.

Trek? Specialized? Boardman? Voodoo?

The guy asked for bikes that depreciate a lot, not a little! These 4 brands are probably the ones everybody knows so will depreciate the least.

You want something obscure, and it will have depreciated loads. Think along the lines of Bionicon, or any number of niche brands that not many people have heard of, and that should turn up a relative bargain. And stick to 26″ wheels as everybody else is offloading them right now for silly money!

Boardmans fetch silly money on ebay/gumtree.

I’d be scouring the sales and getting something new for £600, or an ex-demo. If you hit luck/aren’t too fussy there are bargains out there.

I’ve got a virtually new Dialled Prince Albert with Recons, Crest rims, Elixir 1 brakes that could be his for £590!

Do an Ebay search for “bike” in bikes, and start scrolling down. You’ll find some gems that no one has ever heard of. google any that take your fancy to see if they’re worth buying.
The sheeps on here tend not to look much further than the woolly arse in front of them.

I think Trek and Spec’ stand out for being widely available

But the main thing is patience and common sense.

I do this thing i call seller profiling. Which is clearly BS but…

Look at each bike and think who is selling this and why. Look at what else they are selling. In an ideal world you want a some one who has something unused in the shed that they are realizing some money on. Not a avid component changer or some one terminally short of cash. I would search every major brand and just hold on for the right deal

Any way I’d say if a bike is cheaper with 1″ 1/8″ forks go for it. He has a Proflex. I think we can assume he is not a man determined to keep up with the latest kit

I have a full Prince Albert for sale. Medium. 26″ straight steerer. So not the latest and greatest.
But then I am only looking for around 400quid.
It’s a lot of fun to hurl about in the woods.
It’s in the classifieds at the moment.

Mine is literally as described above: sitting in the garage, unused for a few years, realising the cash for another project. Its a shame for it to sit there ‘just in case…’