Buying Advice

suzyb
suzyb Posts: 3,449
edited August 2009 in Commuting chat
After receiving news today that I'd finally be getting some money I'm owed I've decided to upgrade my "very budget side of budget" :P bike.

My budget is still quite limited, £300 max so I was thinking of buying second hand and I spotted this one on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

Is it a good buy.
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Comments

  • Aidy
    Aidy Posts: 2,015
    Call me overly suspicious, but I'd be curious as to where all those bikes were coming from.
  • gabriel959
    gabriel959 Posts: 4,227
    I sense stolen bikes there mate
    x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
    Commuting / Winter rides - Jamis Renegade Expert
    Pootling / Offroad - All-City Macho Man Disc
    Fast rides Cannondale SuperSix Ultegra
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    Yeah, 'Bikeshotta' doesn't inspire me with belife.....
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • suzyb
    suzyb Posts: 3,449
    Why's that.

    Don't you get second hand bike dealers. Although in saying that he has sold a lot of bikes in a very short space of time.

    Is there any questions I could ask to find out if it's a stolen bike.

    Or what about this one http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT
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  • night_porter
    night_porter Posts: 888
    Anyone who gets advice not to buy a bike on Ebay because the seller looks like they are selling stolen bikes and then finds another seller who has sold "many" bikes is one of 2 things.

    Is:

    1) Trying hard not to understand that a genuine sellers rating would consist of many different purchases and sales not just bikes.

    2) The purveyor of said stolen bikes who has more than one Ebay id and wants to advertise their "stock" for free on BikeRadar in the hope that a newby bike enthusiast will fall for the scam.
  • suzyb
    suzyb Posts: 3,449
    night_porter wrote:
    Anyone who gets advice not to buy a bike on Ebay because the seller looks like they are selling stolen bikes and then finds another seller who has sold "many" bikes is one of 2 things.

    Is:

    1) Trying hard not to understand that a genuine sellers rating would consist of many different purchases and sales not just bikes.

    2) The purveyor of said stolen bikes who has more than one Ebay id and wants to advertise their "stock" for free on BikeRadar in the hope that a newby bike enthusiast will fall for the scam.
    3) Someone who didn't check the detailed feedback of the second seller and therefore didn't realise they're sales consisted of a good many bikes and not a variery of different items.

    But hey thanks for signing up just to accuse me of....

    1) Being stupid.

    2) Being a fence of stolen bikes. Which I'm clearly so desperate to use BikeRadar for I even went so far as to create a thread asking for maintenance advice in which I posted a picture of a crappy budget bike.
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  • artaxerxes
    artaxerxes Posts: 612
    You can get a Decathlon Sport 1 road bike for £270

    Or a Carrera Virtuoso if you can cough up an extra £20 over your £300 limit.

    Although at this price range you might be better off buying second hand. Maybe it's just me but personally I wouldn't buy a bike off eBay as I'd want to have a test ride before handing over any money.
  • suzyb
    suzyb Posts: 3,449
    Thanks everyone. I think I'll try and avoid the second hand route and pop down to my LBS.

    I'm pretty short (5ft) so could find it difficult to find a second hand the correct size for me locally. And a shop would be able to advise me better. There's a lot more to this than I thought.
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  • Cafewanda
    Cafewanda Posts: 2,788
    I'd agree with you going the LBS route too. I'm an inch shorter than you and it wouldn't occur to me to look at Ebay for a bike. It's more than enough hassle finding shops that have bikes for me as it is, but I've managed to find one or three :)

    You'll get there in time.

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