HELP! POOR AND MISERABLE

LeicesterLad

Right, i mentioned previously snapping the chain on my 80's raleigh (that i hate, and is too big) so now i want to get something more reliable, as i was constantly getting repairs done. Problem is im p*ss poor and have about £200 to spend, most likely at that price bracket second hand, but im not looking for serious racing, just my usual weekly commute and sunday mileage and a sportive in september. im about 5'9'' and i want a bike that fits! So if anyone comes accross some sort of amazing deal, or see's anything going second hand, can you give me a heads up, as i want to get back on two wheels ASAP before i getta totally depressed and start eating my way to obeasity.

Cheers.

Phil_D

Just get yourself on ebay and sort it. You won't need any help to do that.

LeicesterLad

Been on ebay constantly for 2 days, its all Viking's and Raleighs new, and anything worth its weight second hand at the £200 mark is miles away from me (and i don't drive)

:roll:

Phil_D

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BSA-Prima-Rey ... 2c5dad720e

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Road-Racing-R ... 43a7fbcf00

ian_s

If you can stretch your budget you could do worse than this

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... zone=PDPz1

Phil_D

Or this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Route-Gents-55c ... 810&sr=1-2

one person likes it

Avanti Roman

LeicesterLad wrote:

Right, i mentioned previously snapping the chain on my 80's raleigh (that i hate, and is too big) so now i want to get something more reliable, as i was constantly getting repairs done. Problem is im p*ss poor and have about £200 to spend, most likely at that price bracket second hand, but im not looking for serious racing, just my usual weekly commute and sunday mileage and a sportive in september. im about 5'9'' and i want a bike that fits! So if anyone comes accross some sort of amazing deal, or see's anything going second hand, can you give me a heads up, as i want to get back on two wheels ASAP before i getta totally depressed and start eating my way to obeasity.

Cheers.

Blimey - saw the title and thought someone must have started a thread to help me!

You can use my discount code for a £30 discount if you order a Carrera tdf from Halfords by today (HAL700) - You may be pushed to find a better specced secondhand bike for the £270, it won't have a warranty and you're bound to have a Halfords not too far.

Otherwise I think you need to look out for a lightly used Raleigh Airlite, Btwin/Decathlon, Dawes or Claud Butler or for £250 you may be lucky to find an older Allez, Giant OCR or Coppi.

rolf_f

Bung the Raleigh on Ebay. With some good photos and judicious use of the 'fixie' word, you may be surprised how much you get for it.

Xommul

Have you tried freecycle?

Its a web site where people give away stuff as long as you can collect it. There may be bikes on there which people dont want, you can then spend your 200 doing it up.

ollyridesfirst

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raleigh-Airli ... 3f0b5a5a91

This would be a good start. Finishes in 1 day and 20 hours and as it looks like you may be from Leicester, then Cambridge is just down the road. I had one of these as my first road bike 4 years ago....bought it for £106 off eBay (spanking new as the guy had never used it and his mrs decided to sell), i used it for 18 months and then sold it on eBay for £150

unixnerd

Have you tried freecycle?

I just missed a Dawes Galaxy in Aviemore on freecycle, Doh!

Gumtree is worth a look too. I got a decent Trek for 60 quid last month for my nephew.

kieranb

also some bike shops sell second hand - my first 2 bikes were from stores that did this, one in Reading and one in Elephant & Castle, London. At least they should have been checked over etc and can try for size.

LeicesterLad

Thanks for all the searches on my behalf! Much appreciated and some possible options there! Keep em coming if you see anything worth a look!

tomcog

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 500wt_1156

I know its far from you, but you could try and get a courier to collect it for you?

outcastjack

I have never tried it but it looks nice and fall into your bracket.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2011-RALEIGH- ... 975810a121
and will be a world away from your 80's Raleigh

LeicesterLad

If it was possible to stretch to this... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RALEIGH-100-ROAD-RACING-BIKE-RRP-499-99-VARIOUS-SIZES-/380329895285?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&var=&hash=item9757f8343c

Would anybody recommend?

Avanti Roman

Looks a good buy and nicer looking than a £300 bike from Carrera or Decathlon IMO.

Also worth considering as a cheaper option:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CLAUD-BUTLER-SAN- ... _500wt_832

ollyridesfirst

LeicesterLad wrote:

If it was possible to stretch to this... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RALEIGH-100-ROAD-RACING-BIKE-RRP-499-99-VARIOUS-SIZES-/380329895285?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&var=&hash=item9757f8343c

Would anybody recommend?

my first road bike was an Airlite 100......but as i said i paid £106 for it 2nd hand. There's a few about on the Bay for cheaper than that

Duffer65

I think the Airlites are ok for the money. But are you absolutely sure you can't find anything second hand on e-bay or Gumtree for £200+ that would be older but better spec'd?

LeicesterLad

To be honest Leicester Gumtree is really poor for bikes, and ebay rarely has anything under the age of 30 years old around Leicester, it must just be a Leicester thing, because i see bargains on there in other places but they are all collection only and i just cant get there.

Duffer65

If you can stretch your finances to the Carrera TDF or Raleigh Airlite 100, and you're sure you can't hold on a save a bit more money, you may as well go for it.

Avanti Roman

This LeMond Reno doesn't look bad - 105/Tiagra, buy it now price & delivery option:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/lemond-reno-light ... 825wt_1048

LeicesterLad

Avanti Roman wrote:

This LeMond Reno doesn't look bad - 105/Tiagra, buy it now price & delivery option:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/lemond-reno-light ... 825wt_1048

Looks half decent actually! How would a 57cm sit with me? Im around 5'9'' with short legs, 28-30 inside leg?

Duffer65

It's quite a nice bike, wouldn't mind it myself. I think 57cm might be a bit big though. I'm 5' 10" and also have short legs, my bike's 56cm and that's enough.

Avanti Roman

Hmm, 57CtoC may be too big - sorry about that.

carl_p

If you can stretch to £300 max then you might be able to pick up a 2nd hand Giant SCR including postage. They will also take mudguards so ideal for commuting. A great all round bike in my opinion and plenty of street cred also. Don't rush into a cheap brand new one - they don't look new for long!

You'll need a medium on a Giant by the way

ollyridesfirst

OllyRidesFirst wrote:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raleigh-Airlite-100-2009-Road-Bike-Motocycle-lock-/270773410449?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3f0b5a5a91

This would be a good start. Finishes in 1 day and 20 hours and as it looks like you may be from Leicester, then Cambridge is just down the road. I had one of these as my first road bike 4 years ago....bought it for £106 off eBay (spanking new as the guy had never used it and his mrs decided to sell), i used it for 18 months and then sold it on eBay for £150

Currently at £127 with 4 hours to go....

LeicesterLad

Yeah i have got my eye on that one and will likely be making a bid!

Bit dissapointed with the spec compared to the 2010 though - downtube shifters, steel forks etc, but i cant hang around, any more time off the bike and ill be losing fitness and enthusiasm!

ollyridesfirst

just think how much fitter you'll be with all that weight, and with the added bonus of improving your bike handling and confidence with having to shift from the down tube

Super Domestique

If you can stretch the budget to the TDF that is a decent buy for the money. Try going in store and haggling. I did this last year for one for a relative and got it down from £299 to around £250. as it was the last one.

I read a number of posts where people got at least 10% without much work so worth trying tbh.

It got a decent write up in Cycling Plus and having tried one a few times it rides very well.

LeicesterLad

5 Minutes left...£155, should i buy? :?