New Bike

Ralph Moore

I have been saving and looking for a new tri bike for a while now.  It seems to me that buying a new bike is not likely to be much different in my performance range than buying a newish bike (say 2102 or newer) and that by considering a good used bike, I might be able to leverage my budget to get more features (like Di2) than I would otherwise be able to afford.

While there are lots of Cervelos on e-bay, they seem to be asking almost what the bike cost new for bikes that are several years old. Case in point, there is this 2014 P3 for $3500 with standard shifting http://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-Cervelo-P3-Tri-Bike-Size-61/171901990072?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=1&asc=33097&meid=5be2885a35204bf480c9a12dd7415f20&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&sd=141396346771

I found this bike that is in my size range for $3000 with Di2 but I am not too familiar with Giant tri bikes  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Giant-Trinity-Composite-1-2014-X-Large-Road-Bike-Tri-Bike-Aero-Di2-Ultegra-/141396346771?hash=item20ebe10793

Thoughts?

Is a $3000 budget realistic to likely get a Di2 bike or is this just a one-off?

MattAaronson

Posted By Ralph Moore on 03 Sep 2015 02:45 PM

by considering a good used bike, I might be able to leverage my budget to get more features (like Di2) than I would otherwise be able to afford.

YES!!! SMART MOVE!!! My last 2 bikes have been bought used, most recently I bought a bike last August that was basically an $11k bike for which I paid a bit under $5k. Check Craigslist where you live after a big Ironman race in the region and you might find even better deals from "one and done" people who plowed a ton of cash into a nice bike just for one big summer of training and racing.

The real key is of course FIT. Rather than look for any bike with specific components in your price range, look for a specific bike that you know will fit you. When I was searching I wanted a BMC TM01 in frame size M-S. So that really focused my search. It made my search longer but eventually I got what I wanted.

As to your budget, $3k is low for a DI2 bike but not out of range. It may be the really old DI2 and not the etube-compatible components so be aware of that.

Coach Rich

Di2 is awesome but you absolutely do not want to older Di2, 9070, I believe. Shimano no longer supports it and there are no replacement parts, anywhere. Ask me how I know...

Also, I wouldn't sweat the bars, stem, etc. Everything hanging on the bike, other than the frame, should be considered something you can always sell to get you into something else (ie, other bar system) that you really want. 

Andres Duarte

Hi Matt,

Buying a used carbon bike, what is your advice?

I have been tempted to buy one bike in ebay, but since it is in the other side of the US I can't take a deep look.  I am concerned at buying a used carbon bike.  Should I? More than if it was aluminum? If I buy it.. just a dealer check can give me assurance that it wont break in my third ride?

Thanks

Coach Rich

Posted By Andres Duarte on 04 Sep 2015 09:10 AM

Hi Matt,

Buying a used carbon bike, what is your advice?

I have been tempted to buy one bike in ebay, but since it is in the other side of the US I can't take a deep look.  I am concerned at buying a used carbon bike.  Should I? More than if it was aluminum? If I buy it.. just a dealer check can give me assurance that it wont break in my third ride?

Thanks

If you're hesitant, have the seller send you lots of pics of any areas you're concerned about.

MattAaronson

Any eBay transaction is inherently risky but on the other hand there are many, MANY successful transactions. If the seller has a good rating you sort of have to weigh the risk and decide if you're willing to accept it. Personally I would buy a $5k carbon bike on eBay. I'm not sure I'd buy a $10k bike though. And I wouldn't buy a $500 bike from someone who looked sketchy or if the listing had a bunch of caveats and the like. Truthfully, if you are new to eBay you are at somewhat higher risk of problems because you might not be as attuned to stuff in listings that could be indicative of problems or to reading between the lines in sellers' responses to inquiries you make.

Ralph Moore

Yes,
I have gotten a prebuy fit from Todd and the Giant was not on the list so I emailed him. If the frame is 2014, it should have the newer Di2. We will see.

John Withrow

I've bought at least 25+ bikes on eBay (most of them Carbon). No they were not all for me, but I seem to be the go to eBay guy for all of my friends looking for bikes. I've not had a bad experience of the ~25+. Usually I only buy from people with high feedback scores (>50 and I read them to see what else they were previously selling - high end stuff is better IMO). One time I bought a cheap bike with a sketchy listing from a dude with no feedback, literally 0 feedback and selling errors everywhere. I paid ~$500 below what I thought was fair value and knew exactly what I was getting myself into. The bike arrived a week later and was filthy, covered with grease and deraileurs out of tune and a brake rubbing... I checked stolen bike lists from the area the seller shipped from and found nothing. I spent 2hrs building it, cleaning it, cleaning it some more, then tuning it. It was an AWESOME bike at a great price and my friend is still using it 3.5 yrs later.

On eBay, bikes like Cervelo, Trek, Specialized trade all the time and in a pretty transparent price range. Brands like Blue, Swift, etc. Trade much less frequently so you have a MUCH higher probability of getting a good deal.

You can usually find one of two things (but rarely both).
1) a really good deal on a bike
2) a bike very quickly

MattAaronson

Posted By John Withrow on 04 Sep 2015 10:23 AM
On eBay, bikes like Cervelo, Trek, Specialized trade all the time and in a pretty transparent price range. Brands like Blue, Swift, etc. Trade much less frequently so you have a MUCH higher probability of getting a good deal.

You can usually find one of two things (but rarely both).
1) a really good deal on a bike
2) a bike very quickly

So true. Patience is key. BMC also more thinly traded with good deals to be had.

Ralph Moore

Rich was right on. The Giant has the old Di2.