Tips For Buying A Used Or Second-hand Road Bike

Buying a second hand or used road bike can be a great way to save loads of cash and get a great deal. Ollie give his buyers guide and insights that you should look out for when on the hunt for your next cycling treasure.

Have we missed anything? What do you look out for when buying a second-hand bike? Let us know in the comments below 👇

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Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound:
Insidious Mice - Arthur Benson
Breathing Life - Halcyon Lounge
ou've Got Me Falling (Midnight Cycler Remix) (Instrumental Version) - Sebastian Forslund

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[halincandenza]

A few tips about your psychology:
- The further you travel to go look at the bike the more likely you are to buy it because you already invested a lot of time. So always be prepared to leave if there is any doubt. Chances are you'll find a better deal closer to you in a few weeks.
- If you already bring a lot of cash to the deal you may be more likely to spend it. I only go to withdraw money on the test ride if possible and I only withdraw as much as I am willing to spend.

- Talk to the seller about what you're looking at on the bike. Talk about what it would cost to fix. Listen to their response. Are they nervous? Are they defensive?
- Never rush. It takes time to look at a bike. Take as much time as you need. Be aware of situations where other buyers can pressure you into a decision such as auctions or flea markets.

- If you're responding to an online ad that has been posted for weeks and the bike is still available, the price is too high. Use this to negotiate.



Bonus tip:

- Always write a bill of sale with your names, date, location, price, description of the bike as well as frame number.

[cup_and_cone]

Four critical areas I always look at for "real" condition usage that the owner cannot hide:
1-The previous owner's weight. It's not offensive, it's just science...the bike ridden by a 145lbs person is going to see less stress than the guy who weighs 225lbs.
2-The STI levers. If the bike has been crashed, you'll see cosmetic signs on the blades. If the bike was neglected and laid onto concrete or against a wall, you'll see cosmetic damage. More advanced technique: Shifters also get sloppy over time and with use, so feeling how they shift and feel in your hands in reference to a new pair can be useful; specifically the brake lever bushing.
3-Chainrings. They're expensive, so people won't bother replacing chainrings like they will a cassette or chain, and the chainrings will provide more realistic insight at drivetrain wear. Chainrings with minimal wear either say the bike hasn't been ridden much, or the owner has spent the money to take care of the bike properly. People often overlook jockey wheels too.
4-Braking surface of the rims. People can put new pads on, true wheels, clean them, but they cannot add new material back to the braking surface. Understanding how crisp the machining is on a new aluminum rim or abrasive the surface is on new carbon rims can help beyond any wear indicators that may be there.

Things I don't pay much attention to:
1-Bartape...a brand new bike with less than 500 miles can still have filthy tape if the owner always has greasey and dirty hands.
2-Same as the first...cheap tires can wear with less than 1, 500 miles, especially heavier riders. If you know they're OEM, then it's likely they were never replaced. It's also impossible to know if the owner didn't ride a second wheelset instead and kept the original set pristine.
3-Seat; unless you know for certain the saddle is OEM to the bike, people swap seats all the time, so it's impossible to reference it to the life of the bike (good or bad).

[pauldjerassi]

A great starter video for some young person getting into cycling thanks Ollie.

[hashaborgonja]

Well, this happens quite often, middle-aged man with alot of money to spare wants to get in shape, so he buys a good bike because everybody else at the office got it. He tries it for a few Miles, feels it's not for him and sells the bike 75% off because he doesn't want to be reminded of the humiliation.

[reginaldscot]

You forgot to kick the tyres and suck air through your teeth while shaking your head.... that always works for people buying second hand cars.

[Pratalax]

HAH oh you know it's not gonna be an Ollie B video without some props and shenanigans inside the first 30 friggin' seconds. Legend.

[oreocarlton]

Can confirm, I already bought 2 Pinarello Dogmas from Nigerian prince that quit cycling, great deal! He has a few more, PM me if you want to buy as well!

[ragzard]

Well, this video, by far and wide, is the best collection of hints and tips about the subject. I thought I could give good advice but men I was wrong! Excellent job, folks.

[mikecallihan]

Ok, I will buy one of Si’s used bikes as we ride the same size. It will need to be a good deal though, as the drive train likely will need replaced do to the use of WD40.

[DBxCooper]

I skipped this whole process. I went on eBay.
found the prettiest, lightest thing in my budget. I then lowballed my offer. It was sold to someone else.

Repeated this process a couple times until finally, I landed a nice one😁

No guts no glory.

[HR-wsrj]

Great video! Ollie is a brilliant presenter

[cyclingbrad]

Have a crappy bike used for the demo that has bad bearings, bottom bracket, bad rear hub so we can see it for ourselves and better know what to look out for.

[daviddjerassi]

I only found this now 4 years late but its still relevant to day its so comprehensive thank you Ollie a great video

[Bugumir]

Well this was one sorely needed 13 minute tutorial. Thank you. And great job.

[carlinman]

Well done Ollie, very useful information.

[MatchmakerYvon]

A thorough overview of what to look for in a used bike. Thank you so much.

[PoetWithPace]

Just what I needed as I’m thinking of potential second hand bike 👍🏼

[chuckp]

Thank you for making this video. Extremely informative .

[JakeMay]

Probably the most helpful GCN video I've seen.

[scbarnett]

i replaced the wheel rim and hub bearings so to recycle the hub, . axle, . leaver, . and spokes. its an rewarding job that if you photo the spokes patten... gave me the confidence to build my own hard tail e bike.. still in pro'