Local bike shops in London with great choice on second hand

Gianluca
Gianluca Posts: 23
edited July 2012 in Road beginners
Hello,

I'm recently moved to London and looking for road bike to use for commuting to work and for cycling on my days off. Could you tell me some names of local bike shops where I can buy a second hand road bike in good condition?
My budget isn't huge, I want to spend something between £300 and 400. I'm interested on something similar to a Specialized Allez, Giant Defy, Cannondale Caad8 or Jamis Ventura.

Thank you in advance,

Gianluca

Comments

  • kleinstroker
    kleinstroker Posts: 2,133
    I've been in London for a while and never found any shops that sell complete second hand bikes, but London is a big place. I expect there must be somewhere though. Edwardes on Camberwell road used to do some pretty good deals on new bikes from previous seasons, so that might be worth considering as well. The classified forums on here and elsewhere are probably your best bet, also the ever present fleabay!!
  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    http://stationbicycles.co.uk/

    http://www.re-cycling.co.uk/

    Google is your friend.
    Yellow is the new Black.
  • kleinstroker
    kleinstroker Posts: 2,133
    Nice find Smidsy! Will check out that one in Elephant myself.
  • Courage Monsieur
    Courage Monsieur Posts: 534
    Never seen anywhere in London selling good 2nd hand road bikes.

    The places linked above are interesting but expect knackered (and probably stolen) hybrids and MTBs. There's another place on Walworth Rd near Elephant that does something similar.

    Edwardes mentioned above does have 2nd hand bikes, but again it's largely MTB and hybrids. It does have nicely priced high end, new road bikes, now and then.

    Gumtree or eBay your best bet by a long way, I'd say.
  • Gianluca
    Gianluca Posts: 23
    Yesterday I went to Edwardes and tried a Giant Defy 5. Nice bike, was my first ride on a road bike so I'm not so technical.
    The price was interesting (£465) for being a 2012 model, but the size is too small for my height (size M/L but I'm 1.86m, so I would looking for a XL frame).
    I've visited also Evans and Cycle Surgery near my house. In Cycle Surgery are offering the Specialized Allez Comp 2012 at £525, while in Evans there is a big sale on the Jamis Ventura Sport 2012 which is quoted at £429.

    I'm way more convinced on buy directly a new bike and rise up my budget, because on the second hand market the price for well maintained models aren't so low. If I bought a bike on eBay, I would add to the final price the cost of train tickets and the time lost traveling. At the end of the day, I can't see the convenience on buying a second hand bike.
    In the town where I used to live (Italy) the LBS offer second hand bikes, fully checked by them and guaranteed. So, if something goes wrong I have a shop who can fix it without spending more money. But collect a bike from a guy 3 hours from London means that if something goes wrong I'll have to pay every penny by myself.
    I know that we are talking on double the budget that I was talking when I opened the thread, but after two weeks spent checking into the first and second hand market I think a new bike is the item that best suit my needs.

    Now I'm going to test in first person all the bikes (Allez, Defy, Ventura and Caad8) in order to find the one that I feel ride better for me.
    I've read lots of reviews and threads, so I have a basic knowledge of what I'm looking for.

    I want to thank you every one of you who help me in this research. If you have other bike shops to advice me, I'll be happy.

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