What to buy second-hand <£200

NRoberts

Hi.

I live in London and have around £150 (max £200) to spend of a hybrid bike for daily commuting. I want to buy second-hand and I am planning to trawl gumtree and visit Bikeworks (as they are near my workplace), Camden Cycles and maybe a few other shops.

What I am looking for is just some idea of makes / models that might retail second-hand for that sort of price that I should be looking out for.

Again, its a commuter ride I am afetr and my main priority is durability / low-cost of upkeep, relative light weight (I have to carry it up and down stairs each day) and ability to deal with a couple of fairly steep hills of my daily commute.

I currently have a Carrera hybrid which I am keeping but not for the daily commute as I find it just keeps breaking (gears, bearings, axle, shifter...).

Look forward to your suggestions.

Initialised

I swapped a few PC parts (roughly £150-180s worth) for my Giant, I've since replaced everything but the frame, forks, bars stem and rear derailer (new wheels on it though) over the last 3-4 years. So beware with a second hander you might end up paying the same again and more doing it up and customising it to your needs.

supersonic

A seconf hand bike of this price may not be any more durable than the bike you have. Hard to judge what condition they will be in, and may be no better anyway.

Subways are generally good bikes: my money would be on a good service and replacement of parts. I don't see buying a 2nd hand bike at this price as any significant improvement.

MichaelW

Anything less than a midrange model from a reputable brand is not worth buying in the used market. It dosnt matter which reputable brand, Trek, Giant, Specialized, Dawes, Raleigh etc .
For lightness, an aluminium frame is good but check for crash damage, esp frontal impact with a visual check of top tube/head tube deformation. Butted steel frame is also worth having, esp with a branded sticker.
Check the alignment with a piece of string.
Suspension forks are best avoided. Look for fixed forks in lightweight chromoly or heavier hi tensile steel.
As a rough guide to quality, I look at the rear dropouts where the axle fixes. A more elaborate style is found on better models.

Check size, fit, transmission wear, sharks teeth profile, chain wear, and ping the spokes for an even sound and spin for trueness.

Carerra are not a crappy brand and should be fine as everyday commuters. I would second the idea of an upgrade. At least cost it out.

The Rookie

The Carreras use similar (or better) components to most the mid range models for the 'premium' (premium is the price you pay, not what you get for it!) brands, if you have an issue with a Carrera Hybrid (Subway or Gryphon?) you'll have it with any other used bike, learn to maintain (preventative!) your bike, not just wreck another one!

Simon

Joffff

If you know the history of your current bike and are happy with how it rides/handles/looks, I would be inclined to say keep it and replace/repair the areas that need attention. All bikes will need maintenance and you could end up buying something else which will only need the same work doing in a few months.

Danny1962

Durability, low cost and light weight are an impossible triangle. You can have two of these in combination, but never all three.

Better to stick to the bike you know and keep it well maintained.