Would you buy a used bike?

Dawn Cass

Looking for advise...I have a Cervelo P3 purchased new in 2011. Overall love it and no complaints....apart from the normal desire to get something new. Price tag on new P3s is steep....and would actually love the P5 who's price tag requires you to remortgage the house.

I never buy used...anything....but wonder if anyone has luck with buying a used bike.

If so...where do you buy and how do you know/trust no crashes, etc? In the end you would still be spending thousands so is it worth it.

Alternative, I keep my old lady as she has treated me well so far.

Thanks for thoughts.

Kane Murphy

Ha, I am just the opposite. I never buy new...anything...at least not toys that depreciate quickly such as bikes, vehicles, boats, etc. Last 2 bike purchases were only frame sets from E-bay that I built up using mostly existing parts or other lightly used gear. If you plan on keeping your wheels, saddle, power meter, etc. this can be a great way to go. As we all know, there are plenty of triathletes who have to have the latest and greatest new stuff. I don't mind running last years new stuff for half the price. Also have purchased a used bike from the Slowtwitch classified with no issues. I guess it is somewhat of a gamble, but I haven't had any bad experiences.

Also check out My Bike Shop online. http://www.mybikeshop.com/ He has good deals on complete bikes and doesn't mind moving parts/wheels/accessories around for you before you buy. A couple friends have had great experiences getting nice used bikes from him. I think he has a 30 day return policy.

John Withrow

I've bought a couple of new bikes, but got extreme discounts from my LBS. But, over the years, I have purchased over 20 bikes on eBay for many many friends. Almost all of them were awesome! If you buy from somebody with a lot of feedback (over 50 and 99%+ positive) you will likely be fine. I have purchased a few from people with almost 0 feedback and simply adjusted my expectations accordingly and bid way below fair value and still won. That bike was covered with grease and not pretty out of the box, but after a few hours with a rag and some new oil and it looked brand new!

You are more likely to get a better deal on a less known brand and complete bikes are almost always cheaper than piecing one together... I recommend you start adding a lot of bikes to your watchlist and seeing where they actually trade. You can also look at "Completed Transactions" in the Advanced Search function to get an idea for pricing as well. And NEVER bid until the last minute of the auction and be disciplined about sticking to what you are willing to spend.

You are likely to also get a good deal on the slowtwitch classifieds.

Craigslist is an option, but you will be limited to what's available within driving distance. I would NOT buy something on Craigslist that had to be shipped to you...

MattAaronson

All of my tri bikes have been bought used:

2010: A Felt that was my first-ever tri bike. Bought it locally off via Craigslist
2011: An Orbea that I used for my first HIM and then for every race until Steelhead 2014. Bought from Matt Ancona (EN teammate)
2014: A BMC TM01 with DI2. Bought for just under $5,000 locally via Craigslist. Just days after purchase I rode it to an 8' bike split PR and ~3' half-iron PR at Steelhead. I then trained on it April-Sept and used it for IMWI in 2015.

Buying used is OUTSTANDING VALUE. That BMC would have cost over $10k purchased new with stock components (pretty much all stock when I bought it used...the original owner had ridden it for a year and done almost no upgrades). That said, you need to KNOW YOUR FIT and exactly what you are looking for. You cannot compromise on frame dimensions...know what you want and THAT is what you buy. Learn abotu the model years and what changed and what model years of each make you'd be willing to consider. If it takes several months to find used, then that's how long it takes. Know that you can always upgrade components but the cost of doing that sometime gets out of hand without you knowing it as you buy things individually via eBay etc.

Just my $0.02!!

Dave Tallo

I vote for the "alternative," since you put it out there. If your current p3 fits, it's a pretty hard bike to beat, and the gains from an upgrade to the p5 would be marginal. Just making some Wildass guesses here, but upgrading to a p5 might find you another 4 minutes over an Ironman, but cost, say, 5g. I bet I could find comparable race-day savings for far less, if not free.

Then again, the heart wants what the heart wants, and if a new bike makes you happier, healthier or want to ride more, then who am I to say don't upgrade. But when you consider someone like Al T has set course records, got to Kona 6(?) times, and pretty much done all there is to do in this sport on a bike that's 12+ years old, well ... there's something to that.

(Edit to savings and price).

Finally, like some of the others, I have bought far more used than new, and every one of these has worked 121; very</g> well. So, full disclosure there.

JeremyBehler

+1 what Kane, JW, and Matt said. I've bought nearly all of my toys 'pre owned'. If you do a little diligence up front you can all but eliminate risk and save serious $. I bought my P5 in essentially new condition for $5200 and as species was over $10k one year prior. I have bought 5-10 bikes on eBay...all elite level road and Tri bikes and had zero issues. Check buyer feedback and use PayPal and you are very well protected.

JeremyBehler

Oh...and one more thing....if you are like me and have bike ADD you will find that after the initial depreciation that you take advantage of it levels out pretty quickly. So if you decide to sell you will get much of that value back.

Coach Rich

I'm in the same boat, will soon be buying a used bike to replace my '06 P3C. I have no concerns with buying used, other than finding what I want at the price I'm willing to pay. Just need to be patient.

Dawn Cass

Thanks for the feedback all....will keep my eyes open for what's available. If not comfortable with what's out there...may stick with Dave's thought process and stick with current. Will keep you posted!

thekidduxc

+1 for used. Have purchased 3 bikes; a benefit for me is I know my frame sizes by the brands I enjoy riding.

William Jenks

Buying used is clearly the bargain way to go. Depending on what you're looking for and how big the discount is, what I figure I am buying from time to time has been the loyalty of my LBS, which is huge, and very valuable to me. They give me a discount without asking and do all kinds of stuff for me just walking in. Essentially, in a way I have pre-paid for some service this way.

But again, clearly if you are a DIY guy, used is a great option.

Dino Sarti

Yes! Of course.