This is just blind curiosity……

So i sometimes take a look at the buy/sell on pinkbike, classifieds here or browse ebay for bikes. And you sometimes get some really rather expensive items for sale.

I have a theoretical budget of about 4k for a new bike (as and when i am in the market, which i am currently not), but i would never spend that on a used bike, due to the worry of warranty issues and not having (possibly) an LBS to get support from etc. Maybe this is unfounded paranoia that means i am missing out on used baragins?!

So how much would you be willing to spend on a used or 2nd hand bike? would you drop nearly 9k on a norco… https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3171018/

Or 6k on an ebike… https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3206047/

i am interested to hear your thoughts!

Personally, I would only spend big money if I knew the heritage (i.e. it was a friend of mine, or from a shop I trusted).
Otherwise I reckon I top out at the price I could get a good new bike for (2.5k maybe).

Pretty much the same as Alex. £3k absolute max. You’ve got zero warranty on a potential £1k fork, £450 shock, £2.5k frame, £500 wheels, £500 groupset. And that only gets worse when you have a higher spec bike.

And you don’t know how well serviced the bike was until you pop the bearing seals, drop the lowers or do an air can service.

When you can get brand new bikes for a £3k that are GX spec in a sale (I’m assuming you can still?!) It seems mighty hard to spend a lot of cash on something that is a risky bet.

If I knew the owner, or worked on their bike – different story.

The most I’ve spent on a used bike was £2k, but that was £2k of parts to make a bike, if any individual bit wasn’t up to scratch I was down at most a couple of hundred.
I would be reluctant to spend that on a whole used bike for the reasons you state, warrenty etc.
However, I once spent £4.5k on a used van and a lot more than that on a second hand house

I spent a bit on my HB160. Not a **** chance I’d spend 9k on a second hand bike, and wouldn’t touch a second hand ebike with a shitty stick.

£2000 max for me… either for the lad or myself.

The Norco guy must be insane, how does a £4.5k bike cost £3k to get here, and how the hell has he come to that figure, the build is budget shimano with upgraded XT brakes and a few bits and it’s 2nd hand. You would have to be mental to pay that.

You would have to be mental to pay that.#

We bought eldest_oab a £2.5k Radon Swoop in sale for £1800. Two years of very heavy riding later, we sold it as ‘pretty worn’ for £850.

The lad who bought it stuffed it off a jump a few weeks later and snapped the rear end. This was replaced. Plus some new grips, saddle and a smattering of Hope and Pinkbike stickers

He then put it for sale at £2.2k…and I believe sold it.

Jeez. I wouldn’t even pay £4k for a new bike!

I think I’m too fussy to pay much for a second hand bike – I’d almost always end up changing lots of the components.

No way I’d spend serious money on a second hand ebike with all the issues that could occur with the motors etc.

As others have said I may drop more money on a bike a friend has owned but none of my friends look after their bikes that much so certainly wouldn’t be asking that much!

If I was going to spend serious money on a bike I’d just buy new and would go frame only as I always do and take my time building it up so I’m probably not the perfect case scenario!

That pinkbike guy is clearly crazy, there’s no way he’s going to sell it for that much, it was clearly a labour of love to get it here and to then change your mind, you’ll never recoup.

You’ll always get chancers who think if you buy a £3k bike and spend £2k upgrading it that it’s then worth £5k.

I wouldn’t spend more than £2k 2nd hand, but then I wouldn’t spend much more than that brand new!

 Not a **** chance I’d spend 9k on a second hand bike, and wouldn’t touch a second hand ebike with a shitty stick.

I rode along with a chap at Glentress a few months back on a “nearly new” SC Heckler, he’d bought second hand for £9K. I’ve no idea if he knew the seller, or any other details, but clearly folks do buy these bikes.

Most I’ve spent on a whole bike is £1500, though probably a fair bit more on bikes I’ve built entirely from second hand parts.

Most I’ve sold for is £2500, once for a 4yr old, 8k new, bike and once for a 4yr old, £5.5k new, ebike (mid pandemic mind). Again, probably got more from bikes I’ve split and sold in parts

That Norco seller is in for the shock of his life.

Plenty of people do spend a lot of money on second hand bikes. I sold a 12 month old ebike, which was ‘well’ used for £5k a few months ago & sold another £5k normal bike recently.

As to what I would spend on one, if it had warranty & it was what I wanted, and a price I deemed ok, then I’d consider it. Generally I only really buy new though, as I am fortunate enough to get a deal on things, I can keep a bike/frame/whatever for 12 months & punt it on at what it cost me (or actually make a reasonable sum of money right now!).

You could get a C1 Range with awesome spec including Onyx hubs for under 7k, then add the shipping, import and VAT, how has he spent 3k to get it here, you could fly out there with a bike bag have a holiday then fly back with it for less. Slightly upgraded with XT brakes and Renthal cockpit is irrelevant. 9k is the biggest psstake of the year.

I paid £1.5k for one I hadn’t seen, but it was via a bike shop and they sent me lots of photos. It was £3k new and less than a year old. Turned out to be a bargain.

Most expensive bike I’ve ever bought was a 2nd hand specialized stumpjumper 2017 model. £850 the week before we went into the first lockdown.

I have an aversion to spending money where I don’t need to 😀

Seeing as he bought it in Canada, has he just taken the CAD figure and put a pound sign in front of it? Even 9kCAD would be expensive mind!

I managed to pick up a 2nd hand but new bike last year for about half price. I was a bit dubious that it was claimed it had never been ridden. The pics looked like it hadn’t but until you see something in the flesh I’m never quite sure. When I did see it, and it was a 150 mile round trip it was pretty clear it hadn’t turned a wheel in anger. The lad explained what had happened, I handed over the cash and was a happy man. I’ve since upgraded bits that I would have anyway, but I’ve also seen the exact same bike in original spec, but having been used for 2 year and they wanted half as much again on what I paid for mine. Therefore I would say, it’s completely dependant on the bike, who has owned it, the spec and obviously the condition. Do the research and go in with your eyes open.

9k is the biggest pisstake of the year.

agreed. Its the bottom of the rnage build. $5,599, guessing that’s CAD onot USD, either way, probably not miles off that number in GBP?

C3 optic carbon frame, a bit less complex similar groupset is £3.1K

Like many others I’m not sure I’d spend more than 2k on a bike full stop – in fact all the solo bikes I’ve bought recently have been well under 1.5k, including 2 bought secondhand

The lad selling the £9K Norco is off his nut, the bike is 5000 Euro new

I’ve just bought a second hand Nukeproof Reactor 290 for £1700 but it looks like it’s only been ridden once or twice. It’s mint. I was looking at buying a new frame but thought I’d check what full bikes were around and figured a full bike for not much more than a new frame is decent.

I wouldn’t spend much more on a second hand bike than that though, tbh I probably wouldn’t spend more than about 2.5k on a new bike any way.

That 9k Norco is rediculous!

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teethgrinder
Full Member

I wouldn’t touch a second hand ebike with a shitty stick.

I did, about 18 months ago. I’ve replaced a couple of drive shaft bearings, fitted a new primary chain and a new sprag clutch….cost not a lot and just pretty much normal maintenance type stuff.
Probably the only thing that would be more of an issue to work on is the ECU – even stator coils would be available and not that hard to replace.
They’re not witchcraft, it’s just a machine.

Presumably you wouldn’t touch a used car or van either?

Probably the only thing that would be more of an issue to work on is the ECU – even stator coils would be available and not that hard to replace.
They’re not witchcraft, it’s just a machine.

Presumably you wouldn’t touch a used car or van either?

It would be useful to know what motor it is? Where did you get the spares?
You can’t get any of that stuff as spares for Shimano, only unofficial bearing kits. A used car or van is a lot more repairable.

There’s a lot of overpriced bikes at the moment IMO. Think its a hangover from the Covid-tax prices.
ebay auctions seem more realistic.

MosI spent was £1800 for an Orange 5. But I knew the PO and knew it was almost brand new with a heap of upgrades. Won’t do it again though. Plenty of nice bikes for around that price new.

Presumably you wouldn’t touch a used car or van either?

The difference is spare parts are widely available for cars and vans, whereas you can’t just go to your LBS and they can replace the ECU is a Bosch motor etc.

The last one was 5.5k. I would spend more if required for a healthy saving over new.
Assuming a decent amount of transferable warranty was left. Ebikes only, not interested in olde stylee pedallers.

I thought the guy selling the used Ribble for £100 under new price was trying on the covid tax but that Norco is mad. Although shipping is stupid expensive right now, plus duty plus VAT would add up to about 3k. CAD. Not £ though.

£9k?! I guess the drugs don’t come cheap.

I buy and sell all the time – not as a trader just as an obsessive!!

The most I’ve spent/sold for is around £2k – which has been in high end carbon and Ti hard tails

My feeling is that once you’re spending upwards of that, you face huge potential depreciation – and given my taste for moving them on and trying out another, that just wouldn’t work – but if you intended to keep for a long time, then maybe you’d be grabbing a bargain and in the long term your spares and maintenance costs are not going to be too different to a new bike…/ so you pays your money and takes your choice I suppose!

One of the things I love doing though is buying “old” 26ers in real superbike specs – just to try out the ones I couldn’t afford back in the day – XTR, kashima, hope, Chris king, yeti, Ibis, etc, etc… and all cheap as chips and all hold their value – what’s not to like!! (As an example I’m currently riding a Mondraker Foxy XR – a £4K bike new that I bought in super nick and is a lovely ride)

Having said all of that, my “best bike” is a Shand Bahookie I had built as a present to myself while recovering from a broken back last year – I deffo won’t be parting with that – (partly because the aforementioned depreciation would kill me!! But also because it’s bloody lovely!!)

I have no real concern buying second hand if i get to check it over, most i spent for 3k on a s/h bike.

Most manufacturers either have warranty or crash replacement anyway, i’ve not had a s/h bike break on me yet without it being crashed badly, so i tend not to get too worried if you check them over well enough and know what to look for.

Not read all posts (sorry. Been drinking so didn’t make it to the bottom of the page!)
I recently sold a nearly new £9k road bike for £6200. I didn’t pay £9k, I got my money back as have a deal with manufacturer so don’t pay anywhere near RRP.
Depending on the bike, I’d probably spend about £4 or £5k second hand. In fact I’m on the look out for an old school rim brake Supersix Hi Mod, I’d happily pay good money for one in the right size and spec.
For a new bike, I’d honestly happy spend £10 or £12k…..the wife would leave me and I’d be destitute, but I’d spend it if she let me!
Most I’ve spent is £6k for the one I recently sold.
Unfortunately my deal with the manufacturer has ended as my contact has gone back to the US hence looking at eBay.
Home I sold the manufacturer was happy to pass the lifetime warranty on to the person who bought it.

£9K on a new bike is ridiculous… £9k second hand is just mind boggling!

Depends on the bike.

I bought a 98 Zaskar LE with full XTR and RS SID Race forks for $750 AUD
I bought a Ti Lynskey full susser for $2500 AUD

Really depends on what you’re after, and how desperate you are and how much you want the bike in question?

(Both the above bikes got stolen recently too)

covid tax is still rife in some people minds. That Range clearly isn’t worth 9k, but there’s always a chance there’s one person out there that’ll buy it.
If you want one, there are 3 brand new larges available in Canadian dealers right now for 4500quid (plus shipping and duties)

Its staggering to think how much $ I’d have if I’d sold my last 14 years worth one season old bikes at “covid money” rather than “pass on the deal” money

The current used bike project is a 250quid Felt Compulsion 1 frameset, on the stand right now being built as a mini DH bike for kiddo1. I shipped the frame from UK to Canada for 55quid +35 more in duty.
Used bikes have to be an absolute deal.

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HoratioHufnagel
Free Member

It would be useful to know what motor it is? Where did you get the spares?

Dyname 3 (Rocky Mountain). The only proprietary item of those I’ve listed was the sprag clutch and that came from the excellent Zero Bikes.
Primary chain, although available as a kit, is just AISI 0.25” pitch roller chain, so I just bought a metre of Renolds chain and a few connecting links – roller bearings I think I got from Wyche Bearings although it might have been somewhere else.
I forgot – I also fitted a new output countershaft (the original had worn splines) – about £25, again from Zero Bikes.

I spent 2k for a frame and forks combo 4 years ago.
Sometimes you take a punt and it works out OK – still my daily rider – Yeti SB6 30th Anniv.

I wouldn’t spend more than £2k 2nd hand, but then I wouldn’t spend much more than that brand new!

This is basically my mindset, but the most I’ve ever spent was circa £1400ish accumulated spend on a DH bike (assembled from parts), well over a decade ago now, before kids and mortgage were a consideration.
Obviously bikes have gotten pricier since then, at the same time I’ve gotten tighter, I manage to stretch a pretty limited budget quite far I reckon…

£2k should buy you a good bike new, and a pretty nice bike used (age and niche dependant) the major difference is obviously going to be the level of parts fitted and the absence of any guarantee or Warranty (but how often do people actually call on those?). It’s the same risk Vs Reward calculation that buying a used bike ever was, the headline number just goes up with inflation.

£4k would certainly be a fair chunk to risk on a single bike for me (especially used), I’m sure it’s pocket change for others. But if I had it available to spend just on bike stuff I’d probably buy a couple of bikes (new and/or used) and some kit/parts, might as well hedge your bets.

And given the various anecdotes of failures, there’s no way I’d be buying a used E-bike these days…

It used to be the case that a new bike depreciated 50% in the first year, and 10% each year there after, current supply issues have thrown all that out of the window for now, but personally I’d stick to it.

There are so many consumables and maintenance requirements with bikes and other factors. a new £5k from a shop comes with, a warranty, usually a 0% finance option (worth around 10% of it’s value)
brand new drive train and fresh shocks etc.

I’ve seen lots of bikes advertised second-hand as ‘mint’ which usually means they’ve invisiframed them, washed it and given it a dose of GT85, but if you want a new-bike feel, you’ll usually need 2x tyres, brake pads, shock and fork service, chain, cassette and ring, maybe some grips etc.