[Closed] Buying Secondhand Bikes Advice Thread

The best deals on eBay are the collection only ones that happen to be close to you. Massively reduces the competition/price.

pinkbike classifieds is more active than here.

Facebook and pinkbike are pretty good. EBay can be OK but prices are high at the moment. Definitely best to find local stuff. There are bargains but they go fast so you need to be ready and commit. I wouldn't rule stuff out that was poorly presented, that's often where the bargains are.

Condition, does it look ridden or neglected. What's the drive chain wear like. Have the forks been serviced (and shock if FS). Have the suspension pivot bearings been swapped. Some people go to lengths to make sure things like the above are all sorted to aim.for a better price. Try to factor in the cost of doing those bits if there is uncertainty.

Prices are high at the moment but even then there are some real sky high unrealistic prices floating around.

Usual rules for depreciation are out the window at the moment. If you're using ebay, the best thing to do is choose a model you're interested in, then click "completed listings" in the search settings. That will give you an idea of what that bike usually goes for.

I'd recommend pinkbike buysell as well, as you can filter by size & age, there's a reasonable number of bikes and most people there are riders.

There are bargains to be had on FB market place but you'll be wading through a lot of crap.

Facebook market or groups IF you know what to look for

It is really difficult buying from a distance. I’ve got 30 years experience buying, building, fixing and restoring bikes and that really helps when you are looking on eBay as there tends to be giveaways in pics and descriptions which make you steer clear.
The first thing I would do is have a look to see if the description matches the pictures. If it says hardly ridden, nearly new etc then look at the pics - is the frame scratch free, any dents, is the drivetrain pretty clean which no obvious issues. Things which tend to point towards wear are scratched up mechs, worn paint on cranks, damaged seat sides, knackered pedals/grips, worn tyres etc. If it’s a kids bike you might get those more easily as kids tend to drop their bikes a lot. If the bike is newish and has those marks then has the owner abused it?

Check the specs of the bike against what it’s standard spec is on the manufacturers website. That will also help you figure out what year it is as well and if any of the components are weird or out of date standards.

I would agree that it’s good to steer clear of anything you can’t drive to pick up. Apart from not being able to check the bike you have to rely on the seller packaging it properly which IS NOT EASY for a full bike if it is to survive a couriers. I once made a 8 hour round trip to pick up a bike. It was £1200 and the cost of the fuel was around what it would cost to courier it at the time so it was only my time but it ensured I could check it and bring it home safe (it was a rare model).

Personally I think full suss bikes you REALLY need to see in person. Replacing or servicing shocks and bearings can turn out very expensive and negate any savings made so I’d want to see it in person. It’s almost the same with forks now as well, gone are the days when you had some Marzocchi bombers where it was easy to replace the seals and oil yourself cheaply and that was all that could be wrong with them!

I do think you need to be honest with yourself about your ability to check a bike. I can restore old bikes, build new ones from scratch repairing every part on a bike including building wheels so I am confident in checking over a bike but I am still very cautious. I don’t know loads about suspension so would be very wary of some aspects of that, especially rear suspension but I could check bearings and bushings were ok etc.

I don’t think the rules on depreciation count at the moment but even before lockdown I didn’t think that eBay had much in the way of decent deals for a while. So it’s worse now.

Pink bike can be good. If you can ask some sensible questions and get into a conversation then I've found it can make negotiation easier.

Off the back of this thread I'm in the other position. I'll be selling my current bike soon, most likely on a couple of the big MTB buy/sell facebook pages. I know to take pictures of all the details and blemishes, but is there anything else I should note as well? Also, what is the best way to take payment? I've never actually sold anything online before so it's all new to me.

If you've never used ebay before, I wouldn't advise that the first thing you buy is something expensive - start with stuff at a price you can afford to get burnt on.

Is there a rule of thumb for depreciation (all other things being equal)? Meaning if bike x was worth £1500 in 2018, assuming it has only the usual/expected wear and tear, how much could you reasonably expect it to be reduced by 3 years later?

This seems to come up repeatedly, but personally, there are no 'rules'. I don't think i've ever applied the waffle i've seen on here at selling stuff for a fraction of what it costs. I sell a reasonable amount of higher end stuff, mostly because I ride/race for a shop that means I can churn through stuff cost neutral after use (or even positive at the moment) & it always goes for strong money.

Lower end stuff, I guess when as a buyer you have a choice of 20 different options, it might be a bit more price sensitive, but do some research & see what stuff is selling for. For the last 12 months though, all bets are off - stuff is selling for mega strong money, even worn out bits.

I haven't bought a second hand bike for years, but if I were to, for the amount of money I was spending I would definitely want to see it in person, to check all the usuals.

I've just sold off a few bikes on eBay and got far more for them than I'd have dared ask for in normal times in a forum classifieds. Looking at what's around I wouldn't bother with second hand at all if you can find the sort of thing you are after new without too much of a wait.

I'd caveat that by saying if you were after a basic bike that might be worth the trouble but a full susser that might need servicing or currently scare parts, no ta!

Depending on what you are looking for Alpkit/Sonder have bikes available, or at least have quoted dates for orders and deliveries for those out of stock.

Thanks all, some really interesting stuff here.

The type of bike I'm after is probably whole other thread but I essentially want a bike to try at local cyclocross races and (I'm assuming if I get called back into the office) commute to work on a couple of times a week and maybe even do a weekend tour on.

Oddly, this means I think I want a bike that I actually don't like *too* much as I'm a wuss and if I buy one that I have sort of fallen in love with I'll be really reluctant to keep trashing it in the mud at cyclocross every weekend. And I certainly won't be winning any races so safe to say the loss of any marginal gains of a better model will be irrelevant to me.

Having said that, I still would like to get a good deal if I fork out for something of course. I'm not in a rush though so feel like I can stalk the secondhand sites for a while.

Sonder Camino sounds right up your street. I borrowed one for a while and it handled light offroad just as well as it did a 200k audax. 😀

Used prices are so daft at the moment that I've advised any of my friends who are looking to buy new if they can get hold of something that suits their needs.

Since the start of lockdown last year, I've bought and sold:

Gravel bike, bought from a shop online, new old stock, rode it for a couple of hundred easy miles, sold on eBay auction for more than I paid.

Utility drop bar bike for the OH, bought used on eBay, she rode twice and decided she wanted something more off-road focused, sold on eBay auction for more than double what we paid.

Rigid 29er, bought locally (1hr drive) from FB classifieds, did 3 rides, swapped a few bits (cost neutral), sold on eBay auction for 50% more than I paid.

All of the auctions were 99p start with no reserve, so they all found their current market value. Offered post on all of them at £45, first one was collected, the others were shipped with no hassle and buyers very happy. I take lots of good photos, especially of the drivetrain, list a good description and full spec list.

It's nuts out there at the moment! To replace the above, we got a couple of On One Whippets as it was far better value and easier than trying to find something suitable used.

I’d agree, The sort of bike you want I’d buy new. There are some cyclocross style bikes around which might not be as cool as the newer big tyres gravel bikes which are a decent deal.

Something like this would be nice. Genesis bikes are really nicely made.

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Genesis/CDA-10-Disc-Gravel-Bike-2021/SJXS

Mostly I buy parts or frames and most of my buying and selling is on here. If you already know them, or they are acquaintances from races or events, or even if you just get a bit of a conversation going, then it's less anonymous and more open. If you can go and view it, that's preferable, but I wouldn't rule out post for something you really want.

Paypal for distance purchases and cash or bank transfer for buying face to face. And always allow some budget for the consumables like bearings, chains etc. But these aren't necessarily expensive if you can do the work yourself.