I'm in the market for a very cheap road bike, most likely second-hand.
I've been looking on Retro-bike, Ebay and Pinkbike and reckon I'm only going to spend maybe £350 tops, perhaps less.
I think my plan is to buy a cheap bike now and if I take to it I will then start saving for a decent bike and hopefully retain the cheap one for maybe winter use or keep it on rollers in the garage or whatever.
I've never bought a second-hand bike before or even bought anything off Ebay at all, so wondering if there are any obvious pitfalls I should avoid and anything else I should especially look out for?
I'm aware the Triban's and Carrera's are often the go-to models for entry level road bikes and somebody at work is selling a relatively unused Carrera TdF for £150 which is slightly tempting but I'm thinking it's probably better value to buy an older but higher-specced bike off Ebay?
But mainly any suggestions as to what should be avoided and/or sought-after would be great.
I'm beginning to realise how vain I must be as soon as I see a bike with a nice paint-job and trims etc I'm immediately tempted regardless of the spec 😕
Cheers
Duggan
EDIT- wrong thread somehow!
The less used the better.
Transmission wear can mean replacing chain etc costing £££ - you can measure the chain with a ruler. Corrosion in cables is another, bearing wear another.
I suspect there will be video guides? Hate to be negative but ive seen too many sh purchases cost hundreds to put right.
Cheers Cynic-Al. I think my mate has a chain-checker tool so I guess I can take that with me if I go to view anything.
From looking at Ebay I think I'm going to try for a second-hand but slightly higher specced bike- there seems to be a couple of machines that have been bought and hardly used so think I'll see if I can get lucky with something being sold by a failed MAMIL perhaps.
size / fit is more important than spec for a road bike - invest in a session to get measured - then look for the bike to fit , great spec bad fit not good.
Check frame alignment to make sure it hasn't had any accidents.
Your budget will get a nice steel bikewith Shimano 600 (ultegra). The seller is usually a good indicator of the bik. Lgfss is a good source for used. It is abit like here witha lot of self-regulation.
Depends how posh you want. My hack road bike cost me £100
It's steel and has old campy 10 speed ( 5 rear and double front ring)
Still has down tube shifters etc but it rides very well and it fits me
I changed the tyres when I first got it and new cables and it's been fine for the last 1000 or miles
But above all ride anything first
