2nd Hand Group Setts - Good idea?

Bergkamp

Dear All,

I am looking into purchasing a second hand (Campagno veloce 9/10 speed) group set and was wondering if this is a sensible idea?

I am not that experienced with bicycle componentry in general, so have slight concerns that I am open to being turned over!

Any thoughts, comments or opinions are most welcome.

Kind regards,

Wooliferkins

As in all second hand sales, caveat emptor. Many chainsets will be being sold after an upgrade and will be fine. The state of the chainrings and bottom bracket bearings need consideration. Is it such a good buy if you are going to fork out for new rings as well. Replacement bearings are available for the newer external cup BBs. If it is a square taper what condition are the tapers in? If you can have a look at it if not quiz the seller, better a few seemingly stupid questions than a poor purchase.

crankycrank

There will always be some risk with second hand no matter how much knowledge you have mostly in the moving parts of any piece since it's not always obvious how much wear they have. If the parts are in near immaculate appearance that is always a good sign since parts inevitably get nicks and chips with a few miles on them. Look for abrasion marks on the rear mech outer surface, brake/shifters, ends of crankarms, and quick release skewer ends where they might have hit the ground a few times and may been functionally damaged as well. Worn out brake pads generally mean high mileage unless the seller is a heavy bloke who lives at the top of a mountain. If they show you the kit and its dirty and full of gunk thats a good sign that it has not been maintained properly since they can't even be bothered to clean it for a sale. Of course the more you know the better so maybe some google searches for things to watch out for with the Veloce kit would be wise.